Sleep pressure

A term for the drive to sleep that changes with time awake.

Cocoon measures elapsed time, not sleep pressure. A predicted window cannot establish why a baby is difficult to settle.

In a sentence

What does “Sleep pressure” mean?

A term for the drive to sleep that changes with time awake.

How long babies usually stay awake between sleeps from birth to 3, with tired and overtired cues and how to use the ranges without clock-watching.

How many naps babies and toddlers usually take at each age, how long naps last, signs a nap is ending and how to handle each transition safely.

Try the tool: Wake Window Calculator

Sources checked 2026-10-10. Source checks are editorial; this summary has not been independently clinically reviewed.

General information, not medical advice. For concerns about your child, talk with your doctor or child-health nurse.