Why does a baby cry in his sleep? 1. Why does a baby cry in his sleep: disease or normal?

Small children and crying are such identical concepts that no one has any doubt: a newborn baby will definitely cry. This is understandable, because through tears and screams the baby can communicate his wishes and inconveniences in the only way available to him.

If a baby cries during the day, then it is relatively easy to determine the reason, because in addition to this, he gives some other signs. What if it’s dark outside, you’ve laid down and are in the mood for a sound sleep, but you’re suddenly awakened by your baby’s crying. Why does a child cry in his sleep and not wake up? We will solve this riddle in the article.

Experienced parents know that infants sleep differently than adults and older children. The whole point is in the child’s daily biorhythms. His internal clock, responsible for the sleep-wake cycle, has not yet been perfected, and the process of establishing it is accompanied by various malfunctions, thereby the baby’s body seems to select its individual time through experiments.

Children under the age of one year unconsciously change the duration and frequency of their sleep several times. For example, a baby aged 0 to 1 month sleeps from 20-22 hours a day. A growing baby begins to sleep less and less, until by about a year he has only one 2-hour sleep during the day and 8-9 hours at night.

As for crying in your sleep, until your sleep pattern is established, night whimpering will be your frequent companion. In most cases, it is short-lived and does not greatly affect the peace of mind of the child and his household. But if the crying is quite strong, frequent, constant and incomprehensible, and the newborn baby cries without waking up, then it’s time to think about the hidden reasons for this phenomenon. It is possible that the problem will be easily fixable.

Hidden Reasons

If you have an urgent question about why an infant cries in his sleep, then you need to do something and the sooner the better. What can cause attacks of night crying that a newborn baby torments himself and his parents?

Physiological reasons: discomfort due to a wet or dirty diaper, sweaty back due to the hot air in the room, a reflexive desire to eat, a numb hand, dry mucous in the nose, interfering with breathing, etc.
Fatigue. Many parents deliberately exhaust their child with active entertainment and walks before bed, hoping that he will fall asleep, as they say, without hind legs. The effect of such enterprise is exactly the opposite of expectations - instead of sleeping, the baby rebels, but he himself is not to blame for this, because this happens at the level of consciousness. The reason is the content of cortisol, a stress hormone that accumulates under heavy loads in order to maintain the body in working condition.
Too much information. If a newborn baby has experienced many previously unknown impressions during the day, his brain will try to process and organize information received from outside throughout the night. While a child’s tired body is trying to sleep, his overexcited brain is actively working, and this is a serious obstacle to proper rest.
Instinctive craving for mother. The baby’s desire to be near his mother is always strong – both day and night. Let's say you put your baby to sleep in your arms and put him in a crib. It seems to you that he is fast asleep and will not feel your departure. But this is a big misconception, because even sleeping children feel everything. As soon as he begins to miss his mother’s warmth, he will immediately try to whimper through sleep.
Dreams. This may surprise some, but a newborn baby is also capable of dreaming. They are formed on the basis of his knowledge of the world around him. Since the child’s nervous system, as well as the brain, are not yet mature enough, his dreams are disordered and thus can frighten the baby. That's why he can cry without waking up.
Negative experiences during the day. Quarrels between parents, accompanied by swearing; mother's irritation, even hidden; long trips; loud sounds heard on the street - all this provokes stress, which makes the child cry in his sleep.
Disease. The onset of malaise is a fairly common reason that explains crying. Perhaps the baby’s temperature begins to rise or he is worried about colic or teething, and he involuntarily communicates this by crying. If these reasons are excluded, problems with the baby’s nervous system remain, which only a neurologist can diagnose.

There are many reasons and not all of them require intervention.

Sometimes it is enough to wait 1-2 minutes until the baby cries and he will calm down.

Ways to prevent crying in your sleep

In some cases, recurrence of nighttime crying attacks can be avoided by doing the following before going to bed:

Remember the three basic needs of a baby: affection, food and cleanliness. If your newborn cries at night, try checking before bed to make sure these needs are being met.
Establish rituals before bed, for example, bathing - feeding - reading (song) - sleep. This will help you get in the right mood for your upcoming vacation.
Forget about active games before going to bed - they only cause proven harm.
Provide your baby with fresh, humidified, cool air in his room. Equally important is clean, comfortable underwear.
Try to avoid a tense situation in the family - it is your baby who suffers first of all.
Decide on a daily routine as soon as possible, because its absence can cause crying in your sleep.
Do not overfeed your baby before bedtime. Even adults have nightmares from overeating, especially children.
Consider your attitude towards co-sleeping, because it has been proven that children sleep better next to their mother.
Don't turn off the light near your baby's crib - leave a dim nightlight.

