I agree. Unless we’re drugged, we’re far more aware of our surroundings when asleep than most people realize. It’s very unlikely that an undrugged person would roll over onto a baby and suffocate it.
No, you are not unconscious when you sleep. You are in a state of reduced consciousness that is fundamentally different from medical unconsciousness. A review in Nature Reviews Neuroscience described sleep as a “reversible behavioral state of perceptual disengagement from the environment.” That is a critical distinction: you are disengaged, not disconnected.
Your brain can still process external stimuli during sleep. A parent wakes to their baby’s cry but sleeps through louder ambient noise. You respond to your own name spoken softly but ignore a stranger’s name at the same volume. These selective responses are impossible in true unconsciousness.
I agree. Unless we’re drugged, we’re far more aware of our surroundings when asleep than most people realize. It’s very unlikely that an undrugged person would roll over onto a baby and suffocate it.