The photo above is of my daughter sleeping. Yes, she is half on the couch, half standing, and fully snoozing. I have several pictures of my little ones in surprising slumber stations. When they are in bed and I check in on them later in the night, I giggle because kids can doze like contortionists.

I envy the youth’s ability to be dead to the world. When my son falls asleep within 30 seconds of lying down, I am so jealous because I toss and turn for up to an hour some nights. When I work the evening shift at a hospital, my sleep schedule is all out of whack, and I seem to have zero capability of napping in the mornings, afternoons, or nights.

Youngsters do not rouse with aches and pains despite sleeping with one arm over the rail, both legs in the air, or even their heads hanging off the mattress. In my daughter’s case, how are her legs not numb from half-standing? I am amused at how a tot moves so much during their sleep. They start the night with their head in the center of the pillow, blanket sides tucked in, and looking like angels. Somehow, they wake up on the floor, hallway in the hallway, with five blankets on their heads.

Let them lie.

I am an inpatient pediatric intensive care unit (ICU) nurse with a decade of experience, the majority of my years working the late shift. One thing I emphasize to parents is not to touch a sleeping baby. It is challenging to get quality rest in the hospital. In the ICU, the staff checks on the patient at a minimum of once an hour. Assessments include vital signs, diaper changes, skin examinations, and auscultation of lung sounds.

That is a lot! Babies can sleep through plenty, but even they have limits. Exhaustion comes swift when neither the parents nor the infants get beneficial shut-eye. It is not uncommon for patients to develop ICU delirium after being in the hospital for three days and not attaining quality sleep. It can happen that quickly. The body needs to shut down.

Without sleep, the brain cannot reset. Delirium occurs because the mind cannot differentiate between days and nights. Patients and parents have less resilience and lose the ability to manage even the smallest annoyance. Kids scream when a nurse attempts to take a temperature. Parents get irritated when their teenager cries. Patients forget that they are in a hospital because they are so confused from lack of sleep. Children will pull off oxygen tubes and yanking out intravenous lines. If this happens, nurses apply hospital restraints to keep the little ones safe. Restraints further aggravate both the parents and the youngsters due to limited mobility.

Please do not touch the babe.

I often see the patient fall asleep after struggling for hours. The dad looks at their kid and says to me, “His head looks uncomfortable. Can we move it?” My answer is, “I recommend letting him sleep.” I prefer for the dad to ask because then I get to explain how important sleep is and how difficult it is to obtain while in the ICU.

The more common occurrence is that the child is snoozing, and the mom wants to make them more snug. So, she repositions the head, moves the blanket over them, or pushes the arm towards the middle. The baby wakes up! Oh no, it is over. The battle for naps is lost. Crying, cuddling, and screaming ensues. 

This scenario might seem dramatic, but I see it every day that I work. Hospitals are high-stress environments. Seeing a sleep-deprived kid wake up yelling because of interrupted rest, and realize they are still in the hospital is not fun.

The lesson is: Don’t wake the tot. At home, we do not stare at them and reposition their limbs for comfort throughout the night. We know they are flexible and versatile. The hospital is no different. Let them lie as they are and let their bodies heal. When they are asleep, whisper, tiptoe, and don’t make eye contact. Maybe don’t even breathe in their direction. It is silly, but my point still stands; let them sleep.

Editor: Michelle Naragon