child is afraid of loud noises

Natural reasons why a child starts in his sleep

You may not know, but adults, like newborns, also startle when they fall asleep or are not fast asleep. This is due to the phases of sleep. There are only two of them - slow and fast.

Slow is divided into 4 stages:

• Falling asleep. Lasts up to 10 minutes, characterized by decreased muscle activity
• Shallow sleep. Duration – 20 minutes. The heart rate slows down and body temperature decreases.
• Deep sleep (stages 3–4). Lasts 30–40 minutes. The baby sleeps soundly, but it is during these stages that sleepwalking and nightmares occur.

The fast phase is a continuation of deep sleep, the stage of awakening. It lasts 5–10 minutes. It is in this phase, as well as at the stage of falling asleep, that startles in children are possible in their sleep. This is due to a change in nervous excitability, with the transition from wakefulness to rest.

The phenomenon when a child shudders when falling asleep is called “hypnic myoclonus” in medicine. Severe flinching in infants is associated with incomplete myelination of nerve fibers.

Uncomfortable position

Any discomfort during sleep will be manifested by shuddering. This may be an uncomfortable position, or clothes that don’t fit.

Children who already know how to roll over on their side or stomach get scared when they change position. Woke up, they cannot understand what happened.

Loud noise or bright light

The nervous system of a newborn is immature, so the reaction to any irritants can be acute. Even an unexpected touch causes a flinch.

Reflexes

The reason why a child flinches in his sleep may be the Moro reflex. This is a natural protective reaction that disappears by 4–5 months. Occurs from loud sounds, due to an uncomfortable posture, or when changing position.

How does it manifest? Every newborn has a set of innate reflexes for survival. So the Moro reflex is one of them. When the baby has a feeling of falling, he puts his hands forward and tries to maintain balance, as a result - crying and flinching.

Teething

Painful sensations can lead to flinching. When teething, the baby sleeps restlessly, his arms and legs twitch, he often changes position, spins in the crib, and suddenly starts crying.

Bad dream

Older children shudder due to nightmares, and twitching is observed not only in their arms or legs, but even in their closed eyelids. The child wakes up in tears, it is difficult to calm him down, because he perceives the dream as reality.

Overexcitement

For a normal psycho-emotional state, young children need proper rest and a routine must be followed. It is overexcitation, active games before bed, oversaturation with any emotions during the day, stress that leads to the fact that an infant shudders in his sleep.

In children under the age of one month, it is normal for their arms and legs to twitch and their chin to tremble while crying. This is due to the immaturity of the nervous system.

