Tired but wired?

November 27, 2024 6:11 PM

What is it about young children’s physiology that makes them get overexcited and irritable when tired? I ask because I’m much more likely to get that sort of tired than the sleepy, sluggish typical adult tired.
posted by wheatlets to Health & Fitness (8 answers total)

I believe it's the response to the shot of cortisol they get when they stay awake too long.
posted by freethefeet at 7:47 PM on November 27

For my kids the tired before wired signs were subtle and then they got a second wind. So they do get sleepy and dull but it might not be obvious especially on a drive home from daycare after work when they zone out.

So maybe you’re missing your tired signs ?
posted by St. Peepsburg at 8:21 PM on November 27

Response by poster: Freethefeet (love the name, by the way) - do you have any info on why most adults don’t get this response anymore?

St. Peepsburg - there are definitely times I’m too busy to notice them, and also times when I have to ignore them to get things done - but isn’t that true of most adults? Who actually gets to stop and rest every time they’re tired?
posted by wheatlets at 8:43 PM on November 27

Adults tend to call it "punchy" or variations on it. It's definitely a thing that happens to adults when you push through being tired.
posted by lapis at 9:02 PM on November 27 [2 favorites]

Seconding (thirding?) - you probably do get sleepy/sluggish but blow by it or don't notice it. For me, once it's dark out, it does seem to sync up to the 90 minute sleep cycle, so if I'm yawning-tired at 9:30 p.m. but don't go to sleep, I'll get wired-tired until around 11 p.m. when I'll get yawning-tired again.
posted by cocoagirl at 9:05 PM on November 27

If I had to guess I would say that their minds get tired before their bodies do. They have tons of physical energy but the brain is all used up.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 9:16 PM on November 27

Hi wheatlets, I think I question the premise that adults don't get this- I think most adults get the irritable kind of tired, for sure. Perhaps it's also modulated by the various self medications of alcohol and caffeine? Also socialisation on what's appropriate that kids don't have or don't have the developed brain to tone down the impulses.
posted by freethefeet at 10:14 PM on November 27

I refer to this as being overtired, and it can often have the effect of causing loopy behaviour in both kids and adults. My understanding of it is (as mentioned above) that it puts your body into a type of stress response that can release hormones such as cortisol. But also, the more tired you get the less functional your pre-frontal cortex is. The pre-frontal cortex is (in part) responsible for modulating behaviour, therefore if yours is on the fritz, your behaviour can be less inhibited and you do goofy things even though your 'higher' brain knows it's a bad idea. Kids just need way more sleep than adults, so I think that's probably why it's seen more in that age group.
posted by BeeJiddy at 10:49 PM on November 27