All About Early Morning Wakings
Early morning wakings is the sleep problem I hear about the most. I get it, it’s one thing to get up once or twice during the night and soothe your child, but getting up at 5am every day? That’s a whole nother ball game.
What I find more often than not, is that parents don’t fully understand what an early morning is or why it’s happening. In our culture it’s become this parenting joke that kids wake up before the sun does and that’s just the way they operate. This is NOT TRUE!!!!!!
what does and does not constitute as an early morning waking
why early morning wakings occur
how to combat early mornings
how to break an early to bed early to rise sleep cycle
Happy reading!
Is it an early morning waking?
Early morning waking can be difficult for parents to define, after all we all have our own thoughts on what is deemed “early” in the morning. It’s helpful to remember that early morning wakings do have a definition when it comes to whether it’s considered a sleep problem or not.
For the purposes of sleep training and sleep hygiene an early morning waking is defined as when a child wakes before 6:00AM and does not fall back to sleep AND they have not had an adequate amount of night time sleep.
It is not considered an early morning waking *if*-
- It is past the hour of 6:00AM
- The child falls back to sleep after waking for a brief period of time
- The child has had at least 10.5 hours of sleep at night
- The child is hitting average sleep needs as a total
- The child is waking within a 30-minute window of the desired wake time
Let’s break these down in a little more detail…..
1) It’ is past 6:00AM- 6:00AM is considered a reasonable time of day for a baby or a child to wake in the morning. That doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to get up and get them out of the crib at 6AM.
I recommend to all parents (whether you sleep train or not) to set a desired out of crib time and stick with it. Most parents I work with pick a time between 6:30-7:30AM but according to our Circadian Rhythm, getting up any time between 6AM and 8AM is the best time frame for our bodies.
2) The child falls back to sleep OR it’s within half an hour of when you would get them anyway- As frustrating as it may be, if a child wakes and then falls back to sleep, it’s not an early morning waking. Your best bet here is to check all the main reasons a child does wake early and see if they could be the cause of that crack of dawn mini party. If none of it applies the best thing to do is ignore the brief waking or go in and use your sleep training method to comfort if it’s needed.
The 30-minute window rule is also slightly frustrating but it’s important to remember that we can only offer sleep, we cannot force it. Even if it’s not the time that you would like your child to wake up, a 30-minute change is very hard to make. It’s better to accept that as the time they wake and stick firm to your Out of Crib time.
3) The child has had at least 10.5 hours of night sleep/ They are meeting the average sleep totals for a 24-hour period- This one you might be able to manipulate slightly with schedule tweaks. I really hate it when you read all the baby sleep articles and books that say a baby should sleep 12 hours at night. Why? Because some people biologically cannot sleep more than 10.5 hours consecutively without waking. In simple terms it means that no matter how tired this person is, or what time they go to bed, they will wake around 10.5 hours after falling asleep for the night.
The total average sleep rule follows along the same lines. Every human being has a maximum amount of time they can sleep during a 24-hour period. If your child’s average sleep total is around 14 hours and they nap for 3.5 hours a day, then it’s illogical to think they could also pull a 12-hour night.
Luckily for these problems there are things that you can do to try and get your child to sleep later in the mornings. The first step would be to observe your child’s average sleep needs and track their sleep for a week or two. Then you would alter the schedule to allow night sleep to last longer.
For example, if your child happens to have a 10.5-hour cap on night sleep, you can change their out of crib time to shift their bedtime to later. A later bedtime will equal a later wake time.
If your child is getting too much daytime sleep then you can wake from naps to ensure there is more sleep pressure for night time sleep.
Schedule changes can be somewhat tricky and need to be taken cautiously and one step at a time. If your child is an independent sleeper with a schedule change need, please check out my A la carte schedule tracker service, where I can help you shift schedules and determine needs in a less disruptive way.
The Main Reasons for Early Mornings
Overtired- It sounds strange but the *The* number one reason for early morning wakings is that your child is overtired. Sleep begets sleep when it comes to babies and young children. If your child is not getting enough sleep for their age, then they will most likely be waking frequently through the night and also early in the morning.
