When your baby has an extended period of time not maintaining the recommended amount of quality sleep for their age they become overtired. When they become overtired, they become agitated, fussy, and ultimately have a harder time going to sleep—which makes your child's “sleep debt” worse.
Almost all babies up to the age of 5 need approximately the same amount of sleep. Of course the numbers may vary depending on your baby's sleep personality, but one can usually notice an average of 30 minutes/1 hour. So the first way to detect sleep debt is to calculate the number of hours that your baby sleeps.
Chronically sleep-deprived babies will typically have 'catch-up' sleep from time to time. An overtired baby might crash at night, sleeping usually long periods without demanding feedings owing to physical exhaustion that occurs as a result of not receiving enough sleep during the day.
Not getting adequate sleep over a series of days causes sleep debt to progressively build day by day. For example: a person needing 8 hours of sleep but getting only 6 would build a sleep debt of 2 hours that day. A person with an 8-hour sleep need who gets 6 hours each day for 5 days builds a sleep debt of 10 hours.
There is a persistent myth in popular media claiming we can't catch up on a lack of sleep. However, significant evidence suggests we can in fact recover from the effects of acute sleep debt by getting extra sleep.
Babies fight sleep for a variety of reasons the seven most common being separation anxiety, overtiredness, overstimulation, teething, hitting a milestone, traveling and discomfort or illness.
Late signs of fatigue
The “I'm tired” cry often has a cough-like sound in it. It may sound a bit like this: “wah, wah, WAH – cough – WAH – cough – WAAAAAAH!” Late signs also include furiously rubbing the face/eyes/noise. 40-60 minutes, or awake the duration of their last nap.
Overtiredness can also cause more night wakings and early morning wake-ups. Our bodies all experience a natural surge of melatonin at night and then a natural surge of cortisol in the early morning.
By four months, most babies begin to show some preferences for longer sleep at night. By six months, many babies can go for five to six hours or more without the need to feed and will begin to "sleep through the night."
How to solve it: Stick with or start your baby bedtime routine — the bath, the feeding, the story, the lullabies and the cuddles. Also, be sure your baby is getting enough sleep during the day to make up for lost sleep at night, since it's even harder for an overtired baby to settle down at night.
Even solitary sleeping is no longer recommended – a parent's breathing and other factors help prevent SIDS by stimulating the immature infant respiratory system. Babies instinctually want to do the natural thing – sleep with someone – and protest when they are put down alone.
Sleepless nights are common in new parenthood, but they do not last forever. Most babies will begin to sleep for longer periods at night from the age of 6 months old. Newborn babies need to feed every few hours until the age of 3 months. After this, it is normal for infants to feed once or twice during the night.
Almost all parents will experience sleep deprivation in the first six weeks or so after a baby is born.
Babies get upset at bedtime. This can be due to many factors, but most commonly: They'd rather be awake than asleep. Active, busy babies are often grumpy about nap time – they don't like to miss out on anything and will often resist naps.
Often seen anywhere from 8 to 18 months, your baby may fight sleep because they don't want you to leave.
Babies don't begin showing a regular “day-waking, night-sleeping” pattern until about 4 months of age. This is why we recommend that you wait until your baby is at least 4 months old before you begin sleep training of any kind. Talk to your child's health care provider before starting sleep training.
Signs of overstimulation
be cranky or tired. seem upset or turn their heads away. move in a jerky way. clench their fists, wave their arms or kick.
Overstimulation looks a little different in every child, but there are some common signs you might notice in a baby: crying, usually louder than usual. withdrawing from your touch or turning their head away from you. wanting to be held.
If baby is starting to show signs of overtiredness and overstimulation, support her by bringing her into a dark room away from any bright lights and sounds. Swaddling baby reduces physical sensations, swaddle your little with and hold her close, gently swaying. Turn on the white noise.
Luckily, sleep debt can be reversed. Simple changes to your routine allow you to get to bed earlier or stay in bed longer. Then you'll be even more ready for the day ahead.
In this study, we wanted to know if a short nap during the deprivation period would mitigate these deficits," said Kimberly Fenn, associate professor of MSU, study author and director of MSU's Sleep and Learning Lab. "We found that short naps of 30 or 60 minutes did not show any measurable effects."