Wired and Tired: How the Nervous System Shapes Infant Sleep
With Lauren Zatezalo, OT student, and Melissa O'Neal, OTR/L
Every new parent has been told to 'just let the baby sleep.' This episode explains why that advice ignores half the picture. Lauren and Melissa walk through the neuroscience of infant sleep regulation: what the nervous system is doing, why it matters, and what that means for the parent trying to survive the night.
What You Will Learn in This Episode
- How the infant nervous system regulates, and why a newborn's sleep patterns are neurologically appropriate, not a sleep problem.
- Why some babies are more sensitive to environmental stimulation than others, and what that looks like in daily life.
- What the difference is between a dysregulated nervous system and a newborn who is simply behaving normally.
- How understanding the nervous system changes the practical strategies you use to help your baby, and yourself, sleep.
- What an OT sees when they look at infant sleep that a sleep consultant might not.
Show Notes and Resources
Postpartum Support International (postpartum.net). The Possums Approach by Dr. Pam Douglas (possumsonline.com). American Occupational Therapy Association (aota.org).
From This Episode
Transcript excerpt coming soon.
Get the Free OT Guide to the Fourth Trimester
The practical OT guide to postpartum daily life. Free.
Educational content only. Not a substitute for professional care.
More to Explore
From Chaos to Calm: Simple Sleep Strategies for New Parents
Kaili Ets
19 min
Kaili Ets is both an occupational therapist and a mother who has been in the middle of postpartum sleep deprivation. This episode is the practical follow-up to the nervous system conversation, focusing less on why and more on what to actually do about it. Three sleep strategies, built for the real conditions of new parenthood.
Listen NowWelcome to Functional Fourth Trimester: Rethinking Daily Life After Birth
20 min
This is the episode that explains everything. What this podcast is, why two occupational therapists made it, and what the OT framework for postpartum life actually means in practice. If you are new to Functional Fourth Trimester, start here.
Listen Now