Sleepabee

Early morning waking

5 min read

Why some babies and toddlers start the day before 6 am, how to work out the cause, and what usually helps.

A baby who is up and ready for the day at 5 am is one of the most common — and most tiring — sleep problems after the first months. The good news is that it usually has a cause you can find.

What counts as "early"

Sleep experts usually call a waking between 4:00 and 6:00 am an early morning waking. Waking somewhere between 6:00 and 7:00 am is a normal, healthy start to the day for babies and toddlers, even if it feels early to adults.

Early mornings are hard to fix partly because of biology: by 4–6 am a child has done most of the night's sleep, sleep is lighter, and the drive to keep sleeping is at its weakest. Small things that would not wake them at midnight can wake them now.

Common causes

Early waking can come from a schedule that is off in either direction, so it helps to check the whole day before changing anything.

  • Light in the room. Even a little early daylight around the curtains can tell a child's body it is morning.
  • Bedtime too late, or a long stretch before bed. An overtired child often wakes earlier, not later. Putting a child to bed later rarely buys a longer morning.
  • Bedtime too early, or too much day sleep. If a child already gets their full night and naps are long, they may simply be finished sleeping by 5 am.
  • A first nap that starts too early. If the morning nap comes very soon after an early waking, it can quietly lock the early start in place.
  • Habit. Once early waking has gone on for a while, the body can start to expect it.

How to tell which one it is: add up your child's sleep over 24 hours and compare it with the typical range for their age. Little total sleep and a cranky child point to overtiredness; a full night plus long naps points to too much sleep, or a bedtime that is early for your child.

What usually helps

  • Make the room really dark. Blackout blinds help most children; a useful test is that you should not be able to see your hand in front of your face.
  • Treat it as night until 6 am. Keep things dark, quiet and calm — no lights on, no play, no sign that the day has started.
  • Don't start the first nap too early. As a guide, the first nap begins no earlier than about 8 am for a baby on three naps, and about 9 am for a baby on two.
  • Keep bedtime in the usual range. For most babies over 4 months and toddlers that is around 7–8 pm. Within that window, move it in small steps — earlier if your child seems overtired, later if they are sleeping plenty.
  • Keep weekends steady. For toddlers, sleeping in more than about an hour past the usual wake time can unsettle their body clock.
  • Give each change time. Try one change at a time for at least a week before judging it. In toddlers, shifting the body clock can take up to three weeks.

If your child is otherwise feeding well and growing on track, hunger is usually not the first thing to look at for an early waking.

When to talk to a doctor

Talk to your doctor or health visitor soon if your child:

  • snores often, seems to struggle to breathe at night, or is very sleepy during the day;
  • is not gaining weight as expected, or has lost their appetite;
  • has sleep problems you are finding hard to manage.

If you are worried and not sure what to do, it is always fine to ask.

If your baby is under 3 months old with a temperature of 38 °C (100.4 °F) or higher, or 3–6 months old with 39 °C (102.2 °F) or higher, call your doctor straight away. If you cannot reach a doctor, call your local emergency number.

Call your local emergency number now if your baby:

  • stops breathing for more than 20 seconds;
  • is breathing very fast or with great effort — grunting, or sucking their tummy in with each breath;
  • has blue, grey, pale or blotchy skin, lips or tongue;
  • is very hard to wake, or will not wake up;
  • is floppy, or is not feeding;
  • has a seizure (fit), or a rash that does not fade when you press a glass against it.

Sources

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