Why do babies cry when they wake up: reasons

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Crying baby is always stressful for parents. It is especially frightening when a child cries in a dream or wakes up in the middle of the night with heart-rending cries. Moms and dads at such moments feel helpless. To destroy all fears, let's understand why babies cry when they wake up.

The importance of sleep

Sleep is an important part of a child's development, especially in the first year of life. And it is at night that the information received during the day is “assimilated” by the brain, new neural connections are formed. Therefore, it is important to understand why the child often wakes up at night and cries. Let's look at the main reasons.

Sleep conditions

A child developing in the womb is in comfortable conditions, where it is always warm, cozy, safe. In our world, the baby has to adapt to environmental conditions. The main task of parents is to ensure the comfort of the baby, especially during sleep. The child may wake up because the room is too hot/dry, the bed linen exudes irritatingscent or need a diaper change. Therefore, the issue of comfortable conditions for falling asleep must be approached responsibly:

• The air temperature in the room is 18-20 degrees Celsius. Ventilate the room constantly.
• Humidity - 50-70%. Purchase a humidifier.
• Children's bedding is washed with fragrance-free and fragrance-free products. Children are very sensitive to strong odors.
• You should try to change diapers as often as possible, about every 4 hours, even at night.

Physiology

The most common reason why a child under one year old wakes up crying is hunger. Breast milk is the main food of the baby, it is quickly absorbed, so there can be a lot of breastfeeding. Night is no exception.

The next reason why a baby cries in a dream and wakes up is the need for constant tactile contact with the mother. After all, only in the arms of the mother, smelling her, the baby feels safe. Don't skimp on hugs and other displays of love. After all, even an adult child needs a mother's tenderness.

Colic is the main thing that comes to mind when talking about the crying of a baby in the first months of life. Until now, doctors have not given a detailed picture of what colic is. It is believed that as a result of muscle tone, which is present in children up to 3-4 months old, gases accumulate in the intestines and provoke pain. This is the reason why the baby often wakes up and cries. Relief is usuallycomes by 6 months, when the gastrointestinal system of the baby is finally formed.

Another common reason why a baby wakes up crying is teething. This event may be accompanied by nasal discharge and fever. You can ease this period for the baby with the help of children's painkillers in the form of topical gels and oral suspensions.

It's not uncommon for children to cry when they wake up because of a heavy dinner. Babies have a hard time falling asleep with a full stomach. Sleep becomes superficial, restless. Therefore, in the evening it is better to consume easily digestible foods such as kefir, yogurt, cottage cheese.

Diseases

Sleep of a sick child is shallow, intermittent. The baby is often prevented from falling asleep either by a sore throat, or a stuffy nose, or a rising temperature. To alleviate the symptoms of the disease and restore good sleep, adequate treatment is needed, which will be prescribed only by a pediatrician.

Psychological reasons

Baby sleep at night depends on what happened to him during the day. These events may be the reason why the baby cries in his sleep and falls.

Why does a baby cry in his sleep and fall down? The baby's sleep at night depends on what happened to him during the day. Active time with lots of movement, sports, little rest breaks may explain why babies cry when they wake up.

This is due to the accumulation of the stress hormone cortisone, which keeps the child's body in good shape. It would seem that an actively spent day should provide the child with a he althy sound sleep. But everything turns out the other way around. Therefore, it is important to combine vigorous activity and rest during the day.

Children are very dependent on their parents and not only financially. With mom and dad, they have a subtle psychological connection. If there are scandals in the family, quarrels in which the child is involved, then this injures the baby. As a result, the baby wakes up at night with tears and screams. The main recommendation is that children should not participate in parental showdowns. A quarrel between peers can be a reason for nighttime tears for older children.

New sensations, new information, especially in excess, can be the reason why babies cry when they wake up. The brain needs to “digest” a large amount of received impressions overnight. As a result of mental activity, sleep becomes intermittent, the child may cry at night. Watching TV or playing computer games negatively affects sleep. It is required to exclude this type of entertainment from the life of a child, especially in the evening.

Phobias can also cause night awakenings in a child. For example, the most common is the fear of the dark. Working with a psychologist will help here, providing comfortable conditions for falling asleep (sleeping together or having a night light in the room).

Ways to normalize baby's sleep

Every child is different. There is no general solution to the problem of a poor night's sleep. But there are several universal rules, following which, you can ensure that the child sleeps at night:

• Day mode allows you to organize the child and distribute during the daytime hours of rest and wakefulness, thereby not overloading the baby. This is especially important for younger children.
• Rituals will allow the baby to smoothly go to sleep. After all, everyone was a child and probably remembers how they didn’t want to go to sleep. Establishing bedtime habits such as listening to soothing music, bathing, relaxing massages will prepare your baby for a tear-free bedtime and ensure a long, he althy sleep at night.
• Exclude active entertainment and games in the evening that excite the child's nervous system.
• Early bedtime. It has been proven that for a he althy sleep, a child needs to go to bed before nine o'clock yesterday. This will allow you to restore strength and recharge your batteries as much as possible.
• A friendly microclimate in the family is a happy child. Happy baby good sleep.
• A light evening snack is good for he althy children's sleep.

Conclusion

Baby crying is stressful not only for the child, but also for the parent. Therefore, it is very important to understand the reasons why the child cries when he wakes up. Loving parents will try to determine the reason for the baby's nightly waking up with tears and help to cope with problems. If anxiety during sleep becomes systematic, its frequency increases, then you need to contact a neurologist forconsultation and appropriate treatment.