5 Possible Reasons Why Babies Cry When Asleep
Riddle me this: Why do newborns test our patience all the time? I am not talking about the colic, clogged nostrils, and rashes. I am talking about the situation where the baby lets out a scream, or sobs while they are deep asleep. As a parent to a baby under one year, this scenario is inevitable.
Let’s look at the major reasons babies cry when asleep without further ado.
Why Do Babies Cry in Their Sleep?
1. Overtiredness
The first reason babies cry when asleep is extreme tiredness. You might ask yourself, what would make a 3-month-old super tired?
When babies are awake, their eyes wander from one place to another. The eye movements make the baby too tired to sleep. To counter the overtiredness, your baby produces the cortisol hormone. Do you know what cortisol does to babies?
The cortisol hormone is responsible for fighting fatigue. The raging cortisol creates discomfort in your baby’s body, making them cry in their sleep.
2. Discomfort
Babies might also cry in their sleep when they are uncomfortable. It could be due to the wet or soiled diaper, teething issues, extremely cold or hot weather, light penetrating through any opening or noise. Any slight disturbance to these soft life ambassadors will make them scream even in their sleep.
3. Hunger
Another reason why babies cry in their sleep is due to hunger. Babies have tiny tummies and get full after small feedings. Similarly, they get hungry 2-3 hours after every feeding. Since the baby cannot call you out to feed it, the best way they can do is to cry in the night.
4. The Startle Reflex
The nervous system in babies starts to develop immediately after birth. Due to reflex development, babies might get disrupted in their sleep. In some cases, the reflexes might be so intense that the baby moves their hands involuntarily, slamming themselves on the face, and waking up with a cry.
5. Short Sleep Cycles
The final possible reason your baby cries while asleep is the short sleep cycles that they go through. Did you know babies spend half their sleeping hours in rapid eye movement (REM)? Please pay close attention, you will see their cute eyes in some form of movement while still closed.
In other cases, you might see babies jerk, smile, and their lips twitch when they are asleep. How cute that is! Your baby might also cry when shifting from one cycle to another.
Sleep Patterns for Babies
Babies’ sleeping duration depends on several factors, with their age being a key determinant. Let us look at the different sleeping durations in this chart:
| Age | Hours of Sleep (24 hours) | Hours of Sleep/Night | Daytime Sleep |
| Newborn | 16-20 hours in the first 4-6 weeks; drops to 14-17hrs later on. | Hours are equally divided day and night. | Sleep in 2-3 hours blocks for breastfed babies. 3-4 hours of sleep block for bottle-fed babies. |
| 3-6 months | 14 hours | 8-9 hours with no interruption if well-fed. | 2-3 naps lasting 30 minutes to 2 hours. |
| 6-12 months | 14 hours | 8-9 hours without interruption if well-fed and not ill. | 2-3 naps lasting 30 minutes to 2 hours. |
| 12+ | 12-14 hours | 10 hours | 1-2 naps totaling to 30 minutes-2hours |
As I have always mentioned, every baby is different and the sleep periods might vary. With that said, let us look at the five stages that make up the sleep cycle in babies.
Stage 1: The baby starts to feel drowsy and drifts slowly to sleep.
Stage 2: In this stage, the baby drifts to REM, which is part of active sleep.
Stage 3: This is a stage where the baby’s active sleep level lightens. It is easy to wake up the baby at this stage.
Stage 4& 5: This stage is referred to as deep Non-REM, or quiet sleep. It is easy to wake up the baby at this stage, and you can soothe them to sleep as well.
What are The Signs of Sleepiness in Babies?
You can easily tell when your baby is about to sleep. These are the most common signs:
Rubbing eyes: This is the most common sign in babies above 6 months. Your baby will continuously rub their eyes while getting fussy.
Yawning: You can easily tell if your baby is about to sleep by how they yawn. Sleepy babies yawn more frequently and are disinterested in whatever you do to them.
Dozing off: The most obvious sign of being sleepy in babies is when they start to doze off. You might see them dozing off when feeding or playing.
How do you Interpret Babies’ Cries?
Interpreting the cause of cries in babies when they are asleep can be a challenge. These tips will guide you to interpret every type of cry in your baby:
Sharp, Glass-Shattering Wail: It could mean the baby is in excruciating pain or getting irritated by something.
Whimpering: Babies are likely to whimper in sleep when they are moving from one sleep stage to another. Whimpering in babies when they are asleep could be due to teething, which inflicts some pain on the gums. If you hear the baby whimpering when they are sleeping, it could mean they are unhappy about something.
Sudden and Strong Cries: These cries might last for several minutes, and they signify that the baby is hungry or their diaper needs to be changed.
How Do You Sooth the Baby Back to Sleep?
You can put your baby to sleep when they start crying in several ways. However, we will focus on the 5S’s in this article. So, what are the 5Ss of soothing and putting babies who cry in their sleep back to slumberland? Without further ado, let us look at them.
a) Swaddle
I talked about the concept of swaddling babies in this article. Swaddling is one of the oldest traditions parents use to keep babies’ ever-moving hands in place. Since the startle reflex is one of the leading causes of babies hitting themselves while asleep, swaddle them. Once you have swaddled your baby, it will become easier for you to implement the other S’s.
b) Side or Stomach Position
If your baby wakes up crying, you can take them back to sleep by holding them on their stomach or sides. Once the baby has gone back to sleep, lay them on their bed, this time, on their back.
c) Shush
Did you know that the sound of blood flow in the womb is louder than a vacuum cleaner for the baby? Even with all that noise, babies still sleep, meaning babies need some noise to soothe them to sleep. You can download sounds that resemble the womb’s rumbling.
d) Swing
The fourth S that you can use on a baby to sleep after waking up in cries is swinging them. During pregnancy, babies jiggle around in the amniotic fluid whenever the mother moves. You can recreate this scenario by rocking and swinging them around.
Caution: NEVER shake your baby when swinging or rocking them, no matter how frustrated you are. Extra Tip: Only swing your baby when they are sleepy as it will help them sleep immediately.
e) Suck
Suckling lowers a baby’s blood pressure, stress levels, and heart rate, making them sleep soundly. Whether you are breastfeeding or bottle-feeding the baby, make sure they suck it.
FAQs on Babies Crying When Sleeping
These are the frequently asked questions about babies crying in their sleep:
- Does Nightmare Make Babies Cry While Sleeping?
Studies have shown that most babies don’t experience any kind of dream until they are 2 years old when their imagination and subconscious mind have developed. Therefore, your baby does not cry in their sleep because they are having nightmares. The lips twitching, eye blinks, and whimpering babies make in sleep have nothing to do with dreams but the sleep cycle.
- Can Colic Make My Baby Cry in Their Sleep?
Although colic causes babies to experience some discomfort for a few hours, it can be worse in rare cases. In this case, the colic might interfere with your baby’s sleep, making them cry deep in slumberland.
Bottom Line
It is normal for babies to cry in their sleep. What is not normal is failing to tend to them when they cry in their sleep for more than a minute. They could be having excruciating pain, having an underlying condition, or suffocating.
