Most parents perceive baby crying as absolutely normal, because this is just a way to convey information about some of the baby's needs to adults. Although in most cases the reason for crying is on the surface, there are also situations where it is problematic to guess the child's wishes expressed in this way. If the child cries in his sleep, and does it regularly, some parents are able to really panic - suddenly the little one is faced with a serious problem and needs the help of doctors?
For this reason, the question of possible reasons for crying in a dream is of great interest to young families, but we will try to give an answer as to whether it is worth worrying about in this situation.
The specifics of baby sleep
Most often, it is children under one year old who cry in a dream, and if a similar problem is observed in older children, then they can often express in words the reason for what is happening. That is why we will not consider preschool children, but concentrate on babies.
Here you need to clarify right away that if a child for up to a year shudders in a dream, groans, jerks his legs, bends or even sobs, then there is really nothing strange or bad about it.
The fact is that babies spend most of their rest in the phase of the so-called "REM sleep", which is also typical for adults, but only at the moment of falling asleep and immediately before a gradual awakening.
This difference from the adult norm is caused by the rapid development of the child's brain, as a result of which the nervous system actually never rests. It is in this phase of sleep that a person sees dreams, so it is not surprising that parents can observe a visible reaction to what is happening in the form of:
- "Running" pupils with closed eyes;
- Active limb movements;
- A triggered sucking reflex;
- Grimacing;
- Various sounds including crying.
Such phenomena are called "physiological night cry", and according to doctors, they do not indicate the presence of any irritant.
In some cases, such an irritant can actually be a dream, in which the baby may find himself in uncomfortable or even frightening conditions - in such a situation, even a much older child talks in a dream, screams and cries. In general, crying is a common way to release emotional stress. so that the tears of a baby in a dream, if he does not wake up and quickly calms down, should not cause excitement.
Psychologists also believe that with the help of physiological crying, children instinctively check the situation around them - is the mother ready to help if something happens? That is why, by shaking the baby who did not have time to wake up in time, you can make it so that he continues to sleep.
Experts do not advise to calm the baby too actively, because he himself is not going to wake up yet, and zealous motion sickness can easily interrupt his sleep; in this case, it will be enough to gently shake it or even just quietly hum something - the little one will subconsciously understand that everything is in order, and will fall asleep again.
If the child does not observe any reaction, his brain signals insecurity, and then the baby wakes up and starts screaming much louder in order to attract the attention of adults.
Approximately by the end of the first year of life, this reflex of "scanning" space should disappear.
Too much emotion
In the first months of life, the baby does not have a sufficiently developed psyche so that what is happening around him causes some strong emotions - in fact, he only reacts to discomfort. However, at the age of 3-4 months, a strong emotional shift occurs, which is the first serious step towards the psychological maturation of the personality.
This may not seem obvious to adults, but at this stage the child already begins to actively perceive the world around him and try to remember or understand it. The emotions accumulated during the day, even positive ones, do not allow the child to fall asleep quickly, excite him and excite him, which leads to poor quality sleep, including crying.
At this stage, parents should move away from strict adherence to the schedule, and to a greater extent focus on the current needs of children. So, if the child did not sleep well the previous time, the next period of wakefulness must be shortened. If this is not done, the lack of sleep will build up stress in the child again, and this will lead to further lack of sleep, resulting in a vicious circle.
So that emotional reasons do not interfere with your child's sleep and do not provoke him to cry in a dream, follow a few simple rules:
- It is unacceptable to take away part of the time allotted for sleep from the baby for lulling. To ensure he falls asleep on time, start laying him in advance. Do not wait for the moment when the child begins to clearly demonstrate signs of fatigue - this is already an indicator of excessive fatigue.
- Bright emotions, even positive ones, are not recommended at all for babies under one year old. This statement is especially true in the afternoon, otherwise you can waste too much time on lulling.
- Television for small children is very harmful precisely because of the large number of emotions. Even calm cartoons give a lot of different information, they cheer you up with a large number of bright colors, and in general they do not seem so simple and accessible for a baby as for an adult, therefore they can cause bad sleep and crying at night.
As for nightmares, they have not been proven to exist before the age of one year. At an older age, babies may cry over them, but this is usually a one-off rather than a repetitive phenomenon. If the child complains of regularly recurring nightmares, it makes sense to consult a specialist psychologist.
Unsuitable microclimate
Since babies, as we have already said, sleep much more sensitively than adults, it is not surprising that, in general, they are much more demanding on indoor conditions. The situation is further aggravated by the fact that a child under the age of one year has little effect on the situation - after all, he cannot hide on his own when it is cold, or open up when it is hot. The child may not wake up, but feel discomfort and cry in his sleep, which will impair the quality of rest and can lead to full awakening.
To avoid such situations, parents should pay great attention to creating really comfortable conditions in the nursery and their constant support. Ideal comfort in understanding the baby looks like this:
- The temperature is about 18-22 degrees. It all depends on both the individual qualities of the baby and the number and thickness of the diapers in which he is wrapped. The argument "don't break your bones" doesn't work here at all! If the baby is uncomfortable falling asleep, he will cry regularly in his sleep.
