Active = Good Sleepers, Not So Active = Trickier Sleepers

A girlfriend said this to me ages ago and I was wondering what you BBers think.

I mentioned to her that my DD is very active (would find her on top of the dining table when she was 10 months old, a bit hair-raising when you have a concrete floor!) and it's only really now at 23 months that I can leave her in a room by herself for a few minutes without her wanting to follow me all over the house. BUT, she has always been a champion sleeper and still sleeps for between 2-4 hours during the day. I honestly think she just wears herself out. If we go to the park she will literally go up and down the slide for an hour and a half without stopping.

My friend (who has three girls under 5) says that they're very placid and will happily sit on the couch reading books BUT they don't sleep too well.

Another friend of mine has 15-month-old twins and I was gobsmacked by how placid they are. They will still allow themselves to be changed on a change table whereas DD was basically flipping herself off hers or trying to look underneath when she was 6 months old. But, again, they are poor sleepers during the day.

I'm not sure which I'd prefer - obviously there's pros and cons to each, but just wondering what everyone else thinks of that broad generalisation?

Hmm - my son was fairly placid when he was younger (not so much now :) ) andhe slept 12 hours overnight. SO not so sure on that theory

DD1 is pretty placid and has great concentration eg. from 12 months she would sit and do puzzles by herself. She has always been a really good sleeper. DD2 seems to be more active than DD1 was but she isn't such a good day sleeper, she is good at night though. So I'm not sure that the theory really holds :dunno:

My theory was that if the parents are good sleepers then the children tend to be good sleepers. DP and I have no problems sleeping and our girls are pretty good but our friends who don't sleep much or very well have children who have never really slept through the night or don't seem to need as much sleep.

My eldest DS was soooooooooo active and a terrible sleeper, whereas my DD and DS2 are both placid children and both great sleepers (though DS2 has his moments)

My DD has been incredibly active and is a terrible sleeper - we have worked on this lots by having a bedtime routine that helps her to wind down. She is so active, I think she finds it hard to switch off. She is learning and it is easier now that she is older but as a small baby, it was torture!

DS is a little more placid, but I still wouldn't say entirely placid and he is an excellent sleeper and has been since the day he was born. We haven't had to teach him to settle and go to sleep, he naturally just settles himself and goes to sleep when he is ready.

We have always had to have DS in bed by 6.30 -7.00 every night or the tantrums begin. DD would party on till after midnight if we let her. Her stamina is amazing.

I think it is partly genetic and partly environmental. I think you can teach an unsettled sleeper good routines to get their brain ready for sleep and I think if you provide too much of an unsettled environment, a baby that is born knowing how to sleep could probably be unsettled quite quickly. I think the key is to have good routines established and meet your child where they are at.

Nai; what you said rings true with me - i used to suffer quite badly from insomnia as an adult (sleep from 1ish(am) til maybe 6) and Lachlan is not a great sleeper. although getting better (his father is a FAB sleeper and a FAB snorer to boot).

Also my mum said as a baby/ child i was terribly difficult to get down to sleep as i didnt want to miss out on anything - lachlan is identical. sometimes it feels like i spend my ENTIRE day trying to get him to sleep as i read the better they sleep during day (regardless of length etc) the better they sleep at night. and that works - if i can get him down for at least an hour or two during day he'll sleep from 9ish..... 11.30pm (dream feed) until 7 sometimes closer to 8.

Yeah, I'm not so sure about this theory. Active kids might wear themselves out a bit more, but they are so active its hard for them to relax. More placid children might find it easier. My DS is very active, and will fight sleep very hard as long as there is an opportunity to play some more- and then he will hit a wall and crash!

Nai, I'm not sure its like that for us- I wish it was! DH and I are great sleepers... DS is not so fabulous. Hm, maybe the good sleep gene doesn't kick in until later!!

I pity the person with a more active child than mine - and he STILL doesn't sleep! He goes down to bed OK but isn't going through ATM. I did an hour and a half with him last night and DH did 15 minutes when I gave up after that. That was after a day with a bouncy castle in it too.

My son has been extremely active since day one, and has been a shocking sleeper since then too :)

My DS is VERY active...he goes to sleep easily, but wakes frequently at night...usually has one day sleep.

My niece is very placid and sleeps 13 to 14 hours straight a night...and will still have 2 day sleeps, and she is 3 months older than my DS.

Ds is super active and a shocking sleeper. Partly my own fault- I instilled some very bad habits- but I think partly genetic. Dh and I both were both terrible sleepers, neither of us slept through the night until we were at least two and a half (but we sleep like logs now). My mum and MIL feel very vindicated :lol:

#1 was very active and is a top sleeper
#2 and #3 very placid and gentle are also great sleepers

my little hyper head was a terrible sleeper until this year when she's finally learing to chill out a bit...

Mine are very active and they're not great sleepers.

My DS is very active and is not a great sleeper.

DD has always been a really active and alert bub, and was a shocker for a while - she still has her moments, and even tho she runs amok during the day and doesn't sit still, she dropped to one sleep a day at 11months, and thats only around an hour and 15 minutes that she'll sleep for. Although, she has started sleeping through the nights a couple of times a week :cheer:

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My theory was that if the parents are good sleepers then the children tend to be good sleepers.

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Yeah, this holds true for us - I was also a shocker of a baby and apparently DD takes after me in many ways. I still am not the best sleeper - not the worst either. I'm hoping that bub#2 will take after DH, who was his mum's worst sleeper yet was sleeping thru from 12weeks!! His brother, as a toddler, apparently used to take himself off for his day sleeps when he was ready - wouldn't that be a dream!

I agree more with who mentioned sometimes the more active they are the harder it is for them to relax......this is sooooo true for DS druing the day. I often comment how no matter how tired he is he can't seem to relax anywhere, anytime for a rest IYKWIM....only once in bed. As for night he only started sleeping through a month ago, but will sleep 12 to 13hrs.