What is Sleep Pressure? Why does it matter?

Have you heard of sleep pressure?

Personally, I did not hear about it until I started sleep training. Maybe I heard it in passing, but I didn’t THINK about it or thought it pertained to me. It does include ALL of us, not just babies.

So what is sleep pressure? (Good question, haha)

Sleep pressure is simply the body’s natural drive or need for sleep that builds the longer we’re awake. Think of it as a “sleep tank.” The longer your baby is awake, the more that tank fills up, creating the urge to sleep.

For adults, this might feel like that heavy eyed, or the ‘can’t keep you eye open feeling’ after a long day. For babies, it shows up as fussiness, rubbing their eyes, pulling at their ears, or zoning out.

Why does sleep pressure matter, you ask?

• Too little sleep pressure: If your baby hasn’t been awake long enough before a nap or bedtime, they simply won’t be tired enough to fall asleep. This can lead to short naps, long bedtime battles, or false starts (waking up soon after falling asleep).

• Too much sleep pressure: On the flip side, if your baby stays awake too long, they become overtired. Their body releases stress hormones like cortisol, which makes it harder to fall and stay asleep. This can lead to more night wakings, early mornings, and cranky afternoons.

Your next question may be, “Well, how do we build up sleep pressure?”

1. Follow age-appropriate wake windows.
   Wake windows change quickly in the first year! As your baby grows, their ability to stay awake longer increases. Keeping track of these windows can help you time naps and bedtime.

1. Watch your baby’s cues.
   Every baby is unique. Signs of sleepiness such as glazed eyes, slower movements, or a ‘spacey’ look, are great indicators that the right amount of sleep pressure has built up.

2. Be mindful of nap transitions.
   As babies grow and drop naps, their sleep pressure needs change. If naps start getting harder or bedtime gets pushed too late, it might be time to transition (for example, from 3 naps to 2, or 2 to 1- In saying this we did just make a blog about nap transitions if you have questions related to transitioning.)

Nighttime sleep depends on sleep pressure, too! A baby who naps too close to bedtime or has too much daytime sleep may not build enough pressure to fall asleep easily at night. On the other hand, skipping naps completely can backfire. Overtiredness makes nighttime sleep worse, not better.

If you have any questions on sleep pressure, wake windows, nap transitions or sleep training your baby or toddler, don’t hesitate to reach out. I’d love to work with you. We work with anyone around the world, to get your baby sleeping better, so you BOTH wake us rested.

shayna@midnightmamasleepconsulting.com