The baby laughs while sleeping, and many parents think that he is actually awake. The reason for their laughter is due to the baby's sleep cycle or to beautiful dreams that he may have. When your baby smiles for the first time, all the fatigue of the months of pregnancy, nausea, labor pains, and sleepless nights seem trivial compared to that smile. Nothing can equal your baby's smile, and you will not mind enduring the fatigue many times just to see it again. However, the baby's smile and laughter in his first days do not reflect his true happiness, as the social smile that expresses happiness and social communication does not appear until at least six to eight weeks. You can learn more about the reasons that prompt the baby to smile and laugh in his first days through the "Dalili Medical" website, and if you are wondering what the baby sees when he laughs, here is the answer in this article.

What is the importance of laughter for the baby?

 

The baby's laughter and smile are an essential element in his feeling of love and comfort. Infants show their needs by expressing their feelings. Your smile towards your baby and his smile in return is the first step through which the infant begins to learn how to interact socially and build effective communication relationships with those around him. In addition, laughter strengthens the bonds of security and attachment between you and your baby.

When does a baby laugh for the first time?

 

A baby's first real smile appears in response to something specific, such as seeing the mother or father, and usually occurs at the age of 6-8 weeks. Before that, the mother may notice her baby smiling, but this smile is for other reasons such as feeling comfortable, passing gas, urinating, and other reasons.

**When does a baby start laughing?**

 

**From birth to six weeks of age:**

- **Unconscious smiles:** At this stage, we notice that the infant smiles automatically, but these smiles are usually an expression of a feeling of comfort, and are not laughter in the known sense.

- **Smiles in response to sounds:** The infant may rarely respond to sounds or touches by smiling or lightly laughing.

**From about six weeks to three months:**

- **Interactive smiles:** At this stage, the infant begins to interact with his parents and the people around him, making happy sounds and smiling. This type of smile indicates the beginning of the development of social awareness in the child.

**At the age of three to four months:**

- **Starting to laugh:** Many children at this stage begin to make real laughter sounds in response to their interactions with others, such as strange and funny actions performed by parents or the people around them.

- **Laughter while playing:** At this age, we notice that the infant laughs when exposed to enjoyable visual or auditory stimulation while playing or when watching a large screen.

**Between the ages of four and six months**

**Deliberate and loud laughter:** At this stage, the child begins to make clear laughter sounds when exposed to funny situations, such as funny sounds, interactive games, and funny movements performed by others. Their laughter becomes more frequent and intense, and the infant begins to better understand social interaction, which enhances his response to fun activities and funny situations.

**From six to nine months**

**Interactive laughter:** After the child reaches six months, his interaction with his environment improves, making him respond more to certain games and surprising actions, as he laughs increasingly. He also begins to use laughter as a means of interacting with others.

**Sarcastic laughter:** At this stage, the child begins to perceive simple humor, and may show a type of sarcastic laughter when situations such as the disappearance and sudden appearance of objects occur.

**Between the ages of nine months and one year**

 

**Various ways of laughing:** The child learns different forms of laughter in response to certain situations that may be surprising to him. He begins to express his happiness and interest in his surroundings through laughter.

**Better ability to understand humor:** After your baby begins to understand humor, he becomes more interactive during play, which increases his interactive laughter when playing with others.

**Do babies laugh for no reason?**

 

Yes, before your baby reaches the age of one, the simplest things can make your baby laugh. For example, he may laugh when he sees you suddenly appear in front of him, or when he sees his favorite toy, or hears a familiar voice that he loves. He may also laugh when he sees a feeding bottle, as he realizes that it is time for feeding or lullaby, or if his mother makes a sudden movement in front of him, even if it is spontaneous.

If your baby is at the stage of eating solids, offering him his favorite food dish may make him laugh with joy. Playing in water or seeing his older siblings approaching him can also be a reason for his laughter. In general, at this age, the simplest movements and things can make your baby laugh and make him very happy.

**Does a baby laugh while sleeping?**

 

Yes, you have probably noticed your baby laughing while sleeping, and you may wonder why. You may have also heard that a baby's laughter while sleeping is due to seeing angels. But in fact, there is no specific scientific explanation for this laughter, except that children store scenes and events that they go through during the day, and recall them while sleeping during the rapid eye movement stage.

Infants dream as adults do, as they recall scenes that happened to them or to others during the different stages of sleep. A baby may laugh because he remembered moments of being petted, played with, or lulled to sleep. His laughter while sleeping may also be a result of the gases coming out of his stomach and getting rid of the pain associated with it. In addition, your baby's laughter and crying while sleeping reflect his emotional and mental development significantly.

What does a baby see when he laughs?

 

**Gas Releasing:** Colic is a common problem faced byInfants' snoring, which makes them feel uncomfortable. When the baby is able to pass gas, he feels comfortable, which prompts him to smile and laugh.

**Urination:** Some infants smile as a response while urinating, as they feel comfortable afterwards.

**Happiness:** When your baby is a month and a half or two months old, he may begin to recognize you and cling to your face, which makes him smile when he sees you. This smile reflects his happiness, and you will notice that it is different from previous smiles, as his entire face moves and not just his mouth or lips.

