What are disrupted sleep cycles?

A disrupted sleep cycle is when your body’s usual time to go to bed and wake up gets messed up, like a toy that stops working properly.

Imagine you have a favorite clock that tells you it's time for bed and time to wake up. Every night, you wind it up, poof, it starts ticking, and you know it's bedtime. In the morning, it rings, and you get up. That’s your sleep cycle working like a well-oiled machine.

But sometimes, that clock gets bumped or knocked over, maybe by a big brother or a loud noise. Now it doesn’t tick right anymore. You might go to bed late because you were playing too long, or you wake up early because the clock rang too soon. That’s what happens with disrupted sleep cycles, your body’s clock gets confused.

Just like that toy clock, when your body's clock is off, you feel tired and grumpy all day. But if you get back on a regular schedule, your clock can start working properly again!