Troubleshooting Early Morning Wakings
As a parent you understand the frustration and exhaustion
that comes with waking up to a crying or restless baby in the
early morning hours.
Early morning wake ups don’t just disrupt your baby’s
sleep but also your entire household’s routine and
well-being. It is one of the most challenging sleep
issues to resolve.
With determination, patience, and an in-depth review of your baby's current sleep situation, you can pin point the root cause of the early morning wake-ups and take the steps to overcome them, reclaiming restful nights for everyone.
What is an early morning wake up?
There is a difference between being an early riser and waking up too early - many of us parents resign to the fact that we just have an “early riser” whereas too often, our babies have woken prematurely and still need more sleep.
An early morning wakeup is typically considered to be any time before 6am (based on a recommended 10-12 hours of night sleep)
It also helps to consider your baby’s form upon waking when trying to determine if your baby needs more sleep. If they are waking happy and seemingly refreshed, then you most likely are not dealing with an early morning wake up. Where they are cranky, tired or upset then you are more likely dealing with an early-rising issue.
Identifying the causes of early morning wake ups
The first step in resolving an early morning waking is to find the cause of it. This is not always a quick process and it requires a lot of troubleshooting and patience.
Exposure to light
Light is the main external cue that regulates the body's internal clock or circadian rhythm. The presence of light in your child’s sleep environment sends a signal to the brain that it is time to wake up and start the day.
Sleep pressure or homeostatic sleep drive
Sleep pressure, or the body's drive for sleep decreases as the night progresses into the early morning hours, coinciding with your child entering their lightest stage of sleep. During this phase, when sleep pressure is at its lowest, your child is most susceptible to disturbances.
Various factors, including room temperature, wet nappies, background noise, and light exposure (as mentioned earlier), can contribute to your baby waking up during these early morning hours.
Basic needs
It may be the case that your baby is waking up early because they are hungry. Ensuring good meals during the day and offering full milk feeds throughout the day and night (if your baby is still taking a night feed) may help with this.
Occasional early morning wakings may be as result of teething, travelling, or your baby being sick or going through a regression.
Sleep associations
If your baby has strong sleep associations such as being fed or comforted to sleep, they will struggle to get back to sleep independently, especially once woken in the early morning when sleep pressure is light.
Similarly, consistently going down drowsy or asleep can hinder their ability to self-soothe and resettle during natural sleep cycles, perpetuating early morning wakeups.
Schedule issues
Recurring early morning wake ups are generally a sign of a scheduling issue. An inappropriate daytime schedule can cause misalignment of your baby’s circadian rhythm, leading to persistent early morning wakeups.
Some of the below elements of a schedule can contribute to the issue:
A morning nap that is too early - A child that wakes too early will naturally struggle to stay awake until their scheduled morning nap. However, if they continuously fall asleep too early, the morning nap becomes almost an extension of the unfinished night time sleep which just reinforces the early wakeup.
Bedtime is too late - Bedtime should be appropriately set based on your child’s age & sleep needs. If your child has had insufficient naps during the day or if there is too long a gap between the last nap of the day and bedtime, it then leads to overtiredness. Overtiredness makes it more difficult for your child to fall asleep and stay asleep.
The last nap of the day is too late or too long - Where the last nap is too late it can lead to resistance at bedtime, interfering with night time sleep and causing early morning wakes. Where the last nap is too long, the surplus of daytime sleep can potentially eat into night time sleep, resulting in early morning wakeups.
Too much daytime sleep - Too much sleep during the preceding day often eats into night time sleep by reducing morning sleep and leading to early morning wakeups.
Too little daytime sleep - Too little daytime sleep the preceding day can lead to an overtired child who will struggle to fall asleep and stay asleep, resulting in early morning wakeups.
You are reinforcing the early habit wake
You may inadvertently be reinforcing the early waking patterns by going into your baby as soon as they wake in an effort to resettle them. Perhaps you’re even feeding them before the scheduled morning feed.
Conclusion
Dealing with early morning wakeups can be tough, but by carefully examining current routines, habits, and schedules, you can confidently develop a plan to address their underlying causes and extend your baby's morning sleep.
If you're struggling and need personalised support, please reach out by booking a free 15-minute consultation. In the meantime, download my free guide on early morning wakeups to start reclaiming restful nights for your family.
References:
Blume, C., Garbazza, C., Spitschan, M. (2019) ‘Effects of light on human circadian rhythms, sleep and mood’ Somnologie, vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 147-156. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6751071/
