What is “Drowsy but Awake” and Does it Even Work?

Have you heard of the phrase “DROWSY BUT AWAKE”?

You are probably thinking…

“Yeah, I have heard it but what does it even mean?”.

Well, I want to let you know that you are not alone. I thought the same thing when I first became a mom. I had heard plenty of sleep experts say “drowsy but awake” but I never figured out what the difference was between drowsy and sleeping. 

If you have been just as confused by this as I was then keep reading. 

WHAT IS “DROWSY BY AWAKE”? 

This phrase is commonly used to describe the state parents should place their baby down in their sleep space. But “drowsy” can look so different for everyone and therefore it is hard to really capture that perfect moment. A drowsy baby can be showing signs of heavy eyelids, staring and blinking eyelids, relaxed body and hands, and complete calmness in their entire body. They are not really sleeping at this point but very close to it. They can get to this stage either on their own or by a little help from you. More on this later. 

Did you know that by the time they get to being drowsy, they have already started their sleep cycle? That’s right. So you may actually be disturbing their sleep when you move them around too much and transfer them from your arms to their sleep space once they have become drowsy. Refer to this post if you would like to learn more about sleep cycles. 

DOES IT EVEN WORK? 

The simple answer is NO.

It works great for some newborns but not for all. In the newborn stage, it is okay to place your baby down sleeping or drowsy. But as your baby gets into the infant months placing them down sleeping or drowsy can become a nuisance.

The concept of “drowsy but awake” just does not work to get your baby to stay asleep. Simply because your child is depending on you to get them to the drowsy state each time they wake up from their sleep cycles. If you are feeding, rocking, or holding them till they are drowsy or asleep then they will depend on whatever it was that got them to that sleep state to get them back there in order to fall asleep again. So if your goal is to have an independent sleeper then you want to start moving towards placing your child awake in their sleep space. 

WHEN TO TRANSITION TO PLACING YOUR BABY DOWN AWAKE? 

Start when you are ready. Some parents do not mind holding, rocking, or feeding their baby to sleep each time they wake up while others are desperately needing to drop those habits so they can reclaim their time and sleep. 

Know that it is your decision when you want to start putting your baby down awake in their sleep space. However, if your baby is having a hard time falling and staying asleep without you being present or your help getting them drowsy, has multiple night wakings, and short naps then it may be a wise decision to start placing them down awake in order to teach them some independent sleep habits. Placing them down awake will get them to develop independent sleep habits which will then allow them to connect those sleep cycles on their own and fall back to sleep without your assistance. 

HOW TO PLACE BABY DOWN AWAKE?

If you currently place your baby down drowsy or even sleeping for that matter then you want to gradually get to the point where you are placing them down awake. You do this by slowly keeping your baby awake slightly across a few nights and then even more awake the next few nights, till you have gotten to the point of placing them down awake. 

Now, what happens when you start doing this transition and our baby starts to CRY? Well, you simply follow your preferred sleep training method or you can work with a sleep consultant like myself that can help walk you through every step of the process. 

Once you place them in the crib awake, you can soothe them in the crib by staying nearby or do another sleep training method of choice. I like to recommend staying by the crib to help soothe them in those early days before exiting the room. You can even soothe them in the crib till they fall asleep if you like. Then you would slowly transition out of doing that and get them to self soothe on their own. 

If you are ready to take the next step but want more guidance and support then please book a free call. I always am here to chat with you. Let’s get you well-rested and thriving in parenthood.