All About Sleepy Signs

When I work one on one with families, I suggest working with biological sleep times and not “wake windows” like you may have heard about in other sleep spaces. 

So, if we can’t easily count from sleep time to sleep time, how do we know our baby is ready for sleep? 

We watch for sleep signs!

These are some sleep times that you can watch for in your child:

• Zoning out

• Staring off into space

• Getting “still” (wiggles and playful big movements stop)

When we see these sleepy signs, it’s time to put Baby down for bed or a nap. If you have a very abbreviated sleep routine, do that, but do not prolong the routine or you will miss the sleep window and your baby will get overtired.

Other sleepy signs that are less reliable:

• Eye rubbing

• Yawning

• Getting fussy

Why are these methods less reliable? Most of the time, when Baby is fussy or eye rubbing, Baby is already overtired. What to do when you do get to these sleepy signs? Make a note of the time, and start to watch a little earlier tomorrow (10-15 minutes is all). Small adjustments make a big difference.

When should we watch for sleep signs? As early as 90 minutes after the last sleep ended, especially in younger babies. Before 4 months old, they may show these signs in as little as 90 minutes after a sleep. As babies get older, wake times will lengthen, but sleepy signs will stay reliable.