19/01/2026
Why can sleep vary so much, one day they're sleeping well, then the next they're waking up constantly?
Well one reason is hormones. When a child has poor sleep quality due to an underlying issue, they either wake frequently or they don't cycle into deeper levels of sleep - think those really light or restless sleepers! When this happens, their little bodies start releasing cortisol - which is our stress hormone.
Cortisol is culmulative in the body, meaning that it continues to build each time they have a poor nap or sleep. Once it reaches a certain level, their bodies start to release adrenaline - because with this much cortisol hanging around there must be a lion or something to run away from! Which is also why we often see hyperactivity as a result of poor sleep, while we are running off of 5 cups of coffee and still struggling to keep going 🙃
Adrenaline can stay in the body, causing issues with settling to sleep and more frequent wakings for days or even weeks.
But eventually, the body gets sick of all the cortisol and adrenaline running riot, and it forces a hormone crash. This means that it resets to baseline, and sleep appears to get better for a few days... maybe a week. Then it all goes downhill again.
Unfortunately, when you're stuck in the cycle, nothing will get you off of the merry-go-round until you figure out what's causing the poor sleep quality. Once you solve that, you can stop all stress, which then stops the cycle.
Leaving just some good, restful sleep for the whole house!
If you would like a copy of my Free 5 Top Sleep Tips, then message now and I will send it through.
