It can feel upsetting to wake up with tears in your eyes.
This article discusses what causes people to cry in their sleep and when to seek medical help.
What Causes People to Cry in Their Sleep?
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Getting a baby to sleep through the night is probably the number one thing most new parents hope for.
Below are some possible reasons why crying in sleep occurs.
There are six stages of sleep.Rapid Eye Movement (REM)sleep is one of these stages.
It is also referred to as light sleep.
Babies spend more time during REM sleep than adults.
Babies cry in their sleep because they are not used to transitioning from deep sleep to light sleep.
Night Terrors
Night terrorsare a parasomnia that you cant remember when you become awake.
Children experience these more often than adults.
Night terrors occur most frequently between the ages of 3 and 7.
It is estimated that 30% of male and female children have night terrors.
The length of a night terror can take between a few seconds to a few minutes.
Around the age of 10, the frequency of night terrors decreases significantly.
Nightmares
What is worse than a bad dream?
You probably remember having more nightmares as a child than as an adult.
However, anyone at my age can experience them.
Waking up from a nightmare can leave you feeling terrified, upset, shaken, and uneasy.
Sometimes, a nightmare can be so intense that it causes you to wake up crying.
Its impossible to completely prevent frightening dreams from invading your sleep.
Others may prefer to ignore or suppress their feelings and withdraw from others.
Some people tend to behave as though everything is fine.
They stay busy and active during the day but at night, difficult emotions bubble up as sleep problems.
If life has been throwing too many complicated situations your way, your body needs to process these.
Sleep supports the brains ability to form emotional memories, develop empathic behavior, and modulate emotional reactivity.
Parasomnia
Parasomniais a category of sleep disorders that includes sleepwalking and sleeptalking.
A person who experiences parasomnia will physically act out their dream in real life which can include crying.
If someone in your family has this sleep disorder, you are more likely to have it too.
Parasomnia is exacerbated by stress, anxiety, and major changes to sleep habits.
It can put the persons safety at risk as they are unaware of their physical environment.
The link between sleep issues and depression is evident.
Seventy-five percent of people with depression report having issues falling asleep and staying asleep.
One of the symptoms of depression is having crying spells for no apparent reason.
Morning Depression
Morning depression is also known asdiurnal mood variation.
It is a form of depression that occurs upon waking up in the morning.
Dementia
Dementia is associated with sleep disorders.
Drugs that affect the central nervous system can alter your sleep-wake cycle.
Be sure to consult with your healthcare provider about the side effects of your medications.
Rather, the crying may be due to a physical condition that causes watering eyes.
Some conditions include allergies, conjunctivitis, or a blocked tear duct.
Treating these conditions will prevent tear production while you sleep.
Being human means being emotional and tears are a part of processing these emotions.
They can help identify the underlying condition and provide treatment options to improve your sleep and overall well-being.
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