We've possibly all been there. In a deep sleep and suddenly the monitor blares on or the bedroom door opens and we are horrified to see the time that our baby or child is awake!!! The first thing to note is that anything before 6 am is deemed early rising. Anything post 6 am is considered daytime!
An interesting concept is that we can fall into one of two categories (chronotypes) in terms of our wakefulness:
Larks - These are are those people who can easily can up in the morning and start their day but feel tired earlier in the evenings.
Owls - Then on the other hand there those who can stay up late at night working and be very alert but then may struggle with earlier starts.
Babies and young infants fall into the Lark chronotype. Therefore, if you are an Owl parent where you naturally go to bed later and are later to rise you will find these early wakings tough.
Are you an Owl or Lark?
Lark - I get up early
Owl - I stay up late
Why does it happen and what can you do?
Firstly, it could be that the baby or child has low sleep needs. It may be that by 5 am they have already had enough sleep and achieved the 10-11 hours they need. This is more likely to be the case if they have had an earlier bedtime as well (say 6-7pm). A later bedtime will generally lead to a later rise, but it will take time to take effect.
On the other hand, being overtired and having a too-late bedtime can also cause early rising. It is less likely that this is the case, but it could be a reason to consider. Look at an earlier bedtime as this may prevent the build up of cortisol, which can lead to overtiredness and then an early wake up time.
Too much or too little sleep in the day can be a reason for early waking. Look at naps in the day and whether your baby or child is getting enough rest or whether they are having too much day sleep.
What about older babies?
For older babies try not to do the nap too early in the day (if they have woken early) as this may keep the pattern going. Naps are most ideal in the middle of the day, which is the middle of the wake window.
The issue with the early morning, is that our sleep is lighter, so we will be more likely to be disturbed by feeling too hot or cold, any noise or if the room is too light. It is not necessarily the case that every child needs a dark room, but it could absolutely be worth having black outs to help with early rising. Avoid the use of ‘blue’ lights or nightlights and use ‘red’ which does not interfere with melatonin production needed for sleep.
The number one key thing is not to allow the ‘day’ to start pre 6 am! Try some hugging or settling, or white noise to show that it is not time to get up yet. Avoid turning on lights or playing, so the baby or child starts to understand this as well. Aim to do this for around half an hour, and if they are not going back to sleep then turn on the lights, but keep trying to get as close to 6am as you can. Do not do breakfast too early and try to stick to a more appropriate time, as our circadian rhythm is linked with eating patterns and could reinforce the early rising. One other thing you could try is to set a timer or alarm for 10 to 15 minutes before the usual wake up time and try to get them back to sleep into another sleep cycle.
If you are typically an Owl chronotype, try to push your bedtime earlier by 15 minute increments. It may take a while for your internal body clock to adjust but it could help with the early rising for yourself.
Ensure the baby or child gets good exposure of broad spectrum daylight during the day and keeping lights bright in the day during the winter months to help with their circadian rhythms (internal body clock).
Finally remember, if your baby or child is waking earlier since the recent clock changes, we can expect an adjustment period which may be between 1-2 weeks.
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