Is it normal for babies to roll their eyes when they sleep?

Some expectant parents are particularly happy when their baby is just born. They often stare at their children, especially when the children are sleeping. Some parents get very worried when they see their children rolling their eyes while sleeping and rush their children to the hospital for examination. So, is it normal for babies to roll their eyes while sleeping? Let's follow the experts to learn more about it in detail.

Another common phenomenon of newborns is rolling their eyes. When some mothers see their baby rolling their eyes, they think there is something wrong with their baby's brain and run to the hospital in fear. Upon asking, they find out that some babies will show some expressions when they are sleeping, that is, when they are unconscious, such as suddenly smiling with their mouths wide open, or crying with their mouths pouting; sometimes rolling their eyes, and sometimes humming a few times. These are all related to the baby's organs that have not yet developed fully.

Why does the baby roll his eyes when sleeping?

The vision of newborns is not fully developed. Babies are born with severe myopia and can only see clearly within a distance of about 20 centimeters in front of their eyes, which is exactly the distance at which they can recognize their mothers when breastfeeding. Newborns spend most of their time sleeping every day, but their nervous system is not fully developed. When they sleep, their eyelids sometimes cannot completely cover the eyeball, leaving a small gap.

When the baby is sleeping, if there is light shining through the small gap that is not closed, the baby will naturally turn his eyes upwards, and parents will be able to see the whites of the eyes through the gap. This is why babies roll their eyes. This situation sometimes continues until about 6 months after birth, which is normal.

Don't panic if you find your baby rolling his eyes, as this is a common and normal phenomenon for newborns. Don't deliberately touch your baby's eyelids with your hands. Forcing your baby to close his eyelids may make him feel uncomfortable. If parents' hands are not clean, it may also cause eye infections in newborns. The light in the room where the newborn lives should not be too strong to avoid damaging the baby's eyes.

The abnormal situation of the baby rolling his eyes when sleeping

If your baby rolls his eyes while sleeping and also has body convulsions, sweating, fever, or is usually bad-tempered and irritable, it means that he may have other diseases.

(1) Neonatal convulsions

Convulsion is a phenomenon in which the baby's body twitches partially or completely, and the onset is usually sudden. One of the symptoms of convulsions is rolling of the eyes. Neonatal seizures can be caused by a variety of conditions, the most common of which is a high fever. Children usually have severe facial or hand twitching symptoms, accompanied by rolling of eyes, squinting or straight gaze.

(2) Epilepsy

Epilepsy, also commonly called convulsions, is more common among children. It is mainly caused by children's neurological diseases. The main onset period for infants and young children is within one month after birth, and one of the symptoms is upward rolling of the eyes. The common causes of epilepsy include heredity, brain infection, congenital disease, brain trauma, etc. If the child is found rolling his eyes while moving his hands and feet around like swimming, or making bicycle-like movements with his feet, or swallowing, chewing, etc. with his mouth, neonatal epilepsy should be considered.

(3) Symptoms of calcium deficiency

If the calcium content in the blood of a newborn is too low, it may cause abnormalities in the newborn's nervous system. Excessive muscle excitement may lead to muscle spasms. The baby may also show external manifestations such as bad temper and irritability, and may also be accompanied by symptoms of rolling eyes.

(4) When symptoms do not improve

If the baby still rolls his eyes after a few months. Especially if the condition still occurs after 6 months, even if there are no other abnormalities in the body, medical examination is needed to consider whether there is a defect in the brain and nervous system.

Newborns usually roll their eyes when they are sleeping. If they still roll their eyes when they are awake, it should attract special attention from parents. Newborns should undergo timely physical examinations to check their growth, development and physical health. If any abnormality is found in the newborn, they should be sent to the hospital for treatment in time.

Since the nervous system and brain system of newborns are not fully developed, they often have some unconscious small movements, such as grinning while sleeping, rolling their eyes, waking up suddenly, trembling suddenly, etc. These are all normal. As they grow older, their small movements will become more and more. You see, your baby can already turn over half of his body in over a month, which means his body language is developing well and you don't need to worry.

The development of a baby's nervous system always takes time, and during this process, he will show some behaviors that are different from those of adults. For example, when exposed to sudden stimulation, such as loud noises, the baby will have a startle reflex, and his legs and arms will stretch out; his fingers will open, and his back will stretch or bend; in the first few days after the birth of a newborn, he will also have a strong reaction to temperature or pain, which may cause systemic reactions, such as vomiting, sneezing, blinking, yawning, pupil reflex, etc.

If we gently stroke the outside of his sole with our fingers, his toes will spread out like a fan. After that, when we touch his sole again, his toes will bend inward. This is the Balinski reflex. Generally, we will perform these tests on newborns. If these radiations are present, it means that the baby's nervous system development is normal, otherwise it may not be normal. Especially for some newborns, if they lack multiple reflexes, there is a high possibility that their nervous system will be poorly developed.

Through the above experts’ detailed introduction to some of the reasons why babies roll their eyes when they sleep, I believe that everyone should now have a deep understanding and knowledge of the symptoms of babies rolling their eyes. Generally speaking, it is normal for babies to have this symptom, but if it lasts for a long time, it should be taken seriously and the child should be taken to a regular professional hospital for diagnosis and treatment in time.