The Drowsy journal
Notes on the practice.
Field notes, guides, and the thinking behind Drowsy.
Latest · 6 min read
Baby Jet Lag: The Circadian Science of Traveling Across Time Zones With an Infant
Baby jet lag isn't fixed by powering through the day. The real circadian science of light, timing, and why one hour per day is the honest math of travel.
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More from the journal
- 02
Why Do Babies Sleep So Much? The Memory Science of What Naps Are Actually For
Why do babies sleep so much? Memory research shows naps aren't breaks from learning — they're where learning gets kept. What's really happening in that crib.
2026-07-12
7 min read
- 03
Baby Sleep When Sick: Why Illness Rewrites the Night — and the Regression That Comes After
Baby sleep when sick is a paradox: more sleep, worse nights. The cytokine and fever science behind it — and how to reset habits once your baby is well.
2026-07-12
6 min read
- 04
When to Stop Swaddling: The Rolling Milestone That Flips the Math Overnight
When to stop swaddling isn't an age — it's a milestone that turns the swaddle from safest tool to real risk in one night. The arousal science, plus a gentle exit plan.
2026-07-11
6 min read
- 05
When to Move Baby to Their Own Room: What the Research Actually Says
When to move baby to their own room is a safety question and a sleep question — and the answers pull in opposite directions. Here's what the research found.
2026-07-11
7 min read
- 06
When Do Babies Sleep Through the Night? The Lab Footage That Changes the Question
When do babies sleep through the night? Overnight lab footage shows almost all babies still wake — the real skill is resettling. Here's the science of how it grows.
2026-07-11
7 min read
- 07
Why Your Baby Sleeps Better for Everyone Else: The Science of the Caregiver Cue
Wondering why your baby sleeps better for other people? It isn't rejection — it's learning. The science of caregiver cues, conditioned arousal, and how to get naps back.
2026-07-10
7 min read
- 08
Why Learning to Crawl Wrecks Baby Sleep: Motor Milestones and the Practice Nights
Motor milestones and baby sleep collide: why crawling, pulling up, and walking trigger night wakings, and how to survive the practice nights without losing the whole schedule.
2026-07-09
7 min read
- 09
Do Car Seat and Stroller Naps Count as Real Sleep? The Science of Motion Naps
Do car seat naps count as real sleep? Mostly yes — and that's exactly why bedtime falls apart. The science of motion naps, sleep pressure, and the 20 minutes you forgot to count.
2026-07-09
7 min read
- 10
Does Starting Solids Help Baby Sleep Through the Night? What Food Can and Can't Do for Night Wakings
Does starting solids help baby sleep through the night? A landmark trial found a real but small effect. Here's what food can and can't do for night wakings.
2026-07-08
6 min read
- 11
Baby Wakes Up the Moment You Put Them Down? The Transfer Science of the Crib Drop
If your baby wakes up when put down every single time, it isn't a personality flaw. Here's the sensory science of the transfer — and how to make the crib drop actually hold.
2026-07-08
6 min read
- 12
Why Does Breast Milk Make Babies Sleepy at Night? The Chrononutrition Science
Why does breast milk make babies sleepy at night? Night milk carries melatonin, tryptophan, and calming compounds daytime milk lacks — the chrononutrition science, explained.
2026-07-07
6 min read
- 13
The 8-Month Sleep Regression: Object Permanence, Separation Anxiety, and the Night Waking Nobody Warns You About
The 8-month sleep regression and separation anxiety are linked: object permanence rewires how your baby sleeps. Here's the developmental science and what helps.
2026-07-07
7 min read
- 14
Why Overtired Babies Get a Second Wind: The Cortisol Science of the Wired-But-Tired Meltdown
A baby's second wind isn't stubbornness—it's cortisol and adrenaline. Here's the physiology of the overtired, wired-but-tired state, and how to get ahead of it.
