Awake Time, Newborn, Sleep, Toddler

Estimated Sleep & Awake Times

A Cortisol rush is the body’s natural defence mechanism when it has run out of energy and needs to keep going. As adults we have all experienced a cortisol rush: working all day and then going out all night. On your way home you think you will sleep for hours because you are exhausted. BUT when you get home you cannot sleep, you are wired and hyperactive. Then when you do finally fall asleep your sleep is restless, you wake constantly, you wake up early and you wake up tired! Babies are no different! Our bodies only have a certain period of time that it can stay awake. Then our body create melatonin in preparation for sleep. This is commonly known as the sleep window. If you aren’t asleep or falling asleep by the time you get to the end of your sleep window, your body produces Cortisol (the stress hormone) to give you a burst of energy so you can keep going. When you see a burst of energy after tired signs, that’s a cortisol rush. Be warned: it can be very hard to get to sleep after this rush, especially for a baby who is unable to self-settle.
 
 
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