child is afraid of loud noises

WILL WE SPOILER THE CHILD IF WE OFTEN HANDLE HIM? Hold your baby in your arms as often as possible. And especially when he cries, since crying is the only way to attract attention. When he cries, it means that he is asking for something, and leaving his request unanswered means depriving him of communication from the very beginning. Communication between a child and his mother, and especially tactile communication, is very important for his mental development. WHAT TO DO IF A CHILD DOESN'T WANT TO SLEEP ALONE? Mom can sit next to the child until he falls asleep. During this short time he is calm and very receptive. Therefore, if you sing him a song or read him a story, it will have a positive emotional impact on the child. It is possible that the child is afraid to fall asleep because of a possible nightmare. To prevent such consequences, it makes sense to provide greater emotional security: leave the door ajar, the night light on, music playing quietly. It happens that a child wakes up at night from some kind of nightmare and runs into the parents’ room. In this case, let him sleep with you for the rest of the night. HOW TO BEHAVIOR WHEN A CHILD DREAMES SOMETHING SCARY? Usually the child sleeps soundly, but at the same time he can lie with his eyes open, talk, scream, and move. Don't try to wake him up at this time. Pick him up, hug him, and after a short time he returns to normal sleep. Children aged three to six years are especially susceptible to this and may experience nightmares 1-2 times a week. If this happens more often, contact a specialist. HOW TO DEAL WITH A CHILD'S REluctance TO GO TO BED? First of all, you need to understand why he doesn’t want to go to bed. A child, for example, may cry and be capricious because he doesn’t feel well, is hungry, or maybe he just needs to relieve the tension that has accumulated during the day. Try to make going to bed a ceremony. For example, read a book to your child, or sing a specific song just for that occasion, or have a conversation about what happened during the day. The main thing is to develop a certain model of behavior in the child (conditioned reflex). For example, end a conversation about the day with questions: “What did you do before you went to bed?” and “What are you going to do now?” When the child answers these questions, wish him good night, but so that it sounds like an unshakable rule (for example: “Now good night, sleep until the morning”). WHAT TO DO IF FEEDING A CHILD HAS TURNED INTO HELL? Difficulties with eating usually occur after two or three years of age. It is from this time that the child experiences a natural decrease in appetite, and most importantly, the child becomes an individual and begins to demand respect for himself. After all, he, like every person, has his own unique set of food tastes and habits. Attempts by parents to solve this problem by force or deception lead to unpleasant situations. Therefore, the main condition is not to create tragedies from the child’s bad eating habits. Don't have any conversations with your child about food problems at all. Any additional attention, even negatively tinged, will reinforce bad eating habits. Try to make the eating process as calm as possible, do not introduce elements of competition into it, and do not stretch out the meal for more than 30 minutes. Consider the individual characteristics of the child. For example, some children eat better after a walk, some after a bath, etc. Don't force your child to eat when he doesn't want to. Try to calmly convince the child to eat several times, but accept the final refusal, do not push food into the child's mouth. This can only make the eating problem worse. If your child repeatedly refuses to eat or eats what you think is too little, offer him small portions or what he likes best. At first, do everything you can to encourage your child to eat with pleasure and on his own initiative. If this goal is achieved, you can pay more attention to the composition and quantity of food. HOW TO INFLUENCE A CHILD'S AGGRESSIVENESS OR SHYNESS? It must be borne in mind that aggressiveness or shyness are normal individual characteristics of a person. Therefore, you should accept the child as he is. If we are talking about excessive aggressiveness or excessive shyness in the child’s behavior, when this interferes with communication with peers or adults, then such manifestations of character should be corrected very carefully. If your child is aggressive (regularly brings other children to tears, disturbs all gathered family members, demanding constant attention to himself): show that you condemn what happened in this situation, but do not condemn the child himself; Teach your child to respect the rights and needs of other people. For example, recreate in a game a situation where your child showed unjustified aggressiveness, and then offer a more appropriate solution to it. For example, a child forcibly took a toy from a peer. In your roleplay, you, in the role of your child, politely ask permission to play with this toy. If permission is not given, politely try to find a compromise (for example, play with the toy for a few minutes). If this fails, then you will have to find something else to play; predict the development of tense situations and let your child know about them. Discuss with your child the situation and expected behavior in this situation. Avoid an accusatory tone. Just explain what needs to be done to make the situation develop more favorably. Aggressive children usually act first and think later. Therefore, such a preparatory strategy will help smooth out