**Desire to sleep:** Some infants smile when they feel sleepy, and they may laugh out loud during some stages of sleep.

**Reasons for infants to laugh out loud during sleep**

 

The infant usually laughs during a certain stage of sleep known as the active sleep stage, where some involuntary movements and reactions occur such as moving the hands and feet, smiling, and laughing. The child may also laugh during sleep for other reasons such as urinating or passing gas. In very rare cases, infant laughter during sleep may be a sign of a type of epilepsy, which usually begins at the age of ten months. Epileptic seizures in this case are short, lasting between 10 and 20 seconds, and often occur after the child falls asleep, and may sometimes lead to waking him up. However, not every laugh or smile during sleep is considered epilepsy, so it is advisable to consult a doctor in the following cases: repetitive laughter during sleep on a daily basis or several times a day, laughter is associated with involuntary body movements, involuntary movements appear with staring into space while awake, laughter is associated with a snoring sound, or convulsions of any kind appear during the child's sleep or wakefulness.

**Stages of infant laughter**

**In the first days after birth**

In the first days after the child's birth, the mother may notice her child's smiles during his sleep. This behavior is interpreted as spontaneous reactions from newborns, and does not reflect any emotional development, but rather indicates the growth of various skills in the infant. These smiles are among the 30 most prominent developmental signs that distinguish a child from his first day until the first month, which helps in understanding what the infant sees when he laughs.

**At two months old**

When the child reaches two months, his smile becomes an expression of response. This smile reflects the child's response to some sensory or positive stimuli, such as hearing familiar and beloved sounds, such as his mother's voice or songs he is used to hearing. This helps in clarifying what the infant sees when he laughs.

**From the third month to the end of the fourth month**

 

During this stage, the child begins to perceive the presence of his mother and pay attention to her actions, and interacts with her more. The first year of the child's life witnesses many emotional changes that help him adapt to the world around him. During this period, the child interacts with others significantly.

Children do not begin to laugh and smile as a result of external events until they are at least a month old.

In the fourth or fifth month, they begin to laugh instead of smiling, and their laughter sound is soft. They also begin to respond to jokes they like from people close to them, which makes them laugh. Sometimes, they may laugh for no apparent reason, and they find pleasure in everyday things that may seem funny to them.

When the child reaches 6 months, their laughter begins to turn into a selective response, as they become less cheerful with strangers, and their brain begins to better recognize family members, which makes them smile and laugh at them.

When the child reaches 7 or 8 months, he begins to laugh when he feels happy or when he is having a good time, and interacts with joy and laughter with family members such as parents and grandparents, while he does not feel safe with strangers.

By the age of one, the child discovers many funny things and understands a lot about the world around him, which makes him laugh at ordinary things. Smiling and laughing also appear clearly when seeing a familiar person from the family.

**Why do babies smile while sleeping?**

 

At the beginning of our conversation, we must clarify that there are no comprehensive scientific studies that provide clear and accurate answers, which makes it difficult to provide conclusive evidence on this topic. However, there are some opinions that explain the laughter or smile of children while sleeping based on several reasons, including:

- **Information processing**

During the first months of a child's life, infants go through a continuous learning process. They begin to acquire skills such as opening their eyes, smiling, and crying. In addition, the child interacts with light and sound from birth, which may lead to him feeling tired. So, during sleep, children may express the feelings they have learned by crying or laughing.

- **Newborn sleep cycle**

The infant's sleep cycle lasts about 90 minutes, and the duration of sleep increases as the child gets older. Sometimes, laughter while sleeping may be due to insomnia or sleep disorders, which are common among newborns.

- **Reflexive reactions**

The child goes through several stages during his sleep until he reaches the stage of deep sleep. During REM sleep, some physiological changes may occur that lead to certain reactions, which may explain laughter or a smile.

**Baby Dreams**

When a baby reaches six months, he begins to dream frequently, and his dreams are often related to his experience in the womb. These dreams help your baby understand what he is going through. Although your baby cannot tell you the content of his dreams, it is preferable not to wake him up during sleep, even if he smiles or cries, as this may negatively affect his sleep and make him feel disturbed. We must take into account that every child is unique; some infants and young children fall asleep quickly, while others sleep deeply for short periods not exceeding 20 minutes. It is advisable to take notes about your child's sleep cycle or create a spreadsheet on the computer, and many applications are available on mobile phones to help
**Involuntary movements**

Sleep laughter is common and usually not a cause for concern. Research has shown that babies may twitch, smile, or move their hands while they sleep, and these are involuntary movements resulting from unconscious responses from their brains. These movements often occur when the baby is sleepy, and sometimes laughter during sleep is just a natural reaction to the rapid eye movement cycle that the baby is going through.

**Types of laughter in infants**

Although your baby's laughter always seems magical, his laughter is not the same at all times. Infant laughter varies according to his age, and it is important to clarify the types of laughter in him through the stages of laughter development.

1. **Reflexive laughter**: In the first stage, which includes the first weeks after birth, laughter is a reflex smile that occurs involuntarily, especially during sleep.

2. **Response**: The second stage begins approximately after the sixth week, where smiles turn from an involuntary reaction to a voluntary action, occurring in response to external stimuli such as seeing a familiar face or hearing a pleasant voice.

3. **Social laughter**: In the third stage, which begins after the third or fourth month, the infant's laughter changes from facial expressions to laughter accompanied by sounds and giggles. The child becomes able to recognize some funny situations, such as certain games or hearing favorite songs.

4. **Selective laughter**: In the fourth stage, which begins after the sixth month, laughter becomes selective, as the child refrains from smiling at people he does not know, and his expressions and laughter become directed towards people he can recognize.

5. **Enjoyable laughter**: In this stage, the child begins to enjoy laughter more, as he reacts to funny situations and games in a more clear way.

6** Laughter in conscious children: In the sixth stage after reaching the age of one year, children begin to understand the world around them better. They laugh when they see something unusual, like seeing one of their parents wearing a clown nose.