It is not so easy to find out why a child cried in his sleep, but it is worth doing. By finding out what exactly causes your baby to cry and taking appropriate actions before bed, you yourself will be able to sleep peacefully.

There is no need to panic if a child cries while sleeping, this does not mean that he is sick or that mental disorders are to blame. But it is, of course, necessary to find out why this happens.

Let's list the most common reasons for children crying in their sleep.

Nervous overexcitement

And such phenomena can be observed often. For example, during the day you took your child to the circus, in the evening guests came to you (it was noisy and crowded), and before going to bed he watched more than one episode of his favorite cartoon. And if such a string of events is normal for an adult, then The child’s psyche is simply not ready for this.

Just imagine: your baby perceives everything that is familiar to you completely differently. Dozens of discoveries in a day, a sea of impressions, a quick change in the external picture - what should a child’s brain be like in order not to react in any way to such events?

Not only can the baby be capricious in his sleep, the child can also cry before going to bed, even become hysterical. So why does a child cry a lot before and during bedtime?

Analyze if something similar is happening in your life? Do your guests stay up late, and does your “little tail” get a lot of impressions during the day?

And the most important– isn’t the usual one knocked down?

Remember, for a child a certain routine is the key to healthy development

Feeling lonely

Why does a child cry at night? This is not a rare reason, especially for children under three years of age. And if the mother is accustomed to sleeping with the baby from infancy, it will not be easy for him to get out of the habit.

Even sleeping in the same room is best completed before the child is one year old. Otherwise, as the child grows up, he will be extremely sensitive to the fact that he sleeps alone in his room.

AND you can't blame the child for that: This is not his whim, but your omission. How can I improve the situation? Only by reasonable, gradual actions:

Give your child more attention during the day so that he doesn't need it as much at night.
Alternate between “evening mom” and “evening dad” so that the baby is not sensitive to the change in his usual face (otherwise, you won’t even be able to think about spending the night with your grandparents until he’s 4-5 years old)
Assign a toy that will be “for the elder”, right in front of the child, ask the bear to sleep with Mashenka today
Don't solve the problem in one day, they say, that’s it, from now on you sleep alone
Light toys, children's sconces, colorful bright stickers on the wall will slightly distract the baby from sad thoughts in the dark
from a lullaby or bedtime story you can't refuse, but try not to lie down next to the baby, but sit by the bed, stroking the child’s head

I had a terrible dream

Did you think children don’t dream yet? Of course they see, and how. And not a single child is immune from this, only he is more afraid of a bad dream than an adult.

Yes, and he won’t be able to understand right away that it was all an illusion. Only the calm face of mom and dad, gentle stroking, quiet kind voice will return the child to his usual state of comfort and security.

Again, make sure that the baby does not become emotionally overstrained during the day. After all, such overexcitation will happen main reason nightmares. By the way.

No need to wake up your baby if he whines in his sleep! See if the pacifier has fallen out, if the baby has opened up, just pet the baby. He can immediately fall asleep peacefully.

A 1-3 year old child cries in his sleep

Older children may also cry in their sleep.

A healthy child begins to cry in his sleep when hyperexcitability. Often this is a consequence of parental mistakes, when all active games and watching cartoons occur before bedtime.

On the contrary, an hour before bedtime you need to do something calm: modeling, drawing, reading books. Let all this be accompanied by music: quiet, calm melodies will be a good background.

If, with the proper daily routine, the child still cries a lot in his sleep, and he is not sick, there is a reason contact a neurologist. Childhood fears and fright can haunt the baby even at night.

It may be impossible to do without special medications.

Preschooler crying in his sleep

A preschool child may already complain of fever and pain in the throat (ear, nose, etc.), so recognizing the disease in this case is easy. Why then can a child cry in his sleep? This may be a consequence:

high loads (kindergarten, clubs, large social circle)
worries (family quarrels)
terrible dreams (he does not talk about some of his fears and anxieties, but endures them in silence, which results in nightmares)
stress experienced (parents punished, offended in the garden, scared by a dog)

Consultation with a child psychologist is quite appropriate in such cases: it will help parents find out the true reasons for a child’s crying in a dream, and determine the further path to solving the problem.

Of course, it’s impossible to hope that it will “outgrow” and “scream and calm down.” Remember that many fears are complexes comes from childhood. Help your child, who does not yet know how to cope with difficult situations on his own.

