Crying a child is always a stress 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 feel helpless at such moments. To eliminate all fears, let's figure out why children cry when they wake up.
The Importance of Sleep
Sleep is an important component of development for a child, especially in the first year of life. And it is precisely at night that the information received during the day is “absorbed” by the brain, and new neural connections are formed. Therefore, it is important to understand why the child often wakes up at night and cries. Let's analyze the main reasons.
Sleeping 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 provide comfort to the baby, especially during sleep. The child may wake up because the room is too hot / dry, the bedding exudes an annoying odor or a diaper change is needed. Therefore, the question of comfortable conditions for falling asleep should be approached responsibly:
- The air temperature in the room is 18-20 degrees Celsius. Always ventilate the room.
- Humidity - 50-70%. Get a humidifier.
- Baby bedding is washed with perfumes and odors free. Children are very sensitive to harsh aromas.
- You should try to change diapers as often as possible, approximately every 4 hours, even at night.
Physiology
The most common reason explaining why a child wakes up crying for up to a year is hunger. Breast milk is the main food of the baby, is quickly absorbed, so there can be a lot of attachments to the breast. Night is no exception.
The next reason why the baby cries in his sleep and wakes up is the need for constant tactile contact with his mother. Indeed, only in the hands of mom, smelling her, does the baby feel safe. Do not skimp on hugs and other manifestations of love. After all, even an adult child needs mom's tenderness.
Colic is the main thing that comes to mind when they talk about the crying of the child 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, gaziki accumulate in the intestines and provoke pain. This is the reason why the baby often wakes up and cries. Relief, as a rule, occurs 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. To alleviate this period, the baby can be using children's painkillers in the form of gels for topical use and suspensions for oral administration.
Often the reason why children cry when they wake up is a hearty dinner. It’s hard for kids to fall asleep with a full stomach. Sleep becomes superficial, restless. Therefore, in the evening it is better to eat easily digestible products such as kefir, yogurt, cottage cheese.
Disease
The sleep of a sick child is shallow, interrupted. The baby is often prevented from falling asleep or 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 only the pediatrician will prescribe.
Psychological reasons
The baby’s night sleep depends on what happened to him during the day. These events can be the reason why the child cries in his sleep and sprinkles.
Why does the baby cry in a dream and sprinkle? The baby’s night sleep depends on what happened to him during the day. Actively spent time with many movements, sports, short breaks can be an explanation of why children 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 active day should provide the child with a healthy, sound sleep. But everything turns out the other way around. Therefore, it is important to combine activity and relaxation during the day.
Children are very dependent on their parents and not only financially. They have a delicate psychological connection with mom and dad. If the family has scandals, disagreements 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 be involved in a parental showdown. The reason for night tears for older children may be a quarrel of peers.
New sensations, new information, especially in abundance, can become the reason why children cry when they wake up. The brain needs to “digest” a large amount of the impressions received overnight. As a result of mental activity, sleep becomes intermittent, the child may cry at night. Negatively affect the dream of watching TV or playing a computer. It is required to exclude this type of entertainment from the life of the child, especially in the evening.
Also, the cause of night awakenings in a child may be phobias. For example, the most common is fear of the dark. It will help to work with a psychologist, providing a comfortable environment for falling asleep (sleeping together or having a night light in the room).
Ways to normalize a child’s sleep
Each child is individual. There is no general solution to the problem of poor night sleep. But there are several universal rules, observing which, you can ensure that the child sleeps at night:
- The daily regime allows you to organize a child and distribute rest and wake time during the daytime, thereby not overloading the baby. This is especially important for young children.
- Rituals will allow the baby to go to sleep smoothly. After all, everyone was a child and probably remembers how he did not want to go to sleep. If you make a habit at bedtime, for example, listen to calm music, swim, do a relaxing massage, this will prepare the child for laying down without tears and provide a long healthy sleep at night.
- Exclude in the evening active entertainment and games that excite the child’s nervous system.
- Early laying It is proved that a child needs to go to bed before nine o'clock yesterday for a healthy sleep. This will allow you to restore strength and recharge your batteries.
- Friendly microclimate in the family - a happy child. Happy baby a good dream.
- A light evening snack favorably affects a healthy children's sleep.
Conclusion
Crying for children is stress 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 cause of nighttime waking up the baby with tears and help to cope with problems. If anxiety during sleep becomes systematic, its frequency increases, then you need to contact a neurologist for advice and the appointment of appropriate treatment.