Out of all the baby sleep problems I see as a sleep consultant, early morning wakings are probably the most common one! I get asked questions about this all the time, so I’m going to break it down today to help you troubleshoot and figure out WHY it’s happening, and HOW to fix it.
I mean seriously, other than those enthusiastic athletes who get up early for a workout…does anyone actually want to wake up at 5 AM? I’ll put myself in the category of HARD NO.
But unfortunately for us, babies and younger children are biologically hardwired to wake up early. A wakeup between 6-8 AM is considered a normal, healthy wakeup time for little ones. Anything earlier than that is considered an early morning wakeup and may be caused by an underlying issue.
Early morning wakings are so common because they can be caused by many, MANY different factors. Nap transitions, getting too much daytime sleep, overtiredness, wrong schedule, and environmental factors such as light and noise are just some of the reasons why babies wake too early. When babies are disturbed from sleep between 4-6 AM, they sometimes have a hard time getting back to sleep because typically they are in a very light stage of sleep at this time, their melatonin levels are much lower, and their sleep pressure is diminished.
The good news is, there are things we can do to get your little one sleeping in to a normal wakeup time!
So let’s try to figure out why this is happening. Below is a list of some very common reasons that cause early mornings. Move down the list and give every step a try so you can pinpoint what the exact issue is; if after a few days nothing improves, move onto the next step!
1. The room isn’t dark enough.
Even small amounts of light can trick your child’s brain into thinking it’s time to wake up. How to tell if their room is dark enough? Close the door, turn off the lights and sit in their room until your eyes adjust. If you can start to see everything even with the lights off, it’s time to use blackout blinds or even just some black garbage bags to get that room as dark as possible. Here is a bedroom darkness scale for reference (aim for a 9 or a 10!):
Remember, some children are more sensitive to light than others. If you’ve tried a dark room for a few days and there’s no improvement, there is probably something else causing the early wakeups.
2. There might be noise that is waking baby up.
Environmental noises, early morning traffic, or the sound of someone getting ready for work in the morning can cause this. The easiest solution is to get a sound machine. Ideal placement is 6 feet away from the bed at a level of 40 decibels (you can download free decibel level meters on your phone to test it).
3. Baby might be waking up cold.
Body temperatures take a dip early in the morning, and this is usually the coldest part of the night as well. Try putting on an extra layer. Even just putting some socks on their feet under their PJs can do the trick.
4. Is your little one overtired at bedtime?
If it’s not a quick fix like the ones mentioned above, overtiredness is probably the most common reason for early morning wakings! If baby’s schedule is off for any reason, such as not enough daytime sleep, wrong wake windows, or bedtime being too late…this can lead to overtiredness and early morning wakeups. Why? Because when babies become overtired, their body assumes there is a reason why they aren’t sleeping and releases more daytime hormones (adrenaline and cortisol). This actually inhibits the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone, so there isn’t enough melatonin to last baby through the night. How do we fix this? Follow age-appropriate wake windows and make sure bedtime is between 6-8 PM. I know this is a huge variance, but it really depends on your child’s schedule what will work best for them.
5. Daytime schedule may need adjusting.
All babies and children have a max amount of sleep they need in a day. While newborns can sleep up to 18 hours a day, a 2-year-old only needs 12-14 hours, and that includes naps. So let’s say your child needs 13 hours of total sleep in 24 hours. If they take 3 hours worth of naps, they will only need 10 hours of overnight sleep. This means that sometimes we have to cap naps or drop a nap entirely to fix the problem. If you aren’t sure how to handle adjusting their daytime schedule, check out this blog post: All About Wake Windows. This post will help you find your child’s ideal wake window and schedule!
