What Are The Sundown Scaries? The Postpartum Sensation Explained

When I was newly postpartum, deep in the midst of sleepless nights and unpredictable days, I would absolutely dread the night. I would sit on the floor of my small galley kitchen, hug my knees, and just cry.

At the time, I didn’t know that I was suffering from postpartum depression and postpartum anxiety. I thought that I was just reeling from newborn life. While I could manage to get through my days with my daughter okay, it seemed that the nighttime would be a huge flare-up for all my fear and worry. Apparently, this is called the “Sundown Scaries,” and they’re totally normal.

One mom on TikTok, Cameron Oaks Rogers, spoke on her podcast about this very subject, sharing the her own feelings that came with nights with a newborn.

“Something I was not prepared for is the Sundown Scaries. That postpartum feeling of like, deep sadness and almost like agony and angst when the sun goes down,” she explained.

“I think a lot of it has to do with the marking of time, like, ‘Wait, another day has passed? What did I do today?’ And feeling like I didn’t do anything. But also like when you have a fresh baby, the fear of like, what is the night about to hold? Because it’s f**king hit or miss in the beginning.”

She goes on to say that this part of postpartum life surprised her. In turn, she wanted to tell other moms they were not alone and added some helpful tips to make the sundown scaries not-so-scary.

“I was not prepared for that window of emotion. I talked about this with my friend who was deeply in it…[she said] find something that brings you joy to do during that window. Going for a nice walk. Like. I love a post-dinner family walk so much. Having a show that you really enjoy and watching it during that window of time. Or maybe that’s the time where your partner or someone is helping with the baby and you go take like a shower or time to yourself. Whatever it is, like finding something that helps you during that specific transition of the day. Because it can be pretty, jarring and overwhelming.”

After the video gained traction, several moms commented on the video, noting their own struggles with the Sunday Scaries.

“My husband & I have a theory that this could be primitive — night time is a more vulnerable time for animals so as moms we feel a biological nervousness as the sun sets!” one user pointed out.

Another wrote, “I never heard anyone talk about this while pregnant and it SHOOK me freshly postpartum. Evening scaries were so real”

“i dreaded night time. i was anxious about it all day knowing it was coming and then feeding my baby every 2 hours of darkness just feeling overwhelmed,” another said.