Cuando la bebé se duerme temprano, la madre se siente más tranquila.

When the baby falls asleep early, the mother feels calmer.

Breakdown of Cuando la bebé se duerme temprano, la madre se siente más tranquila.

• cuando: when
• temprano: early
• sentirse: to feel
• más: more

Questions & Answers about Cuando la bebé se duerme temprano, la madre se siente más tranquila.

Why is it se duerme instead of just duerme?

Because dormirse and dormir are not exactly the same.

• dormir = to sleep
• dormirse = to fall asleep

So:

• La bebé duerme temprano suggests the baby sleeps early / is sleeping early
• La bebé se duerme temprano means the baby falls asleep early

In this sentence, the idea is that the mother feels calmer when the baby gets to sleep early, so se duerme is the natural choice.

Why is there a se in se siente?

The verb here is sentirse, which means to feel in the sense of to feel emotionally or physically in a certain state.

• sentir = to feel something, to notice, or to regret
• sentirse = to feel oneself, to feel a certain way

So:

• La madre se siente más tranquila = The mother feels calmer
• not The mother feels something calmer

That is why Spanish uses se here.

Why is it tranquila and not tranquilo?