6. Early wakings may accidentally be reinforced by our actions.
Sometimes early morning wakings happen for reasons out of our control, such as sleep regressions. But, we can actually reinforce early mornings to continue happening by the way we respond to them. A major way I see parents and caregivers reinforcing early morning wakings is by having the first nap too early. Let me just say I completely understand their logic; baby woke early, now they’re tired and grumpy, so they need an earlier nap time so they don’t get overtired! Logically, it makes sense. The only problem is, if your baby is put down too early for a nap, their little brains will treat it as a continuation of night sleep, not a nap. And thus, the vicious cycle will continue. Instead, keep that little one awake until their usual nap time (for most babies this will be at least 8-9 AM). I know it’s hard; trust me, I went through this myself when my baby was 6 months old. Try to get them outside for some fresh air and sunlight to give them a boost, and avoid things like stroller walks or car rides that would normally put them to sleep.
Another way we can accidentally reinforce the early mornings is by what we do with baby right away. If your little one is up-and-at-em at 5 AM, how do you respond? Do you bring them into your bed? Try to rock them back to sleep? Feed them? If babies are receiving instant gratification, they will probably continue doing what they’re doing. I like to recommend sticking to a minimum wakeup time of 6 AM. So that means if your little one wakes before this, you don’t allow them to think it’s morning until at least 6 AM. This doesn’t mean you have to ignore them! If they wake early and they are upset, go to them, remind them it’s still night time, and try to soothe them while keeping them in their crib/bed. Using an “okay to wake” clock can work amazingly well for toddlers! After 6 AM if they still haven’t fallen asleep, get them up, do a diaper change, turn on all the lights, and do the feed in a bright room (not the bedroom). Shifting the feed away from being the very first step in the day can be extremely helpful!
7. Is bedtime too early?
I know this one may seem obvious, but sometimes it’s overlooked! As mentioned above, little ones only need so much sleep in a day. Sometimes when dealing with early mornings, their whole schedule is shifted earlier, resulting in an early bedtime. Most little ones won’t sleep more than 12 hours overnight. So if they are put to bed at 6 PM, the latest we could hope for them to sleep is 6 AM. Now, obviously, there are exceptions to every rule; sometimes I do recommend a super early bedtime, but it is always temporary, and usually just used to recover sleep debt. If you are using a bedtime of 6 PM or earlier regularly, you may want to consider shifting it later. This, along with sticking to a minimum first nap time, should get you well on your way to a “normal” schedule again.
8. Is your little one able to fall asleep without help at bedtime?
As I mentioned earlier, babies and toddlers are usually in a lighter stage of sleep early in the morning. If they are woken for any reason (even just from transitioning to a new sleep cycle), babies and children who lack independent sleep skills may struggle to fall back asleep. If you find yourself needing to rock, feed, or lay down with your little one (or anything else along those lines) to get them to fall asleep at bedtime, you may find yourself needing to continue doing this in the middle of the night or in the early morning. If you have tried everything else and you are still struggling with early mornings, teaching independent sleep skills will be a huge help. If you need help doing this, I’ve got you! Book a free sleep evaluation call here so we can chat about the issues you’re facing and I can explain how my support package can teach independent sleep skills and fix your early morning wakeup problem.
This can take time!
If you’ve discovered the problem, and it’s not a quick fix (like the first 3 steps), prepare for this to take some time to see an improvement! When dealing with any kind of schedule change, it can take weeks for a child to adjust. Stay consistent, give yourself and your child some grace (and a LOT of patience), and you will both get there! Remember, treat any wakeups earlier than 6 AM like you would a normal nighttime wakeup to avoid continuing the pattern!
You may also wish to check out my free guide to early morning wakings. You can download it HERE. It includes a larger list of possible solutions, along with a handy sleep chart broken down by age, including number of naps, amount of daytime sleep, wake windows, and earliest recommended time for the first nap.
If you are exhausted and frustrated with the early mornings, book a free 15-minute call HERE and I’ll happily discuss it with you. I offer discounted rates for specific problems such as this, and I’d be happy to help get you back on track!
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Have some sleep questions that need answering? Near or far I would LOVE to hear from you! Golden Dreams Sleep Consulting is based out of Golden, British Columbia, but works with families all over the world. All packages and services are available via phone, email, and WhatsApp!