Why do newborns smile in their sleep?

There is nothing sweeter and cuter than a sleeping baby. Especially if he snores peacefully and smiles in his sleep. But what to do if the baby starts laughing in his sleep? Is it dangerous or is laughter normal? What if the baby’s facial expression changes every minute, and he either smiles widely or makes a sad grimace. This scares many mothers and they wake up the baby, or even start taking them to doctors in search of the cause.

In the old days they said that when a baby laughs in his sleep, he communicates with angels. Of course, now it sounds a little strange. Although there is some truth in this. After all, the area of dreams has not been fully studied and it is not always possible to find out what happens to a person’s consciousness in a dream.

Why do newborns smile in their sleep?

For newborn children, everything in this world is so new and unfamiliar, all the time he learns something unusual, gains impressions and positive emotions. Why do newborns smile in their sleep? But that is precisely why they smile. All emotions and impressions from the day he experienced are reflected in his dreams. But it's important to remember that both positive and negative events affect sleep in the same way . Therefore, doctors advise not to overload the baby with a variety of entertainment at first. But if your newborn baby smiles in his sleep, then the past day has definitely brought him a lot of positive emotions.

Another reason why a newborn smiles in his sleep may be a change in sleep phases . There are fast and slow sleep phases. When changing from one phase to another, the baby may smile, laugh, move his arms and even mutter. This is believed to be normal.

Another slightly strange answer to the question “Why do newborns smile in their sleep?” is that angels seem to fly to the baby and play with him. It is believed that in this case the child should not be woken up. The above versions are not a cause for concern for parents.

Assumption one

Such activity during sleep is the result of stress experienced the day before, and not necessarily negative. For example, a child had too many vivid impressions, strong emotions... If this reason can actually cause sleep-speaking, then it becomes clear why children talk in their sleep more often than adults. After all, young children perceive the real events of the day more acutely, and their nervous system is less stable and less mature than that of adults.

Advice to parents: do not reach for sedative herbs and potions if you associate your child’s restless nights with his hectic waking life. Sedatives are not taken once, but in courses and only under the supervision of a doctor. If the baby just talks in his sleep and you don’t notice any other neurotic reactions in him, he doesn’t need treatment. You can make sure that there is a calm atmosphere at home in the evening, that the TV is not on until late, that the nursery is cool at night, that the child takes walks every day - these recommendations will benefit anyone.

But if even during the day your child is overly emotional and reacts to everything with bursts of screaming and crying, perhaps you should show him to the doctor. A neurologist can prescribe nootropic or metabolic drugs that will improve blood circulation in the brain, help the brain mature faster, and then the child’s behavior and sleep will become calmer.

What does a baby's smile in a dream mean?

If you are still concerned that your child often smiles or laughs in his sleep, you can contact a specialist to dispel all unnecessary fears. Sometimes the baby may be prescribed to drink soothing herbal infusions before bed.

Remember that nighttime sleep is very important for a child. After all, this is precisely the time when the body grows, rests, and carries out vital processes. Therefore, it is important that nothing disturbs or interferes with the baby, so that the sleeping conditions are as comfortable as possible. To do this, try to adhere to the following tips:

Ventilate the room where your child sleeps before he goes to sleep.
Before going to bed, you need to exclude active games, watching cartoons on the computer or TV (it’s better to read a book or just talk quietly).
Before going to bed, it is advisable to take an evening walk; this has a positive effect on sleep.

Additional signs

If the patient begins to talk while sleeping, you need to pay attention to the behavior. Symptoms indicating pathology can appear both during night rest and while awake. Often these are subtle signs that are not associated with any disorders:

the patient grinds his teeth at night;
during wakefulness, absent-mindedness and impaired concentration are observed;
there is a lack of coordination in space;
decreased cognitive functions, including memory and intelligence;
the child walks and talks in his sleep;
signs of restlessness and anxiety appear during the daytime;
there is a decrease in mood, frequent tearfulness;
lack of motivation and decreased performance (apathy);
lack of appetite and weight loss.

If these symptoms appear, it is recommended to consult a neurologist for examination. It is important to exclude diseases of the nervous system and parasomnic disorders. For example, if the patient sleeps with his eyes open and moves around in a sleeping state, somnambulism must be excluded.