- Humidity - within 40-60%. Too dry air makes the mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract dry out and evaporates too much fluid from the baby's body, but we want him to sleep soundly, especially since he cannot drink on his own and will cry. In our latitudes, the air is usually just overdried, and this problem can be solved with a humidifier. Too humid air is not typical for our country.
- No dust. Getting into the baby's nose, dust clogs the airways and interferes with the normal enrichment of the body with oxygen, although the child's brain, actively developing even in sleep, is in dire need of it. Because the stuck occurs gradually, dust is one of the most common causes of crying in sleep without waking up. To eliminate dust, ventilate the room and do regular wet cleaning, and also minimize the amount of books, carpets, upholstered furniture and toys in the nursery.
- Fresh air. The growing body needs oxygen critically, so airing is almost a prerequisite before bed. If the climate or pollen allergy makes this unacceptable, look for sophisticated modern air conditioning systems that can solve the problem.
How to solve the problem of hunger and thirst?
Babies want to eat much more often than adults, so the desire to eat in the middle of the night right up to crying is quite normal for them, but a person of any age can want to drink at night. Nevertheless, after such awakenings, the child will have to be euthanized each time, which does not allow his mother or himself to sleep, therefore, you have to come up with ways to reduce the number of such rises.
In the first months of life, it will not be possible to completely avoid night feedings - you will still have to wake up, but you can reduce the number of night worries if you feed your baby more intensively during the day. If an adult is not recommended to eat before bedtime, then for a baby such a procedure is not only possible, but also useful, since it will provide a stable sleep.
We have already mentioned how poor-quality rest can cause constant crying at night, so in the evening you should eat tightly, after all, a child of this age still does not eat anything that is difficult to digest.
At the same time, experts recommend intensifying the infant's nutrition not so much (whether it be the actual weight of food at one meal or the number of meals per day), as well as quality. With those children who are fed with baby food, the situation is clear - you just need to pay attention to more high-calorie foods.
As for babies feeding on mother's milk, there is a very important point that not everyone knows about: the fact is that when the baby is attached to the breast, the so-called front milk. It has a relatively low nutritional value, but in terms of volume, the baby does not need a lot - he feels that the tummy is full and refuses to drink further, only the nutrients obtained with the front milk do not last long. As a result, the baby, who seemed full, very quickly wants to eat again, and therefore cries in his sleep.
If the infant is consuming clearly a little milk at a time, he should first express it so that he receives only the most nutritious product.
Babies should be offered water during night feedings only in the heat, but if the baby is artificially fed, then water must necessarily accompany each feeding session.
Teeth
Very often, the cause of night crying is a phenomenon characteristic of all babies without exception - teething. These babies have a very difficult time, because they feel itching and pain in the mouth all the time.
Of course, even in such a situation, the child still needs to sleep, so it is possible to lull him to sleep, but at moments when the pain intensifies, he can scream, start crying abruptly and wake up. The problem is especially exacerbated if the baby is cutting not one tooth at the moment, but several at once.
Of course, there can be several reasons for crying at night, but if a child constantly tries to chew on clothes, toys, and any other available items, you can be sure that teething is one of them.
For a long time this problem was considered practically insoluble, but modern medicine is already able to offer a solution in the form of a special anesthetic gel. Be sure to keep in mind that this medication, like almost all other medicines, in the case of young children can only be used after consulting a doctor.
Special silicone teethers will help the child to "scratch" the itchy jaw, which somewhat reduce the discomfort from what is happening and help protect other objects from attempts to gnaw them, especially since it can even be dangerous for the baby.
Is the weather to blame?
It's no secret that sudden changes in the weather can negatively affect the well-being of some people. If earlier it was believed that this sensitivity is characteristic mainly of older people, today many experts believe that even some babies are able to respond to the vagaries of the climate.
Even risk groups have been identified: difficulties during childbirth and a cesarean section, as well as diseases during the time of being a fetus or increased intracranial pressure supposedly increase the likelihood that the child will show a synoptic "gift", which, in turn, will interfere with his rest and can cause nighttime crying.
On the example of adults, it has been noticed that the following phenomena are especially strongly felt:
- Abnormal activity of the Sun;
- Gusty wind;
- Jumps in atmospheric pressure;
- Change of weather from sunny to rainy;
- Precipitation of any kind.
At the same time, doctors cannot give an exact answer to the question of why some children react to changes in the weather, while others do not. Moreover, they are unlikely to make such a diagnosis as "meteosensitivity", so they will not advise on a specific treatment.
If you yourself see a certain pattern in the behavior of your child associated with changes in the weather, and still want to get medical help, it is best to contact a neurologist, since it is he who decides any issues of increased sensitivity.
How to improve baby's sleep and get enough sleep? Dr. Komarovsky will give the answer in this video.