Sound children's sleep is a fundamental part of healthy child development. Often, young parents in the first year of a baby’s life face problems with night sleep. A baby can start crying and screaming for the most basic reasons, be it hunger, stomach cramps or a full diaper. But there are times when mothers and fathers notice that the child is crying in his sleep and does not wake up. What to do in such a situation, how to understand and eliminate the cause of the baby’s crying? Let's try to figure it out.

Crying during sleep: possible causes

If parents began to worry about such behavior of the child in a dream, then this was probably not an isolated case. But there is no need to sound the alarm in advance. If a baby cries in his sleep, there is a completely understandable reason for this.

Children under one year of age.

In infants, the reasons for crying can be caused by the most harmless factors. If parents carefully monitor the baby, the picture of the appearance of crying will become clear very quickly. So, why do children cry in their sleep:

colic/gas in the tummy– babies 3-4 months old have digestive problems due to swallowing air during feeding. Abdominal bloating causes discomfort in the baby, which he will certainly announce by crying or moaning in his sleep;
teething– Children aged 6, 7, 8 and 9 months may experience soreness in the mouth. It's all due to swollen and itchy gums. Not everyone finds teething easy; inflamed gums are very itchy. Because of these unpleasant symptoms, the baby cries in his sleep without waking up;
separate sleep– some babies feel uncomfortable if their mother is not around 24 hours a day, including during sleep. Even if the mother taught the newborn to sleep separately from the first days, at the age of 10-11 months the child may cry and toss and turn due to the lack of maternal closeness in sleep.

Children 1-3 years old.

In older babies, the above reasons for restlessness and crying at night may appear, but with less frequency. However, at this age other factors appear that can provoke disturbing sleep:

violation of the daily routine– the sleep of a 1-1.5 year old child may suddenly become restless if there is a disruption in the usual daily routine. Unexpected guests, an unplanned trip, or you are simply celebrating the New Year - the body of a child who is 2 or 3 years old will react with mini-stress;
large portion of food before bed– an overfed baby’s stomach will be forced to work all night. When digesting food at night, unpleasant sensations may occur, and the child will cry in his sleep.

Children 4+ years old.

Even children beyond infancy may cry in their sleep. If you notice crying in your child who is already 4 or 5 years old, pay attention to the following reasons:

fear of the dark– at this age, children develop their first fears, which can cause nightmares and bad dreams. At the age of 5, a child screams in his sleep after watching dark cartoons and films, so it is imperative to protect the child’s still fragile psyche from them;
active evening games– before bedtime there is absolutely no need to excite the child’s nervous system. A very tired child cries in his sleep without waking up. There should be no throwing over your head, dancing or jumping after 19.00.

Crying in a dream. Doctor Komarovsky's opinion

According to E.O. Komarovsky, the most likely cause of crying in infants, if it occurs several times during the night, is the increased tone of the nervous system. At five to six month old babies, active growth of bones and baby teeth begins. Calcium supplied from food may not be enough, and in this case increased nervous excitability occurs. The solution to the problem will be to take calcium gluconate to replenish the child’s body’s need for calcium.

A child screams in his sleep - what to do?

The sudden cry of a baby in a dream can seriously frighten parents. But, according to the observations of pediatricians, such cases are not at all uncommon. A child may cry at night for the following reasons:

– increased nervous excitability;

– after suffering stress or an event that excited him during the day;

– many hours of computer games or games with gadgets.

If a child periodically cries out at night, parents should seek advice from a neurologist to determine the cause of the night sleep disorder.

How to make your baby sleep more peacefully

When a child cries in his sleep at night, the concern of young parents is understandable. Something is bothering the baby, but he continues to sleep. In such situations, you can try the following options:

– don’t wake up a whimpering baby. See if there are visible reasons for crying: a dropped pacifier, a wet diaper, and if possible, eliminate them;

– sometimes the baby cries at night if it is uncovered. A blanket and plaid give small children a feeling of comfort and security. Try to cover a crying baby, and in case of constant opening, buy a sleeping bag and the baby’s sleep will become less disturbing;

– if everything is fine in terms of comfort for the child, but he cries a lot in his sleep, then stroke him gently on the back and comfort him in a whisper. A few minutes, and the child will further fall into a restful sleep.

Healthy, sound sleep is the best way to relieve stress. When a person sleeps well, he is said to sleep like a baby. However, not all babies sleep peacefully. Often, young parents have to spend sleepless nights with their baby, who cries in his sleep. In this article we will look at the main reasons why children cry at night and figure out what to do in such situations.

