When we’re older, we can’t help but ponder the mysteries of infant slumber: what do they think about? Do the people and objects that they encounter during the day appear in their dreams? Or do they fantasize about things that have absolutely no relevance to their lives? Although there is no way for us to know for certain what is happening in the mind of a newborn while they are sleeping, there are certain hypotheses and observations that can help us comprehend what babies might be dreaming about.
One hypothesis proposes that infants’ dreams reflect the events and sensations they encounter during the waking hours. A significant portion of a newborn’s day is devoted to taking in the environment around them, including new sights, sounds, and feelings. While they are sleeping, their brains may be processing the events of the day and incorporating those events into their dreams. For instance, if a baby spends the entire day playing with the same toy, they may find themselves daydreaming about how they may play with that object in a different and more interesting way.
Another idea proposes that infants’ dreams contain information that is significant to their growth and development. As an illustration, because infants are still developing their capacity for social interaction, it is not uncommon for them to fantasize about listening to and producing sounds. They must also discover how to move their bodies, which is why they may fantasize about crawling or walking when they are just born. In this sense, babies could use their dreams as a tool to practice and further develop the abilities that they are currently learning.
There’s also the possibility that infants dream about things that have absolutely nothing to do with what they’re doing when they’re awake. The neural connections and pathways in the brains of infants are constantly being expanded as they grow. It’s possible that when they sleep, their brains are digesting and consolidating the new connections they’ve made, which could cause them to have dreams that are seemingly unrelated to their day-to-day activities and experiences.
So how do we know what infants think about when they sleep? We are unable to question them, unfortunately. However, we are able to study their activity while they are sleeping. Babies, for instance, have been known to exhibit various facial expressions or move their limbs while they are sleeping, both of which may be signs that they are dreaming. Researchers have gone as far as using brain imaging to analyze the activity that occurs in the brains of babies while they are sleeping. The results of these studies have provided some insight into what may be occurring during the babies’ dreams.
In conclusion, we are unable to know for certain what it is that infants dream about; but, there are certain hypotheses and observations that can assist us in comprehending what it is that may be occurring in their thoughts while they are asleep. It is evident that babies are active tiny dreamers; this may be because they are processing the rapid development of their brains, dreaming about their everyday experiences, practicing new abilities, or any combination of the three.