2026-07-06
7 min read
- 15
Does Teething Affect Baby Sleep? What the Research Actually Found
Does teething affect baby sleep as much as we think? What prospective research really shows about night waking — and what's usually behind those hard weeks instead.
2026-07-05
7 min read
- 16
Do Pacifiers Help Babies Sleep? The Science of Sucking, Settling, and the 3 a.m. Run
Do pacifiers help babies sleep? The science of non-nutritive sucking, the surprising SIDS link, and why the 3 a.m. pacifier run happens — and how it ends.
2026-07-05
6 min read
- 17
Should You Wake a Sleeping Baby? When Ending a Nap Protects the Night
Should you wake a sleeping baby from a nap? Sometimes, yes. The science of sleep pressure explains when to let them sleep — and when waking protects the night.
2026-07-04
6 min read
- 18
Does a Warm Bath Help Baby Sleep? The Body-Temperature Science of Bedtime
Does a warm bath help baby sleep? The answer lives in body temperature. Here's the thermoregulation science behind the bedtime bath, and how to time it right.
2026-07-04
7 min read
- 19
Is Feeding to Sleep Bad? The Real Science of Sleep-Onset Associations
Is feeding to sleep bad, or just biology doing its job? What sleep-onset associations really are, why every baby wakes at night, and when nursing to sleep matters.
2026-07-03
7 min read
- 20
Dream Feeds: What They Are, When They Work, and When to Stop
What is a dream feed, and does it really buy you more sleep? The science of timing a quiet feed before your own bedtime — and how to know when to let it go.
2026-07-03
7 min read
- 21
Baby Nap Transitions: The Real Signs It's Time to Drop a Nap
Nap transitions take weeks, not days. Here are the real signs baby is ready to drop a nap — and how to survive the messy middle without wrecking bedtime.
2026-07-02
7 min read
- 22
Why Walking Calms a Crying Baby: The Transport Response Explained
Why walking calms a crying baby comes down to the transport response, an ancient calming reflex. Learn the motion-and-sleep science—and the timing that makes it stick.
2026-06-27
7 min read
- 23
When Do Babies Start Producing Melatonin? The Sleep Hormone Timeline
When do babies start producing melatonin? Most begin around three months, and it changes everything about bedtime. Here's the sleep-hormone timeline, explained.
2026-06-27
6 min read
- 24
Baby Sleep Cues: How to Read Tired Signs Before the Overtired Window
Learn to read baby sleep cues in three tiers—early, active, and late tired signs—so you catch the easy-to-settle window before overtiredness and cortisol take over.
2026-06-27
7 min read
- 25
Why Your Baby Startles Awake: The Moro Reflex and the Sensation of Falling
Why does your baby startle awake the moment you lay them down? The Moro reflex explained — the falling sensation, why arms fly up, and how to work with it.
2026-06-26
7 min read
- 26
Sleep Pressure in Babies: The Hidden Force Behind Every Nap Window
Baby sleep pressure is the quiet force that decides whether a nap comes easily or ends in tears. Here's how it builds, why it peaks, and how to time it.
2026-06-26
6 min read
- 27
Newborn Day and Night Confusion: Why Your Baby Has Them Mixed Up
Newborn day night confusion is normal—your baby's body clock hasn't switched on yet. Here's the real science of why nights and days flip, and how to gently reset it.
2026-06-24
6 min read
- 28
Baby Grunting and Squirming in Their Sleep: Why Active Sleep Looks Like Waking
Why your baby grunts, twitches, and squirms in their sleep — the active-sleep science behind it, and why picking them up too soon often ends the nap you were trying to save.
2026-06-24
7 min read
- 29
Does White Noise Help Babies Sleep? The Womb-Sound Science Behind It
Does white noise help babies sleep, or is it a habit you'll regret? The real acoustic science of womb sounds, startle reflexes, and how to use it safely.
2026-06-23
7 min read
- 30
Why Your Baby Will Only Sleep When Held: The Science of Contact Naps
Why your baby will only sleep when held isn't a bad habit—it's biology. The science of contact naps, the startle reflex, and how to gently put them down.
