Why do babies not sleep deeply, or cry?

This is an automatically translated article.

The article was professionally consulted by Specialist Doctor I Nguyen Thi My Linh - Neonatologist - Pediatrics - Neonatology - Vinmec Danang International General Hospital
Children who do not sleep well or cry, twisting their bodies not only affect the health of children but also make parents worry, stress, and fatigue. The state of children not sleeping deeply can come from physiological causes, pathology or unreasonable living habits.

1. Children do not sleep deeply or cry

Sleep is especially important for children's physical and mental development. When babies sleep is the time when brain cells develop the most, in 30 days after birth, brain cells have reached 80% of that of children's brains at 3 months old and children's brains at 3 years old have reached 80% cells. brain in adulthood. The development of brain cells only occurs once in a lifetime, so getting enough sleep in the first years of life is extremely important for the intellectual development of children later. Sleep is also when children process and arrange the information received during the day and is the time when the child's body increases the production of hormones necessary for metabolism, energy accumulation, and physical development.
For children, sleep is as important as food and water. Children who want to grow up fast and healthy need to have good, deep sleep and sleep long enough. However, there are very few newborns who have had good sleep since birth, many children have sleep disorders such as: children have difficulty falling asleep, children do not sleep deeply and twist often, children are irritable. Sleep, while sleeping, just a small noise will also startle the baby and cry. If not corrected early, sleep disturbance will continue as children get older, many 2-year-olds sleep or startle crying, affecting the health of children and caregivers. A prolonged sleep disorder can affect a child's intellectual, behavioral, and emotional abilities later in life. There are many causes of sleep disorders in children, these causes can be divided into groups: pathological causes, physiological causes and living causes.

2. Reasons why babies don't sleep well

2.1 Physiological causes

Like adults, children's sleep is also divided into two types: REM (rapid eye movement) sleep and Non-REM (non rapid eye movement) sleep. In adults, Non-REM accounts for 75% of sleep time, REM accounts for 25%. However, in children, REM sleep time accounts for up to 50%. The characteristic of REM sleep is that despite sleeping, the brain and respiratory organs are more active, the baby breathes faster and the heart rate is also faster. Therefore, children who do not sleep deeply are easily awakened by external influences.
Babies who are not fed enough or are too full also make them not sleep well and cry. When children grow up, crawling, walking, increasing daytime movement, teething, ... also make it difficult for children to fall asleep.

2.2 Pathological causes

Children with rickets due to calcium deficiency is the leading cause of sleep disorders in children. Children with some micronutrient deficiencies such as magnesium and zinc can also cause sleep problems. In particular, iron deficiency in children can cause restless legs syndrome. Characteristic of this syndrome is that in the early stages of sleep, the child has jerky, leg-to-leg, cyclical and unconscious movements. This syndrome makes children tired, or sleep during the day, children do not sleep deeply at night. Children with infections of the nasopharyngeal or respiratory tract such as pharyngitis, tonsillitis, rhinosinusitis, bronchitis, pneumonia... make it difficult for children to breathe, when sleeping, children have to open their mouths to breathe, snore, therefore. Children do not sleep well. Children with other medical diseases such as gastroesophageal reflux disease, otitis media, mental diseases, ... affect sleep. Children with sleepwalking (parasomia sleep disorder): after sleeping for a while, the child suddenly wakes up and walks, talks or has nightmares while sleeping,... Children with this disorder do not sleep well or sleep well. twisting, crying. In obese children, the airway muscle groups are enlarged, making it difficult for children to swallow and breathe. Children often have difficulty sleeping, breathing through their mouth, sweating a lot at night, or bed-wetting.

2.3 Causes of daily life

Parents give children habits such as being held, giving a hammock before sleeping, and over time, children will depend on these habits. Babies will not sleep without being held or without support. The child's sleep schedule is not reasonable, the child's daytime sleep is too long, the child sleeps past 5 pm, making it difficult for the child to sleep at night. Children's sleeping places are too bright or children are exposed to light-emitting devices such as ipads, phones, televisions, computers before going to bed. Light will reduce the production of melatonin - a hormone of the body that plays an important role in regulating the circadian rhythm of sleep - wakefulness, helping to sleep well and wake up alert the next day. The environment around the baby is too noisy, the baby's sleeping place is changed too often, making the baby feel unsafe, making it difficult to sleep. Due to poor sleeping conditions, children's diapers are wet, clothes and bedding are not clean, making them itchy and difficult to sleep.

3. What to do to limit the situation of children having trouble sleeping, not sleeping deeply?

If it is suspected that the child has difficulty sleeping due to medical conditions, malnutrition or lack of micronutrients, parents should take the child to a medical facility for examination and treatment. When the diseases are completely treated, the child will sleep well again.
=>> In order for children to have a good and deep sleep, parents can consult some information from a pediatrician of Vinmec International General Hospital:
Find the right sleep training method for your baby. foster a good night's sleep for children 7 ways to ensure a safe sleep for babies Create good sleep habits for children, distinguishing between day and night. During the day, you should open the door to let light into the room, do not need to limit all daily noises such as TV, washing machine, spend time playing with your baby. On the contrary, at night, keep the bedroom dark or light at a low level, keep the space quiet, don't talk a lot with the baby so that the baby can focus on sleeping.
Teach your baby to sleep on his own by letting him sleep at a fixed time, do not let him lie down in a hammock, swing, or hold him. Schedule your baby to feed or eat at an appropriate time so that your baby doesn't go hungry or get too full while sleeping.
Besides, building a suitable diet for children plays an important role for healthy development of children. If children are not provided with adequate and balanced nutrients, it will lead to diseases of excess or lack of nutrients, which adversely affect the comprehensive development of children in terms of physical, mental and motor skills.
Parents should pay attention to nutrition for children to improve resistance. At the same time, add supporting foods containing lysine, essential micro-minerals and vitamins such as zinc, chromium, selenium, B vitamins,... snacks and less digestive problems.
Parents can learn more:
Why do you need to supplement Lysine for your baby?
The role of zinc - Guidelines for reasonable zinc supplementation
Please visit the website Vinmec.com regularly and update useful information to take care of your baby and family.