Why does a baby cry in his sleep?

Depending on the age, the reasons for night crying in children may vary. Thus, newborn babies are most often bothered by pain in the tummy; even at an older age, one of the reasons for a child’s restless sleep can be a nightmare.

Causes in children under six months

Intestinal colic and bloating are common causes of crying in newborn babies. During the first three months, the baby's intestines undergo restructuring, which can cause tummy pain. If your baby cries loudly in his sleep (sometimes the crying turns into screaming), tosses and turns and curls up his legs, then most likely he is worried about colic.
Hunger can be one of the reasons why a baby cries at night.
Unstable mode - newborn babies do not distinguish between day and night. They can sleep perfectly during the day and wake up at night. The period of wakefulness at first is about 90 minutes, already at 2–8 weeks of age it increases to several hours, and by 3 months some children can sleep peacefully all night. Remember that each child is individual; for some, the regime becomes stable by the age of 2.
Absence of mother. The presence of the mother nearby is necessary for the child, just like timely nutrition and hygiene procedures. If your baby wakes up alone in the crib, he will immediately notify you with loud crying.

Discomfort. He may cry in his sleep if he peed himself or is just about to do so. Also, the room where the baby sleeps may be too hot or cold.
Disease. A sick child has shallow and restless sleep. Nasopharyngeal congestion and fever prevent children from sleeping at any age.

Children from 5 months to one year

Teething is the most likely cause of night crying in babies from 5 months to a year. The child’s gums begin to itch and hurt, and the temperature may rise;
Experiences. Every day your child learns about the world: a visit, a walk or something else can cause stress in a child.

Night crying in children 2–3 years of age and older

Psychological aspects. Children at this age are very sensitive to experiences, whether they are positive or negative. Around this age, children are introduced to kindergartens, which causes a storm of emotions in the kids. Their appetite may also worsen, and those who are especially sensitive may even have a fever. If your child has already gotten used to kindergarten and still cries in his sleep, take a closer look at the microclimate in the family - perhaps his nighttime crying is somehow connected with the fact that relatives are loudly sorting things out.
Fear. Fear can also provoke crying in children at this age. If your baby is afraid of the dark, leave him a night light on at night; perhaps he is afraid of some picture or toy - remove it from the child’s eyes. Nightmares can also be caused by banal overeating.

If your baby is afraid, try not to leave him alone for a while - he needs your support and a sense of security.

Unusual situations

What to do if the child suddenly starts crying, cries and arches, or cries constantly? The reasons for this behavior of the baby can be different, it is obvious that he is tormented by pain. This may be colic, high intracranial pressure, etc. Be sure to consult a doctor, he will prescribe the necessary treatment. You may need to undergo a series of examinations to clarify the reasons for this child’s sleep behavior.

What measures to take?

Knowing the reason for your baby's crying at night, you can try to solve this problem. If the cause is colic, then a light tummy massage (clockwise), a warm diaper on the tummy, dill water and special drops will help you cope with this problem and ensure healthy sleep for your baby. If your baby is teething, you need to consult a doctor and choose a special gel that will numb the gums. If the reason for the child’s crying is some kind of disease, you need to consult a doctor and immediately treat the baby. If the reason lies in the fear of the dark, leave the night light on at night.

The baby may cry due to some kind of emotional turmoil, in this case, try to calm him down: tell him how much you love him, how wonderful he is. It is very important to adjust the daily routine: if the child goes to bed at the same time, then it will be easier for him to fall asleep. It is not recommended to give your child a hearty dinner; the baby should eat no later than 2 hours before bedtime. You should not play gambling or active games before bed - reading a book or an evening walk is best.

In our article, we examined the main reasons for night crying in children of different ages. As a rule, parents have no serious reasons for concern. But, nevertheless, if your baby often cries at night, you can seek help from a doctor who will help you pinpoint the cause and tell you how to solve this problem.

Until the child masters speech, crying is the only way to attract attention. The tears of an adult are grief and worry, the tears of a baby are a natural means of communication. Parents gradually get used to the fact that this phenomenon is normal and not at all scary, but they are lost if the baby suddenly starts Why does this happen?

Baby's sleep

Sleep is a special physiological state that performs two main functions: replenishing energy costs and consolidating what the baby has learned during the waking period. Adequate sleep is both a condition for a child’s development and an indicator of his physical and mental health. Therefore, parents are very concerned if the child’s rest is interrupted, and even more so if the baby cries in his sleep.