How to ensure healthy sleep for a newborn

In the first time after birth, it is very difficult for parents to create favorable conditions for the baby. The child cannot fall asleep and wake up on command.

A baby who has recently been born is just beginning to adapt to life in this world, just getting used to and adapting to the environment. Therefore, you need to try to create the most comfortable and cozy conditions for sleep and development.

Babies are called newborns up to a month old. At first they sleep a lot, up to 20 hours a day. The baby sleeps in the so-called “frog” position with slightly bent legs and arms spread to the sides.

If the baby sleeps for a long time, do not sound the alarm ahead of time. The older the child is, the less time his sleep will last. For example, already at three months the baby will sleep for about 15 hours . Sleep in young children does not last long, about 3-4 hours . Then comes the period of feeding, playing, changing diapers, etc. Experts advise accustoming your baby to a certain schedule, then it will be easier for both mother and baby in the future.

If nothing works out with the schedule, don’t rush to get upset, everything will work out . When your baby wants to sleep, you will understand this by his behavior: he will begin to rub his eyes, dark circles appear under them. Remember that you should not train your baby to fall asleep when you breastfeed or rock him to sleep.

Try to teach your child to be independent from an early age. Put the child to bed half asleep, sing lullabies that soothe thanks to the quiet and gentle voice of the mother, turn off the bright lights. Remove extra pillows, blankets, etc. from the crib, as this will disturb and negatively affect your baby's sleep. In addition, it is recommended that babies under one year of age sleep without a pillow, so as not to harm the spine.

It is best if the baby sleeps on a firm mattress. For sleep, choose comfortable, soft clothes so that they do not cause discomfort.

Sleep and speech function

The state of sleep is natural. This is a kind of rest mode for the body, when the reaction to external and internal stimuli is reduced. A sleeping person has poor auditory, visual and tactile sensitivity. At this time, a change in activity patterns occurs in the brain, allowing nerve cells to accumulate energy and structure information.

Sleep is also characterized by other physiological changes, including relaxation of skeletal muscles, changes in respiratory rate and heart rate.

Sleep structure:

Orthodox sleep

Continues for 60-80 minutes. Traditionally divided into four phases. The first phase is characterized by a change in the electrical activity of the brain. Physiological changes occur, such as slower breathing and heart rate. In the second phase, consciousness turns off, but the person is still easy to wake up. During the fourth phase, a deep state of sleep occurs, when it is very difficult to wake a person. At this time dreams appear. It is the fourth phase of slow-wave sleep that is characterized by various parasomnic disorders, including sleep talking.

Fast wave sleep

This period lasts for 15-20 minutes. Electrical activity in the brain resembles wakefulness, but the person cannot move or think clearly. Vivid dreams arise that can be easily recalled immediately after waking up. Spontaneous motor activity of the eyeballs is characteristic. Hormonal and autonomic changes occur. It is believed that during fast-wave sleep there is an active redistribution of information in consciousness.

Normally, a sleeping child does not move or speak, since motor activity is blocked. The release of a special hormone during sleep helps reduce muscle tone, including the muscles of the oral cavity. This is necessary to ensure that a person does not accidentally injure himself in an unconscious state. At the same time, it is sometimes possible to spontaneously “turn on” certain muscle groups, including muscle fibers responsible for articulation. The exact causes of this phenomenon are unknown, but it is believed that the mechanism of development of sleep-speaking is similar to somnambulism and night paralysis. Muscle tone increases faster than a person returns to clear consciousness.

Why do newborns startle in their sleep?

Very often, in their sleep or when falling asleep, babies flinch, which is very frightening and alarming for mothers. Don't panic, there's nothing wrong with this, this phenomenon will disappear over time. The baby is just getting used to the new world, getting used to new conditions. By the way, premature babies flinch much more often.

So why do newborns flinch?

