If you’re a parent, It is for sure that there is that one time when you’ve spent hours feeding, swaying, and singing your child to sleep only for them to fight every one of your attempts to put them to rest. It could sometimes be frustrating and draining. This is why many parents often wonder, why do babies fight sleep?
Contrary to what’s mostly believed that babies know how to sleep, babies aren’t born with the perfect sleep habits. Sleep is a skill that is learned and acquired by babies, with parents’ assistance. Just like any adult learning a new skill, there would be plenty of bumps along the way. Sometimes the issue may be as simple as timing. But there will be times that milestones, discomfort, or even their environment plays a role with how easy or hard it will be for your child to settle down to sleep. Understanding why these bedtime struggles are happening can help you respond to your child’s needs in a calmer way.
Just like how a nursing pillow for tummy time provides that support to help your child build strength and confidence, the knowledge you’re obtaining helps you guide them towards a more peaceful and calming sleep. Let’s discuss the most common reasons why do babies fight sleep and what steps you could take to help your child find their way around to get a fulfilling sleep.
Understanding the Struggle: Why Bedtime Can Be a Battle
Babies need lots and lots of sleep, and they resist it not because they don’t need it, there are a lot of factors that may cause why your baby is fighting sleep. Newborns often spend about 16 – 18 hours of the day just sleeping. But the transition from waking to sleeping can feel too much and too uncomfortable for them. Unlike adults, babies don’t understand the concept of settling down for sleeping which makes things harder.
For a baby, the outside world is exciting, fun and full of stimulation which often keeps them up. They fight sleep just because they don’t want to miss out. They may show signs like yawning, crankiness or eye rubbing, but instead of just drifting off to sleep they often get worse.
So, why do babies fight sleep? For babies, falling asleep feels like losing control, and it scares them. They have to learn how to feel safe and okay to let their bodies rest and drift off to sleep.
The Overtired Trap: When Being Too Tired is the Problem
It may seem backwards and makes no sense, but a huge part of why most babies resist sleep is because they are too tired. When a baby is overtired their body’s release stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline which in turn makes it harder for them to calm down and fall asleep. Here are signs that you baby might be overtired:
- Having meltdowns during their routine activities like feedings and changing of diapers
- They arch their backs more and refuse to settle down.
- Waking up more frequently during the night
To avoid getting into this trap, try to learn you baby’s sleepy cues like yawning, staring off, or becoming unusually quiet. If you’ve observed these signs, try and put them down for a nap or sleep before they become full on cranky.
Pro tip: Using a nursing pillow for tummy time during the day would help you give them a proper balance of activity and rest. Providing them with the right amount of play helps tire them in a helpful way without really reaching the point where they are overtired already.
Not Tired Enough? The Importance of Wake Windows
There are also times when you baby resists sleeping because they’re not ready for it. If your baby hasn’t been up for too long since their nap, they may feel still too energized to settle down and sleep.
This is where understanding your child’s wake windows come in handy. We’ll share some guide for age-appropriate timeframes for how long your baby should be awake in between naps and bedtime to help you establish a healthy routine and relationship between nap and bedtime.
- Newborns: 45 – 60 minutes
- 3 – 6 months: 1.5 – 2.5 hours
- 6 – 12 months: 2 – 3.5 hours
In following this window guide it helps you have that proper balance between “not tired enough” and “too tired.”
It’s a Phase: How Milestones Disrupt Sleep
Another reason why do babies fight sleep is they’re simply going through growth. Every milestone they’ve achieved, like rolling, crawling, sitting, standing or even just babbling comes with that new brain activity, new neurons connecting that can temporarily disrupt with their sleep. For some examples:
- A baby who just learned to roll may practice over and over rather than getting that sleep.
- A baby exploring new sounds may tend to babble and “chat” instead of resting.
Remember that these disruptions are just temporary and they won’t last for long. Encouraging your child to have some tummy time with tools like a nursing pillow for tummy time during the day can help you babies practice their new skills and get all the wiggles out before they settle down in bedtime.
Is Something Else Wrong? When Discomfort is the Culprit
Sometimes, if the issue isn’t about the timing or their milestones, it maybe another reason which is discomfort. Since babies couldn’t tell you how they’re feeling and what’s wrong, they express themselves by crying, getting fussy or resisting to sleep. There are a few possible reasons:
- Hunger or growth spurts
- Teething pain
- Gas or reflux
- Room temperature (it may be too hot or too cold)
- Illness or ear infections
- Clothing
If your baby is still consistently fighting sleep and seems really uncomfortable, it’s worth checking these possible underlying issues. A little check up on these reasons can go a long way to help you figure out what could possibly be wrong.
Setting the Scene: Making Your Bedroom Sleep-Ready
Your baby’s sleeping environment plays a crucial role for them to catch that sleep. Their environment should make them feel safe and sleepy. Giving them that calm, consistent sleeping cues will help their body recognize that it’s now time to rest. You can try some of these tips we have here:
- Darkness – Keep their sleeping are dim or dark, using blackout curtains to block lights coming from outside their windows.
- White noise – Using these gentle sounds can help mask household background noise and soothe your baby.
- Temperature – Keep your child’s room in the optimal room temperature at around 68–72°F (20–22°C). This helps them feel comfortable.
- Routine – Create a calming yet simple bedtime routine so your child won’t have a hard time to follow through it could be as simple as bath, story, feed, cuddle and sleep.
Envision your baby’s room as a cozy nest – and just like a nursing pillow for tummy time it creates a comfortable space for your child for play and development, a good sleeping environment helps create a safe space for your child’s rest.
Turning the Tide: Proactive Steps for Peaceful Sleep
If you’re still wondering, how you could avoid these bedtime battles? Here are simple and practical steps you could follow:
- Watch their cues and timing – be consistent with following through the wake windows and respond to your child’s early signs of sleepiness.
- Create consistency – as much as possible, keep your child’s naps and bedtime around the same time each day.
- Use soothing techniques – like rocking, gentle shushing, or patting can help ease this transition.
- Encourage playtime – Give your child plenty of time to play during the day, practice their crawling and snuggles. A nursing pillow for tummy time can make these sessions safe, fun and comfortable.
- Stay calm – babies can feel if you’re stressed out. A calm parent helps create a calm baby.
Conclusion
So, why do babies fight sleep? If this question ever crossed your mind the answer is usually a mix of timing, development, and comfort. There are times when they’re overtired, and sometimes the opposite, and other times they’re simply working through a milestone or a discomfort.
What you could do is observe, adapt, and create an environment that supports a healthy sleeping habit that they’ll slowly learn and adapt. This phase is temporary, they will learn how to settle down and get a longer sleep, in the meantime, try to respond with more patience and understanding, peaceful sleep will come.
