Stupid Question: Does a fetus sleep?

MassageMomma2010

Thinking about the little bambino in there and wondering: Does a fetus sleep? Are they awake at times and asleep at times? And if they do sleep, do you think they can dream?

I'm not sure at what point in development all that happens.

 

.. I'm bored.

MrserinJ

Yes, they sleep. They also dream at a certain point too, I believe. I'm not sure when though. I know they sleep from fairly early on though. My doctor said eventually you will be aware of their sleep/wake patterns by their kicking, squirming, etc. I definitely noticed this with DS.

synchrosally

Yes.  The further along you get, the more regular their sleeping patterns are.  When you are up and about, all the movement sort of rocks them to sleep, this is why they are usually more active at night when you are resting, or trying to sleep.  I think the dreaming happens sometime around 34/35 weeksish.

~*Sarah*~

absolutely! you will notice at some point that they are quite for a period of time during the day and then crazy active! and usually they are most active when your trying to sleep it seems or at least DD was lol. as for dreaming i dont know I suppose they do? i like to think maybe they do hmmm

AgrippaRidesAgain

Yes, and DS actually followed those patterns for a while after he was born too! 

scoutkate

They definitely sleep, but what the heck can they possibly dream about?  I've heard that they do, but really--how is that possible?  They have no visual memories to pull from, what could really be in their subconcious at this point?  I'd give anything to know what's going on in my little girl's head, I think it would be pretty fascinating. 

aldyn

scoutkate:

  They have no visual memories to pull from

I'm pretty sure blind people dream too :-).  They still have all other senses firing.  They've got taste (they swallow amniotic fluid), touch, sound... even though they can't see anything, they're still experiencing a whole lot in there to inspire dreams.

Coleslawcat

They definitely sleep. Researchers have also documented that they have REM while sleeping so they believe that they do dream. I would imagine they dream about smells and sounds or playing with their toes.

veebug22

Yep, they sleep, and apparently at around 20 weeks or so their sleep patterns are quite similar to their preferences after birth. In other words, LO always seems to go through a period of wakefulness in the afternoon where she kicks around for awhile, then all is quiet, and then she's pretty active from dinner until about 11pm. So research says she'll probably be a night owl after birth. Great.