Why Sleep Isn’t Random (And What That Means for Your Family)
Support for parents navigating sleep, parenting, and real life
One of the most common things we hear from parents is:
“I feel like I’m guessing.”
Guessing whether bedtime resistance is behavioral.
Guessing whether night wakings are developmental.
Guessing whether something is “wrong.”
Here’s the truth:
Sleep is not random.
When you understand the science underneath it, sleep stops feeling mysterious and starts feeling predictable.
Today, I want to walk you through the foundations we look at first — the pieces that shape sleep long before we ever talk about sleep training.
Circadian Rhythms: The Body Clock
Every human has a built-in timing system called the circadian rhythm. It regulates when we feel alert and when we feel sleepy.
It responds primarily to light.
Morning light tells the brain: “It’s time to be awake.”
Evening darkness tells the brain: “Release melatonin.”
When children don’t get consistent light cues — too much artificial light at night, not enough natural light in the morning — their rhythm drifts. Bedtime becomes harder. Night wakings increase.
Before adjusting behavior, we always look at rhythm.
What helps:
10–15 minutes of natural outdoor light within an hour of waking
Dimming lights in the home at least one hour before bedtime
Avoiding bright overhead lighting in the evening
This alone can shift sleep dramatically.
