It is a great feeling when you see your baby smiling in sleep. But why do babies smile while sleeping? What makes babies laugh in their sleep? I know you must be having plenty of doubts and queries about it.
Baby laughing or smiling during sleep is also called as hypnogely. It is relatively common and is not usually anything to worry about. Researchers believe that the cause of babies smile while sleeping is due to rapid eye movement sleep, which is entirely harmless for the babies.
In this article, you will get to know the various reasons why babies smile in their sleep.
Is It Normal?
Smiling during sleep for the babies is a natural response to something that occurs during a dream. The dream can often seem to be bizarre, funny, etc.
The only time the babies smile is during the Random eye movement (REM). This is the last stage of the sleep cycle. This is the stage where the baby smiles in sleep. It is very normal and common in babies. So, you don’t need to worry about anything.
Why Do Babies Smile While Sleeping?
Well, it is very difficult to figure out the exact reasons why babies smile while sleeping. But here are some of the probable reasons:
1. Developing Emotions
Normally, babies are continually getting exposed to new sounds and sights, etc. They connect with individual sounds with different sources of emotion. So, as a result, developing brains may be recording all the daily experiences and information on their way.
All this gets processed while the baby is sleeping. Smiling or laughing in their sleep may be a part of the baby’s process of evolving emotions as per the studies.
2. Passing Gas
The babies start displaying social smiles only after they turn 3 to 4 months old. But any occurrence of smiles in the first few weeks of baby’s birth may infer that the baby is probably passing gas.
It is a known fact that colic babies tend to remain irritable and farting brings relief and helps them feel better.
3. REM Sleep Phase
In the phase of REM sleep, the baby experiences certain physiological changes that trigger some reflexes and one of them is smiling. This is proved by many researchers. REM sleep phase may also result in rapid eye movements (REMs) and vivid dreams.
During the REM sleep, the baby recalls the funny episodes that occurred throughout the day.
4. Other Medical Causes
It may be due to a few convulsions and fits that manifest as unceasing laughter and smile in babies. A cause for concern maybe if the baby is having several uncontrollable bouts of laughter throughout the day accompanied by other unusual behaviors such as losing weight, having trouble sleeping, frequent bouts of irritability.
If this keeps on happening, it is better to consult a doctor. The occurrence of convulsive laughter episodes can disrupt your baby’s rest times negatively impacting your baby’s health.
It is not surprising to see the baby smile while they’re asleep during the day or night. It is not a matter of worry or concern. The next time when your baby smiles during sleep, it means they are sleeping well and having sweet dreams too. I hope this article has given good information and details about the reasons why babies smile while sleeping.