The sleep norm for a child up to six months is from 18 to 14-16 hours a day. But in the first months of life, the baby can wake up every 3-4 hours, and there is no pathology in this: a stable daily routine has not been developed, and confusion between day and night often occurs.

The baby usually wakes up due to a feeling of hunger, discomfort, or simply showing a normal instinct. Therefore, mothers need to have patience and remember that sleep is a conditioned reflex activity, which means that developing a certain ritual for going to sleep at night and following the rule of the three “Ts” (warm, dark and quiet) will help cope with the problem.

Night sleep

By what age is a child able to sleep through the night without waking up? This is purely individual, but most babies by six months can sleep uninterrupted at night for 10 hours. The child does not need to be rocked or put to sleep by force. He can easily cope with this task on his own if the parents catch the signs of drowsiness in time: the child yawns, closes or rubs his eyes, fiddling with a toy. If fatigue is present, the period of falling asleep is normally up to 20 minutes. If you do not create conditions for sleep (bright light, noise, presence of strangers), this can provoke a situation where the baby cries in his sleep.

The process of falling asleep itself will be difficult, and night's rest will be disrupted due to the baby's overexcitement. To understand why this happens, you need to understand the main phases of sleep.

Sleep phases

Science distinguishes two: active and slow. They alternate with each other every sixty minutes. The activity cycle involves the work of thought processes, which is expressed in the following manifestations:

A smile on the baby's face.
Movement of the eyes under the eyelids or their brief opening.
Leg movement.

It is at this time that the baby cries in his sleep without waking up. Nerve cells process information received during wakefulness. While experiencing the events of the day, the baby continues to react to them. Crying can be a reaction to experienced fear, a feeling of loneliness, or overexcitement.

During slow - deep - sleep, the child completely relaxes, restoring spent energy, and he produces growth hormone.

To wake up or not?

Whimpering, quiet crying and sobbing during the active phase of sleep is the absolute norm. The baby is able to see dreams that reflect the impressions of the past day. But children's tears may have another meaning - an instinctive desire to check whether he is safe, whether he has been abandoned by his mother. If there is no confirmation of this, the child may actually wake up and burst into tears for real. What should parents do if their baby starts crying in his sleep?

Main reasons for crying

Why does a baby cry in his sleep if he wakes up? This means that he gives signals that must be deciphered, because he has no other way to attract attention to himself. Pediatricians identify about seven reasons for a baby’s tears. Dr. Komarovsky typifies them, highlighting three main ones:

How to recognize?

There are many reasons, but how to understand which one caused the baby’s tears? There is only one way - analyzing the actions after which the crying stops. You should start by identifying the causes of discomfort. It often happens: while awake, the child is distracted from what is causing him discomfort. For example, a rubber band gets stuck. When activity decreases, discomfort comes to the fore and interferes with falling asleep. If a child calms down after being picked up, then instinct has worked. There is a lot of controversy about this: is it worth reacting if a baby cries in his sleep for fear of loneliness?

There are pediatricians who say that crying a little is even beneficial for a child: the lungs develop, and protein from tears, which has an antimicrobial effect, enters the nasopharynx. This develops the body's anti-infective defenses. Some parents call the baby a little manipulator and try to raise him without consciously reacting to crying or picking him up. Is it correct?

Neurologists believe that an infant is not capable of consciously manipulating a situation, and the answer lies in a different plane. Babies raised from birth in government institutions cry extremely rarely. There is simply no one to respond to their calls. They withdraw into themselves and stop hoping. This leads to developmental disorders - hospitalism. If a baby cries in his sleep, you should not be afraid to spoil him. The need for affection and care is a vital need for a baby in the first year of life.

What should you be wary of?

The nervous system of a child under one year of age is often susceptible to diseases due to: pathologies of pregnancy, difficult childbirth, intrauterine infections and injuries. Together with other symptoms, disturbing sleep may indicate neurological or somatic problems. Every three months, a neurologist examines the baby, monitoring his development. He should be interested in finding an answer to the question of why a baby cries in his sleep in the following cases:

If this is accompanied by a persistent sleep disorder (difficulty falling asleep, shallow or insufficient sleep).
If sharp, hysterical crying is repeated regularly.
If parents are unable to identify the cause on their own.

If the baby cries without waking up, the reason is the peculiarities of children's sleep. If tears are associated with the transition to the wakefulness stage, it means that the child is signaling the presence of problems that require adult intervention to solve.