Undertired – the opposite of overtired. Your child is getting too much sleep! This goes back to our discussion on sleep totals. If your child’s sleep needs are being met before a reasonable morning hour, they cannot sleep any longer than their body will allow.
Not sure if your child is getting enough or too much sleep? Check out my free wake window chart HERE. It will tell you the average sleep needs of a child your age. Remember every persona is unique in their specific needs but it’s a great starting place to see if any changes should be made.
Environment- If your baby’s schedule is on point, they are and independent sleeper, and literally everything is checked of yet they seem to wake like clockwork at 5AMit’s time to do a little detective work. What is going on at that time? Is the sun coming through the curtains hitting their crib? Does traffic or household noise increase? Does the air conditioning or heat kick off or on creating a too cold or warm environment?
If it’s too bright- install blackout curtains
If it’s too loud- increase their sound machine (reasonably) to drown out extra noise
If the temp is off- consider changing the way you heat/cool your home or dress them in a more conducive way.
The Early Morning Feeder- Often when babies are dropping night feeds, they can get stuck on a 5:00AM (ish) feed. They wake and they are genuinely hungry because it’s morning, but it’s too early in the morning. If your baby is waking to feed at this hour and not falling back to sleep follow the following steps:
1) Confirm with your pediatrician that your baby is growing well and can wait until a reasonable morning hour to feed.
2) Slowly start feeding 15 minutes later every other day until you reach your desired morning feeding. You can choose to comfort or use your sleep training method to hit these times frames, whatever works for your family.
3) When you feed the baby, either feed and lay back down wide awake or hold silently in their dark environment until your desired morning wake time. Then start your day and your wake window from THAT time, not the time they woke up.
They aren’t independent sleepers- A child that cannot put themselves to sleep or back to sleep will almost always wake early in the morning. If you are assisting your child to sleep during bed and throughout the night then they will not be able to fall back to sleep in the early morning. Since sleep pressure is so low in the early morning hours, they generally won’t go back to sleep at all as your presence and stimulation will override the desire to sleep.
Reasons you can’t control
Sometimes there are reasons for early morning wakings that you cannot control. This is why it’s important to not fly off the handle at the first 5AM wake up and start changing things around. Ask yourself the following questions before acting:
1) Have they consistently been waking early in the morning more often than not for the past 14 days?
2) Are any developmental changes happening, such as learning to crawl or a language burst?
3) Have things been a little hectic lately, such as rushed bedtimes or how they are receiving nutrients? Could they be getting ill? Is a new baby arriving in the home?
If it isn’t consistent for at least 10 days and or you can see any of these other reasons occurring then it’s best to let it be and respond with your sleep training method or the same comfort you normally give. Odds are that if no sleep needs change is needed and you are consistent with your response, things will go back to normal in a short period of time.
What if you’re in a cycle of early to bed early to rise?
Parents often get into this cycle. Their baby wakes up at 5AM or so, so they start their day. The problem with this is that because they got up earlier, naps are earlier. If naps are earlier, then bedtime is earlier. If bedtime is earlier, then their sleep needs are being met. If their sleep needs are being met……you see where I’m going with this.
If you find yourself stuck in this cycle of early bedtime equals early rise time then it’s time to put on the breaks. Make it a goal to retrieve your child 15-30 minutes later than when they wake. You can choose to leave them in the crib and respond with your sleep training method if they fuss or you can go in and hold them in the dark and calm environment (do not feed until desired time.) Start your day when your goal is met and continue to push the clock until they are finally going to bed at an hour that creates good night sleep without an early morning wake up.
Pro Tip: If your baby is awake but happy, do absolutely nothing! Let them play in their crib until they start to fuss or cry. Sometimes no response is the best response.
Early morning wakings are the absolute beast. They are the hardest habit to break and require work and patience. If you find yourself here, take a deep breath and know that things can and will change. Hopefully, this article has helped you to pinpoint the cause and lead you in the right direction to make the necessary changes.
If you desire or need 1:1 help, please look at my service packages or reach out to me through email if you aren’t sure what kind of help you need.