2026-06-22
7 min read
- 31
The Baby Witching Hour: Why Evenings Fall Apart, and What's Actually Happening
Baby witching hour explained: why your calm infant unravels every evening between 5 and 8 p.m., the real science behind it, and how to ride it out without panic.
2026-06-22
7 min read
- 32
Split Nights: Why Your Baby Is Wide Awake (and Content) at 2 a.m.
A split night in babies — wide awake and calm in the small hours — usually isn't hunger or habit. Here's the sleep science behind split nights and how to close the gap.
2026-06-21
7 min read
- 33
How Light Affects Baby Sleep: The Morning Habit That Sets the Clock
How light affects baby sleep, explained simply: why morning daylight and dim evenings train your newborn's body clock, ease day-night confusion, and make nights smoother.
2026-06-21
7 min read
- 34
Baby False Starts at Bedtime: Why They Wake 45 Minutes After You Put Them Down
A baby false start at bedtime — waking 30 to 45 minutes after you put them down — isn't a fluke. Here's the sleep-cycle science behind it and how to fix the timing.
2026-06-18
7 min read
- 35
Why Your Baby Only Naps for 30 Minutes: The Science of the Catnap
Wondering why your baby only naps for 30 minutes? Learn the sleep-cycle science behind the catnap, why short naps happen, and how to help naps lengthen.
2026-06-16
7 min read
- 36
Baby Waking Up Too Early? The Body-Clock Science Behind 5 a.m.
If your baby keeps waking up too early, the reason isn't stubbornness — it's biology. Here's why dawn sleep is so fragile, and the one lever that actually moves the morning.
2026-06-16
7 min read
- 37
Drowsy But Awake: What the Phrase Really Means, and Why It Works
'Drowsy but awake' is the baby-sleep advice everyone repeats and no one explains. Here's the real sleep science behind it, and why it works for some babies.
2026-06-11
6 min read
- 38
Building a Baby Bedtime Routine That Actually Holds
A consistent baby bedtime routine works because of conditioning, not magic. Here's how to build a wind-down that holds up to travel, late nights, and changing ages.
2026-06-11
7 min read
- 39
Gentle, Graduated, or Not Yet: Sleep Training Methods Compared
A calm, non-judgmental comparison of baby sleep training methods — extinction, graduated checks, chair, and fading — so you can choose the approach that fits your family.
2026-06-08
8 min read
- 40
The 4-Month Sleep Regression: What's Really Happening
The 4 month sleep regression isn't a regression at all — it's a permanent change in your baby's sleep. Here's the science behind it and how to ride it out without panic.
2026-06-03
7 min read
- 41
Newborn Sleep in the First Twelve Weeks: A Calm Primer
A grounded primer on newborn sleep in the first 12 weeks — why there's no schedule yet, how short the wake windows really are, and what new parents can stop worrying about.
2026-05-29
7 min read
- 42
Why Fixed Nap Schedules Fail Most Babies
A rigid by-the-clock baby nap schedule looks reassuring on paper but fights your baby's biology. Here's why fixed nap times fail and what to anchor to instead.
2026-05-24
7 min read
- 43
How Infant Sleep Actually Develops in the First Year
A grounded look at infant sleep development — how the circadian clock, melatonin, and sleep cycle architecture mature over the first year, and why nights slowly get easier.
2026-05-19
8 min read
- 44
The Myth That Keeping Your Baby Awake Longer Makes Them Sleep Better
It feels logical to keep a baby up longer so they sleep better at night. Here's why an overtired baby actually sleeps worse — and what the wired-but-exhausted state really is.
2026-05-13
6 min read
- 45
How to Catch Your Baby's Wake Window Before the Meltdown
Learn how to read your baby's wake window — the quiet stretch of awake time that decides whether the next nap is easy or a fight — and how to time the put-down.
2026-05-07
7 min read