the child’s aggressiveness; if you see your child violate the rights of another, do not hesitate to intervene and sort out the situation; always encourage the manifestation of self-control, self-discipline, and a sense of justice. If your child is excessively shy (he is constantly controlled by another child, he avoids communication with adults, he refuses to leave the room when someone comes and wants to see him): do not shame your child for his timid, shy behavior. Discuss a specific situation in which the child showed shyness, for example, he was unable to participate in a children's game. Play this game with your child, convince him that he would show himself quite worthy in it; Work more with your child so that he has as much experience as possible in various games and constantly strengthens his self-confidence. Invite a shy child to role-play as a more confident child; Support your child's efforts to be more independent and assertive. But the emphasis should be on the action, and not on the child himself; Make it as easy as possible for your child to experience potential difficulties. When confronted with a situation that may be stressful for your child, discuss a behavior strategy with him, prepare him and help him adapt to the situation before leaving him alone; tactfully intervene in a situation where you think another child is suppressing yours. Under no circumstances should you play the role of a hawk watching your prey. This will only aggravate the child’s self-doubt. Children under six years of age need adult help to resolve conflict situations. WHAT IS BETTER: PRAISE A CHILD OR CRITICIZE? It is better to praise a child than to scold him. There are two generally accepted methods of education - encouragement and punishment, which must be used very carefully. Punishment, for example, can cause the opposite reaction in a child - open disobedience. Therefore, it is at least necessary to explain to the child what exactly he is being punished for. WHY DOES A CHILD DEMAND TO BE READ THE SAME BOOK MANY TIMES IN A ROW? Children often force their parents to tell the same fairy tale or read the same book over and over again. This often annoys parents. Repetition is very important for the connections that are formed in a child's brain. Repetition is desirable not only because the child cannot get bored with it, but mainly because infancy is the best time for assimilation of information, which determines his entire subsequent intellectual life. Memorizing poems and songs with numerous repetitions, the child begins to give preference to one story, continuing to ask his endless questions related to its content. He remembers his favorite fairy tale by heart and, for some time, satisfies his curiosity about the world using its material. Curiosity gives rise to interest, will is stimulated by interest and in turn encourages further development. By repeating, the child trains his memory. A child's ability to memorize needs to be trained as long as he finds pleasure in repetition. HOW TO FIGHT CHILDREN'S FEARS? A child under six years of age often exhibits various fears. Each age period has its own characteristic fears. From birth to six months: any loud and unexpected sound or noise; any rapid movement on the part of another person; falling, including from the hands of an adult; general loss of support. Seven months to one year: certain loud noises; any strangers; undressing, changing clothes and changing the environment; height. One to two years: certain loud noises; separation from parents; any strangers; falling asleep and staying asleep; injury. Two to two and a half years: certain loud noises; separation from parents; unfamiliar peers; nightmares; changes in the environment (rearranging furniture, moving, etc.); bad weather (especially thunder and lightning). Two to three years: large, strange, and threatening-looking objects; unfamiliar peers; unexpected events, changes in lifestyle; disappearance or movement of external objects; nightmares. From three to six years: loneliness; strangers; punishment from parents; fairy-tale characters (Baba Yaga, Koschey, Barmaley, Zmey Gorynych); natural disasters (hurricane, flood, earthquake); nightmares; animals. Fears can be normal, age-related and pathological. If a child has some kind of fear for more than a month or prevents him from leading a normal life, you need to think about getting help. It would also be appropriate to consult a specialist to determine whether fear is the cause of physical symptoms such as rapid heartbeat, dizziness, headache, nausea or urinary incontinence. If we are talking about normal fears, then, as a rule, children quickly grow out of them, with the right attitude of parents: calm empathy (you cannot tease, shame, frighten, etc.); discussing fears with the child (the more the child talks about his fear, the sooner he will overcome it); analysis of your dreams and actions (unintentionally you can convey your worries and anxieties to your child); anticipation of potentially scary situations (do not surround the child with excessive protection, but do so as to reduce the degree of unpleasant influences as much as possible); gradual, stepwise habituation to fear (For example, if a child is afraid of dogs, watch puppies play together. Ask a friend who has a small dog to walk with you and your child. If all goes well, you can take the next step: give the child the opportunity to spend some time in your presence with an adult dog while you could teach him how to behave in such an environment). LITERATURE M.N. Ilyina. Child development from the 1st day of life to 6 years. St. Petersburg, 2001.

