We all know how quickly our babies fall asleep when they are travelling in a moving car. Yes, this happens to everyone and not just the babies, but have you ever thought the reason behind the same? Well, there are a number of reasons why babies fall asleep in cars. Although, this does not happen with every baby but yes, most of them. On one side, some babies can handle being tired and can stay up as long as required, whereas on the other side some fall asleep every time they travel in car or in a moving vehicle. One of the other reasons can be the sleep needed by the baby. Scientists say that some babies need even less than eight hours of sleep and wake up feeling absolutely active the next morning, whereas others require as long as 11 hours of sleep. So, if your child has slept as much as required the night before travelling, he/she is unlikely to fall asleep and stay up in a moving car for longer time. So, let us look at some of the reasons why babies fall asleep in a moving car. These are given below:

Kids Sleep: 7 Reasons Children Always Fall Asleep in Cars

Rocking Movement of The Car

Yes, the gentle movement of the car can make anyone sleepy, especially the babies. According to some scientists, the rocking or slow, gentle movement of the car can make the baby fall asleep if he/she is tired. This is a lot similar when parents rock their babies to sleep. It has also been said that at this point, children are reminded of the time when they were in their mommy’s tummy.

Humming Noise

There is a gentle and constant humming noise from the car engine when we are in a moving car. This is referred to as ‘white noise’ by the scientists. This is a type of constant and an uninteresting noise that can be a lot helpful in making someone fall asleep. Fan noises are also referred to as white noise and a lot of parents use this white noise to make their babies fall asleep. Not only babies, but this white noise is also used by the grown-ups when they are unable to sleep.

Car seems to be similar to the beds

The warm and comfortable interior of the car makes the babies feel safe and relaxed in a moving car. They seem to be comfortable because their mommies are usually with them. So, if the baby is feeling even a bit sleepy and relaxed, they will likely be able to sleep a lot easily.

Boredom

Sitting for a longer time in a moving car can not only be boring for a baby but for anyone else as well.  In a moving car, kids cannot do anything except for relaxing unlike their rest of the day when they are busy in playing and doing other activities during the rest of the day. But in car, they have no other option rather than looking at the views outside the window.

Highway Hypnosis

This is a lot similar to the sleep time when our minds and bodies are doing nothing and become quiet and calm because we are basically getting ready for sleep. So, the mind and body of a baby goes into the same kind of quiet and calm daze, which is also called as highway hypnosis. This not lonely happens to the babies but can happen to the drivers too, unexpectedly.

Sleep debt

This is another reason why your baby falls asleep in a car. Let me explain! We all need to have at lets 8 hours of sleep every night and for babies, it is a lot more than that. So, sometimes, your baby may be trying to catch up on the sleep he/she didn’t get the night before. This is called as sleep debt. So, whenever our body is tired, they will somehow find the time and place to sleep whenever they can.

The surroundings

The unchanging interior of the car is one of the reasons why babies fall asleep in car. Apart from this, mommy and daddy being around the kid and the visuals outside the car contribute to the bay’s sleep in a larger extent. Due to this, the baby feels safe and the audible, visual and sensory stimulation are thereby reduced.

Although, scientists are still unclear of the fact why babies fall asleep in a moving car but the above reasons provide us with some of the reasons that contribute to this fact.