# Why Do Little Kids Fall Asleep So Fast and Feel So Heavy **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 8, 2012, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-little-kids-fall-asleep-so-fast-and-feel-so-heavy/612208 "2012-02-08T17:14:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AndyLee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/898d66/32.png) [@AndyLee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndyLee)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-little-kids-fall-asleep-so-fast-and-feel-so-heavy/612208/1 "2012-02-08T17:14:19Z")
I had forgotten a hard and fast rule, when you are around a little kid under 3, especially NEVER PICK THEM UP. Why because they instantly fall asleep. I was holding a friend’s kid and sure enough, five seconds after I picked him up he was dead asleep. And he not only wasn’t gonna wake up but he was all dead weight. How come littlel kids are instant balls of energy and then five seconds later they are dead to the world? I at first though it’s physical, but could it be as we grow we train ourselves to fall asleep. I know I have a tendency to zonk out within 15 minutes of picking up a book or magazine, but I rarely fall asleep watching TV or looking at my laptop in bed ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-little-kids-fall-asleep-so-fast-and-feel-so-heavy/612208/2 "2012-02-08T17:37:16Z")
> [@AndyLee](#): > > How come littlel kids are instant balls of energy and then five seconds later they are dead to the world? I at first though it’s physical, but could it be as we grow we train ourselves to fall asleep. Because kids, like all young animals, have only two speeds: full out or full stop. You’re own your own about the dead weight, though. It’s a mysterious talent shared by small children and cats of any age, as evidenced by MY cats who are invariably heavier when they’re either sleeping or walking on top of me when _I’m_ trying to sleep. ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-little-kids-fall-asleep-so-fast-and-feel-so-heavy/612208/3 "2012-02-08T18:24:17Z")
Since this is the SD, I might as well be one of the token contrarians. This is not my experience from my daughter. She is a light sleeper. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-little-kids-fall-asleep-so-fast-and-feel-so-heavy/612208/4 "2012-02-08T18:33:06Z")
I’ve never heard of this. My niece (2) takes like 2 books and a rocking chair and a dark room to fall asleep. She fights it every second. If you pick her up she plays with your face then wriggles away to go give someone else a hug. My friend’s 2.5 year old is pretty much the same. My younger niece (4 months) did fall asleep on me the other day but that was after 20 minutes of her looking around at random stuff and me bouncing her. When she fell asleep she wasn’t out like a light, she was wiggly. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-little-kids-fall-asleep-so-fast-and-feel-so-heavy/612208/5 "2012-02-08T18:37:31Z")
A few months ago I was hanging out with a friend in the city. Partiers were shouting, car horns were honking, and there was general loud cacaphony. Her 3 month old slept through it all. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-little-kids-fall-asleep-so-fast-and-feel-so-heavy/612208/6 "2012-02-08T18:38:00Z")
> [@AndyLee](#): > > And he not only wasn’t gonna wake up but he was all dead weight. Dead weight “feels” heavier. See first response in the following thread: > **[Dead Weight – Do dead people really weigh more?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=473585)** > > Some time ago I watched a program about the building of the infamous Burma railway (bridge on the river Kwai) during WWII. One allied prisoner was telling how they would carry from camp to camp sick comrades who were too ill to walk themselves. He... ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-little-kids-fall-asleep-so-fast-and-feel-so-heavy/612208/7 "2012-02-08T18:39:33Z")
Any completely relaxed body (child, adult, cat, whatever) is going to feel a lot heavier than one that is cooperating with you. A 75-pound child will shift their weight or put an arm over your shoulder or lean into your center of gravity to make them easier to carry. An asleep child will be harder to carry than the equivalent sack of potatoes because of the awkward weight distribution of the arms and legs. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-little-kids-fall-asleep-so-fast-and-feel-so-heavy/612208/8 "2012-02-08T23:32:51Z")
i am a known sleep activator. the only thing faster than me is a moving car.