Pathological causes of shuddering in a newborn

Although it is more common for a newborn to wince for harmless reasons, signs that indicate pathology may appear.

Substance deficiency, rickets

Sometimes a newborn shudders in his sleep due to a deficiency of vitamin D. A lack of this substance leads to convulsions, and in the near future to rickets, which can be diagnosed as early as 2-3 months.

Vitamin D deficiency can be recognized by the following symptoms:

• tearfulness, anxiety;
• increased excitability;
• frequent shuddering, restless sleep;
• increased sweating;
• sour odor from the skin;
• pumping out hair on the back of the head.

In the later stages, deformation of the skull, chest, spine, and limbs is noticeable.

Problems in the gastrointestinal tract

A one-month-old baby often shudders due to tummy problems. Bloating and intestinal colic interfere with sleep. The baby begins to cry in his sleep, becomes restless, draws up his legs, knocks them on the bed, bends his back, makes grimaces in pain.

The cause of shuddering may be:

• bloating;
• intestinal colic;
• overfeeding;
• fast feeding or incorrect posture;
• stool disorder;
• lactase deficiency;
• inflammatory bowel diseases.

With bloating, colic and other problems with the gastrointestinal tract, tension in the abdominal muscles is observed.

PNVR

The syndrome of increased neuro-reflex excitability often occurs at 1–4 months due to perinatal pathologies of the central nervous system, intrauterine hypoxia, unfavorable pregnancy, and birth injuries.

Symptoms of PNVR:

• increased excitability;
• flinching;
• restless sleep;
• hyperactivity;
• crying for no reason;
• tremor of the chin, limbs;
• throwing the head back;
• arching of the body when crying;
• frequent and profuse regurgitation;
• increased sweating.

PNVR needs to be treated and a consultation with a neurologist will be required.

Neonatal seizures

They are fairly easy to recognize as they appear both at night and during the day. They always occur with cerebral disorders, so the newborn should be shown to a neurologist.

Low-grade seizures

Thermoregulation of newborns is imperfect, so high temperatures can cause seizures. In this case, it is necessary to give an antipyretic and urgently call an ambulance.

What to do if your baby is scared

If a little coward flinches at the slightest rustle, mom and dad should understand that at this stage of development the baby perceives the world around him this way, and this will pass. It is much more dangerous if parents punish or respond sharply to the manifestation of such a reaction in the baby: the baby may begin to hide his fear, but this will not go away; on the contrary, it will only intensify.

This is interesting. Too much noise around causes the child’s hearing system to lose sensitivity, the heart begins to malfunction, and the brain cells become overstrained. As a result, anxiety arises, children smile less and less, cannot completely relax, get tired quickly and sleep poorly.

Take a comprehensive approach to solving the problem. To do this you need:

In addition to the techniques described above, there are several more ways to correct the situation:

This is interesting. If a child is constantly afraid of strong noises, reacts too emotionally to them, even to the point of hysteria, has difficulty calming down, and is choked by fear, then the baby must be shown to a neurologist to identify disturbances in the functioning of the nervous system and choose adequate treatment.

Conditions for healthy sleep

If a newborn baby shudders in his sleep for pathological reasons, it is necessary to show him to specialists. Often the cause is a disorder of the central nervous system, so consultation with a neurologist is required.

If the reason is physiological, then it is enough to provide the baby with comfortable sleeping conditions:

• Maintain a rest and wakefulness routine. If the baby overplays, he will sleep restlessly. 2 hours before bedtime you need to give up active games.
• Protect your child from stress and negative emotions.
• Maintain a healthy microclimate in the family. Quarrels and screams of adults affect the baby's psyche.
• Children who are too restless should be swaddled at night or use special envelopes. The baby may shudder and wake up because he does not control his movements, accidentally hits himself on the head or torso with his hands, and therefore wakes up.
• Place your newborn to sleep in a quiet place. The child should feel safe. Sharp sounds and repairs behind the wall can greatly frighten a baby. But there is no need to tiptoe when the baby is sleeping. Let him get used to minor noise.
• Arrange a comfortable sleeping place. The baby in the crib should be warm, comfortable and soft. Do not place a large pillow or heavy blanket.

