Problems with toddler night-time sleep

This page is part of a collection of short articles called Brief & simple, which together make up a quick summary of The Possums Toddler Sleep Program in plain language. For comprehensive information and support, please go to The essentials section of The Possums Toddler Sleep Program, and begin to work your way through the program's online text and videos.

When the sleep pressure is high enough in the evening, cuddles with a loving adult, often combined with a story, can be the best way to dial down the toddler's sympathetic nervous system. The sleep regulators kick in easily, and sleep pressure happens without a fuss, when your toddler

• Has high enough sleep pressure, and

• Is dialled down.

It's hard for sleep regulators to do their job when our sympathetic nervous system is dialled up. If I'm stressed about something, for instance, which turns my sympathetic nervous system up high, it can take me ages to get to sleep. Our job as adults is to keep that little person dialled down at bedtime, usually through physical closeness - but don't start too early in the evening. Wait for their sleep pressure to be nice and high.

Don't worry about dimming lights and keeping things quiet in the evening - this can be rather depressing for everyone! Sleep is under the control of sleep pressure, only, and sensory nourishment keeps our little ones dialled down in the evenings while the sleep pressure is rising, the same as during the day.

Acknowledgements

I'm grateful to Professor Sophie Havighurst, Ros June, and Caroline Ma at Mindful, The University of Melbourne, for their feedback on the articles in the Brief & simple section of The Possums Sleep Program. They helped me keep the language plain and the concepts as accessible as possible. For comprehensive information and support, please go to The essentials section of The Possums Sleep Program, and begin to work your way through the program's online text and videos.