Newborns and young babies may grunt, cry, or scream in their sleep.
Very young children’s bodies have not yet mastered the challenges of a regular sleep cycle, so it is common for them to wake frequently or make strange sounds in their sleep.
For very young babies, crying is their main form of communication. It makes sense, then, that babies cry often and might also cry in their sleep.
As long as a baby does not have additional concerning symptoms, such as other signs of illness or pain, this is developmentally normal, and not a sign that something is wrong.
As babies develop more ways to express themselves, crying while asleep may be a sign that they are having a nightmare or night terror. Toddlers and older babies who cry while asleep, especially while moving in bed or making other sounds, may be having night terrors.
Nightmares occur during light sleep, or random eye movement sleep. Night terrors, on the other hand, occur when a child becomes very agitated during the deeper phases of sleep. Children are more likely to cry from night terrors early in the night.
Night terrors are relatively rare and usually occur in children aged between 4 and 12 years old, though people have reported possible night terrors in babies as young as 18 months old. Night terrors may be more likely to occur if a child is sick or sleep-deprived.
Why do newborns cry in their sleep?