If your baby shudders in his sleep, do not rush to pick him up or carry him to your bed. It will only scare him. On the contrary, be calm, sit next to her and observe the condition of the baby.

Photo: ru.freepik.com

Fear of loud noise in children with organic brain lesions

Organic brain lesions are a group of diseases in which structural pathological changes occur in brain tissue. Neurologists prove that such a diagnosis can be made in 9 out of 10 patients of different ages. But if changes in tissues affect more than 20–50% of the brain, then symptoms of a particular disease or tumor begin to appear. In children, organic lesions are associated with perinatal brain damage. These include maternal diseases, including various infections, genetic pathology, hypoxia or ischemia during childbirth, radiation exposure, etc. With complications, these disorders can develop into cerebral palsy, hydrocephalus, mental retardation and epilepsy. In children with such diagnoses, fear of loud sounds is one of the characteristic symptoms.

To provide assistance, it is necessary to strictly follow the specialist’s recommendations regarding therapy, including physiotherapy, and also use the techniques recommended by psychologists to help the child overcome ligyrophobia. However, remember that in children with developmental disabilities, the use of any behavior correction methods must be agreed upon with the doctor observing the child.

Fear of loud sounds is a natural manifestation of the development of the nervous system of a healthy child under 3 years of age. The task of parents is to find the right approach to calm the baby, to return him to a sense of confidence in safety, which only mom and dad can fully guarantee. So don't panic if your little coward is startled by a vibrating phone or the hum of a vacuum cleaner. Just patiently help your little one through this stage of growing up.

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A child in the first month of life sleeps quite soundly both at night and during the day: his sleep is not disturbed by loud sounds, speech, or background noise. However, from the second month of the baby’s life the situation can change dramatically. Some kids begin to be afraid of the phone ringing, flinch from the buzzing of the coffee grinder, or cry when they hear the singing of a wind-up toy. Parents, realizing that their child is afraid of loud sounds, cannot find out the reason for this and do not know what to do.

Useful video about when a child needs to be shown to a neurologist

List of sources:

• Mindell JA, Owens JA A clinical guide of pediatric sleep: diagnosis and management of sleep. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2010.
• Sadech A. Cognitive-behavior treatment for childhood sleep disorders // Clin. Psych. Rev. 2005. Vol. 25. No. 5. P. 612-628.
• Levin Ya. I. Parasomnias: current state of the problem // Epilepsy. 2010. No. 2. P. 10-16.

Author
Oksana Belokur

Pediatrician

In 2012 she graduated from the Medical Institute of Sumy State University. She received a higher education in the specialty “Pediatrics” and qualified as a doctor. In 2012-2013, there were treatment and preventive activities at the Sumy Regional Children's Hospital. In 2013-2015 worked as a local pediatrician at Children's Clinic No. 2. I am currently on maternity leave. In my free time I do embroidery and knitting, and study English. All articles by the author

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Recommendations for arranging restful sleep for a newborn

Another possible cause of shuddering is a dream that the child is having. After all, even newborn children have dreams! However, their dreams are special. The immature nervous system of a newborn reacts in its own way to sounds, light, smells and touches. It is impossible to say exactly what these dreams are, but they can be both positive and negative, frightening the baby.

In addition, during sleep the child may pass gas and disturb him, so the baby shudders. And we must not forget about his physiological processes, that is, the passage of urine and feces, which also worry him.

What happens if a newborn baby starts in his sleep? Babies dream just like adults, which means they also experience REM, or rapid eye movement, sleep during their dream cycle. During REM sleep, the newborn's face will tremble. He will also likely breathe irregularly, snort, whimper, and flail his arms and legs. Don't worry, REM sleep gets shorter as babies get older.