The child is tired. You should not play active games with your baby before bedtime. Tired and overtired after this, the child sleeps poorly and shudders in his sleep.
Colic . Very often, three-week-old babies have tummy problems because their digestive system is just adjusting to normal functioning. That is why at first nursing mothers actually go on a diet, because many foods eaten by the mother can have a bad effect on the child’s condition. If your baby has severe sleep problems that involve startling, consult your doctor for advice.
Fever . Babies have a very weak immune system, so at first there is a high risk of contracting an infectious disease. If the temperature is really elevated, you need to contact your pediatrician.
Loud sounds. At night, the baby should be surrounded by peace and quiet. Try to create a cozy atmosphere, pat your baby on the head so that he feels your presence and is calm.

Associated states

There are comorbid diseases that may be associated with the pronunciation of sounds at night. First of all, these are other parasomnic disorders and mental disorders. There is also a possible relationship with pathologies of the endocrine system. Let's consider the pathologies in which sleep talking often occurs.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

A disorder of mental and neurological activity in children, manifested by increased excitability, impulsivity, decreased concentration, impaired cognitive functions and deterioration in the assimilation of new information. The patient often talks during the night's rest due to insufficient inhibition of the nervous system and increased reaction to external stimuli.

Somnambulism

Motor activity of a sleeping person. A child in a sleeping state talks, screams, gets out of bed, moves around the apartment and even performs meaningful actions. However, after waking up, he cannot remember anything.

Somnambulism (sleepwalking) is a type of mental disorder in which people perform certain actions while in a state of sleep.

Hyperthyroidism

Excessive production of thyroid hormones. These substances are responsible for the general regulation of the body. Due to the excessive release of hormones into the bloodstream, symptoms such as irritability, insomnia, aggressiveness, decreased concentration and increased physical activity occur.

Epilepsy

A neurological disease in which convulsive attacks occur periodically. This is a chronic pathology that cannot be completely eliminated. As the disease progresses, a variety of mental and neurological complications develop. Talking while sleeping can be a manifestation of nocturnal epilepsy.

At the same time, talking while asleep is often an isolated symptom. If nothing else bothers the patient, no special diagnosis is required.

Newborn groans in his sleep

Very often the baby grunts if he is constipated . If your child really experiences constipation frequently, it is best to consult a doctor. Some mothers try to administer enemas on their own or give their children laxatives, but the main thing in this matter is not to abuse it. In addition, colic can also cause grunting.

Gases produced during meals press on the intestinal walls, thereby causing pain. To prevent your baby from having painful sensations in the tummy area, give him a special massage and carry him after eating in an upright position so that the air comes out of the esophagus . If the problem is really serious and nothing helps, seek help from your pediatrician.

Experts' opinion

There is still no consensus among doctors regarding the laughter of sleeping children. Below are the opinions of perhaps the two most popular Russian doctors on this matter - Evgeny Komarovsky and Elena Malysheva.

Doctor Komarovsky

The famous doctor Komarovsky does not see anything terrible in a baby’s smile during sleep. Such facial expressions confirm that in his dreams the child remembers something that evokes positive emotions in him.

However, a smile that develops into laughter, according to a specialist, is a consequence of failure to comply with the proper routine in a child’s life during the day and, in particular, before bedtime. The reason for this reaction may be the so-called childhood stress caused by a variety of circumstances: going on a visit, a sudden change of environment, meeting new people, etc. Excessive emotionality in a baby during sleep can be caused by simply watching TV in the evening.

Thus, any activity should be dosed and, if necessary, replaced with calmer activities.

TV presenter Malysheva

According to Elena Malysheva, laughter in a dream can be a form of epileptoid seizure. In his television program, the doctor says that such manifestations are typical for children with a benign brain tumor, called in the medical community a hypothalamic hamartoma. Laughter is often accompanied by muscle spasms and eye rolling. Another sign of this disease is the child’s depressed state while awake, low activity, and lack of interest in anything.

To exclude or, conversely, confirm the presented diagnosis, it is enough to undergo an MRI of the brain. Treatment with hormonal drugs or surgery is used as therapeutic measures.

Sleeping newborns may smile for various reasons. Pleasant dreams or ordinary contractions of the facial muscles can cause laughter in infants. At the same time, such a reaction can be provoked by excessive agitation or more serious health problems. In such a situation, it is necessary to consult a doctor who will help eliminate problems, if any, or reassure parents and give the necessary recommendations.