Why Newborns Smile When They’re Sound Asleep

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Can there be anything more touching than seeing a baby smiling? When sleeping, a newborn normally goes through two sleep phases: active sleep and deep sleep. The active phase, also known as REM which is an acronym for Rapid Eye Movement, is thought to be produced by intense brain activity. This occurs approximately 60-90 minutes after falling asleep, but sleep works in cycles, so REM will alternate with deep sleep as well. Nevertheless, it’s precisely during REM sleep that we will most likely see our babies smile, grimace, or stretch their legs, as involuntary acts of their body.

Since they cannot talk, both smiling and crying are a baby’s basic means of communication. That is why their smiles can also be a response to positive feelings or soothing sensations, such as a caress on the cheek or feeling clean again. Pleasant memories, like voices, aromas, and tastes can also trigger a smile on a baby.

And while we look at a baby that’s sleeping soundly we also often see him or her smile, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re dreaming even if that seems to be the case. In fact, this is hardly possible, since a newborn baby does not yet have enough experiences to remember, nor do they have the capacity to imagine, and their brain is still growing to gain those capacities.

Sleeping in the first weeks of life has some very specific functions which include helping babies to develop their brain, process information, and consolidate memory, which does begin to take shape in the womb. The latter, in fact, can be proven by observing how babies can recognize their mother’s or father’s voice just hours after being born.

Why Children Smile When They’re Asleep

سطح مبتدی

Can there be anything more attractive than seeing a baby smiling? When a child is sleeping, he or she goes through two sleep phases: active sleep and deep sleep. The active phase, or REM phase, is because of the brain activity which happens about 60-90 minutes after falling asleep. It is during this phase that we see our babies smile or stretch their legs.

Since children cannot talk, smiling and crying are their way to communicate. That is why their smiles can also be a response to positive feelings, such as touch on the cheek or feeling clean again. Memories like parent's voices, good smells, and tastes can also cause a smile on a baby.

When we see a baby smile when he or she is sleeping, that doesn't necessarily mean that they are dreaming. This is not possible, because a newborn baby does not have enough experiences to remember, and they do not have the capacity to imagine. Their brain is growing to find these capacities.

Sleeping in the first weeks of life has some functions which include helping babies to develop their brain, process information and make memory, which begins to take shape in the womb. This can be proven by seeing how babies can identify their mother's or father's voice just hours after being born.

The first smiles are reflexive and involuntary acts

The right time for smiles

Newborns don’t dream, but they do have memory

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