According to research, the order will change in about 2 to 3 months. As your baby gets older, he will go through other stages of sleep before entering REM sleep. As the child gets older, the amount of REM sleep decreases and sleep becomes restful. By age 3, children spend a third of the night in slow-wave sleep.

The reason for consultation with a specialist is a situation when the baby wakes up more than 10 times and looks scared.

The Moro reflex is another reason why newborns startle in their sleep. Babies are born with a set of reflexes, but this is the most alarming manifestation for new parents. When a baby starts in his sleep or feels like he is falling, he will throw his arms out to the side with a sudden jerk and perhaps scream.

Like many other reflexes, the Moro reflex is a built-in survival mechanism designed to protect a vulnerable newborn. And this is a primitive attempt to restore a noticeable loss of balance. Again, don't worry if you see your baby suddenly startling and throwing up his arms while sleeping.

Pain

With colic or teething, the child twitches in his sleep due to periodic pain.

Noise

This is another factor why a newborn twitches in his sleep. A loud sound can scare and wake up a baby.

But you don’t need to maintain absolute silence for your baby to sleep. There are sounds that are familiar to a baby - rustling sounds, the hum of a washing machine, the quiet voice of mom or dad, the sound of water, and others.

Sometimes there is a sharp sound of a siren or the sound of a falling object coming from the street. Such a noise is unusual and new for the baby, because of this the baby shudders sharply. Even after some time, when the fear seems to be forgotten, the child shudders in his sleep due to excitement of the nervous system.

During sleep, the baby twitches and tosses and turns when he feels stuffy. Stuffy or musty air in the bedroom is irritating to the baby and causes discomfort.

Uncomfortable position

It is likely that the baby is not comfortable sleeping in the position in which his parents put him. The baby shudders and begins to spin around in search of a comfortable position.

Some pediatric doctors have given the name “4th trimester of pregnancy” to the first three-month stage of a baby’s life and advise recreating conditions for the baby that maximally imitate those in the womb. This will give the baby a feeling of protection and deep sleep.

The sleep jerking described above is normal and does not require treatment.

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However, there are times when a child shudders in his sleep due to various diseases.

• Ventilate the bedroom every day before putting your baby to bed;
• even in severe frost in the nursery, open the window for 5 - 10 minutes;
• Install a thermometer in the bedroom and monitor the temperature. It should not exceed 18-21° C;
• do not wrap the baby up. Dress your child in high-quality, warm pajamas made from natural fabric, rather than covering him with several blankets;
• the crib must be placed as far as possible from the radiator and heaters;
• experiment by placing the baby on its side or back to choose the most comfortable position;
• Change the baby's sleeping position every three hours if he has not done this himself. For example, turn your head in the other direction;
• remove everything unnecessary from the bed;
• dose activity while awake. 1.5 - 2 hours before going to bed, proceed to quiet activities;
• Give your baby a relaxing bath before bed;
• give a soft massage. This will help the child relax;
• In the children's bedroom, when going to bed, eliminate extraneous movements and loud conversations. A quiet environment will help the baby fall asleep faster;
• swaddling your baby at night will recreate his intrauterine sensations;
• You can use a special zippered cover. In it, the baby will not twitch his arms and will not frighten himself.

Weak and short-term twitching at night is not dangerous; this is considered normal behavior for infants. Experts argue that the baby’s brain structures are still immature and excitation mechanisms predominate over inhibitory reactions. Therefore, parents should not panic. They need to provide the most comfortable conditions for the baby to sleep soundly.

If the baby’s sleep anxiety persists even after providing comfortable conditions - the child sleeps poorly and constantly wakes up, you should consult a doctor. If there is a disease, the necessary measures will be prescribed.

Thus, infants may have prolonged dreams and exhibit bizarre reflexes during sleep. Babies make a lot of strange noises while they sleep. They will gurgle, pant rapidly, stop breathing for as long as 10 seconds, whimper, scream, whistle, and make rattling noises if their nose is blocked. This is completely normal.