Recognising the Signs of Overtiredness in Babies and Toddlers

As parents or caregivers, it can be challenging to decipher the many signals our little ones give us, especially when they can't yet tell us how they're feeling. Overtiredness is a common issue that can affect babies and toddlers, and recognizing the signs early can help ensure they get the rest they need.

What is Overtiredness?

Overtiredness occurs when a child stays awake for too long and misses their ideal window for sleep. When this happens, their body produces stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, making it even harder for them to settle down and fall asleep.

Signs of Overtiredness:

1. Fights Sleep - When a baby or toddler is overtired, they might actively resist going to sleep even though they need it. This can include crying, fussing, or physically pushing away during bedtime routines. They can sometimes become overly playful as a way to avoid sleep too.

2. Wakes More Frequently During the Night - Overtiredness can disrupt normal sleep patterns, leading to more frequent night wakings. This happens because their overtired bodies struggle to transition between sleep cycles smoothly. Instead of sleeping soundly through the night, they wake up and often have difficulty resettling.

3. Early Rising (Waking Around 5am and Not Going Back to Sleep) - An overtired child may wake up unusually early in the morning and be unable to go back to sleep. This is often due to their body's internal clock being thrown off balance. These early risings can contribute to a vicious cycle of overtiredness, as they start the day already sleep-deprived.

Normally, a child's body begins to prepare for waking up around the time the sun rises, with cortisol levels naturally increasing in the early morning hours to help them wake up feeling refreshed.  However, in an overtired child, cortisol levels may rise too early, causing them to wake up prematurely, often around 5am or earlier. This early waking is a result of their body's internal clock being thrown off balance by the imbalance of hormones.

4. Seemingly Full of Energy, but in a Wired Way - Sometimes, overtired children appear to have a burst of energy, but it's a hyperactive, almost frantic kind of energy. This "second wind" is a result of their bodies producing the hormones like cortisol and adrenaline to keep them awake, making them appear unusually energetic and fidgety and can often be mistaken for them not ‘being tired’.

5. Highly Emotional - An overtired child can become highly emotional, experiencing intense reactions to minor frustrations. They might cry more easily, have meltdowns, or become inconsolable. 

6. Extreme Upset - Overtiredness can lead to extreme levels of distress. A child might have prolonged crying spells, tantrums, or seem unusually upset and difficult to soothe. These extreme reactions are often a signal that they are beyond the point of normal tiredness and need help settling down to rest.

How to overcome overtiredness:

These are the 2 main areas to look at when trying to manage and reduce overtiredness:

Wakeful windows - how long your little one is staying awake for at any one time.  And / or if their windows of awake times are extremely unbalanced, for example, a really long window in the morning, and a much shorter one in the afternoon.

Amount of daytime sleep - it is a common misconception that if you cut down on daytime sleep, your little one will sleep better at night time.  Often NOT having enough day time sleep can contribute to more or longer wake ups in the night, and or early morning waking. 

Bedtime - Is Bedtime too late? Especially if your little one is already waking before 6am.  You may need to bring it slightly earlier just until they start waking later again.  

If you are unsure of your little one’s ideal day time sleep needs or awake windows, get a copy of my Free Sleep Needs Guide HERE.

Remember that recognising the signs and implementing the appropriate changes is the first step, you need to implement these changes consistently for 7 to 10 days, before expecting to see improvements. 

If you are not seeing results, this could be due to other factors.  Why not arrange a complimentary Sleep Assessment call with me to find out more.

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