Childhood Sleep Disturbances

The phrase “sleep like a baby” expresses a conception of childhood as less troubled by the things which might disturb sleep, excepting, of course, such sleep-disrupting influences as the anticipation of Christmas morning or movies about monsters and nuclear disaster.

Abstract

"Getting a good night's sleep" and other phrases in common parlance illustrate a truism with which everyone would agree: the quality of one's sleep life is, subjectively, highly correlated with one's general quality of life and sense of well-being. Thus sleeping well at night is often stated (by adults) to be a benefit of a good life or a life free from excessive worry, and disturbed sleep, on the other hand, is sometimes thought to result from having to make a difficult decision, "taking one's job to bed," or having a troubled conscience. In contrast to these commonsense conceptions of adult sleep, the phrase "sleep like a baby" expresses a conception of childhood as less troubled by the things which might disturb sleep (excepting, of course, such sleep-disrupting influences as the anticipation of Christmas morning or movies about monsters and nuclear disaster).