Causes of Early Morning Wakes and How to Fix it
An early morning wake is any waking that occurs between 5:00-6:00 AM. Wakes before 5 AM should be treated as night wakings, and any waking after 6:00 is fair game for starting the day (even though it feels so early for some parents). Early morning wakes are one of the most complicated pieces of the sleep puzzle for young ones, and also one of the most frustrating for parents! Luckily, there are some facts we know about why babies and young children sometimes wake early in the morning or get stuck in an early waking pattern, and what we can do to fix it. Continue reading for more about:
The science of early morning waking
The causes of early morning wakes in babies, toddlers, and young children
Possible solutions for getting your baby or child to sleep later in the morning
The Science Behind Early Morning Waking
Sleep drive is influenced by two factors—circadian rhythm (created by melatonin and cortisol levels), and homeostatic sleep pressure (which is the build-up of need to sleep over time). Say your baby goes to sleep for the night at 7:00 and is having an early waking pattern of 5:00 AM. After 10 hours of good sleep, homeostatic sleep pressure is very low and your baby may just not feel tired enough to go back to sleep. Additionally, early in the morning melatonin levels are very low as cortisol levels begin to rise to prepare our bodies to start the day.
Another factor is that in the last third of the night, the amount of time that we spend in REM sleep increases. REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep is the sleep stage during which dreams occur. People are more easily awakened during REM sleep, and it actually is thought to prepare our nervous systems for waking.
Lastly, young babies are not biologically capable of having a night of fully consolidated sleep until they are 6 months old. This is because their circadian rhythms are not yet developed. Around 3-4 months of age, babies begin to produce melatonin, and they begin to achieve consolidated sleep in the first third of the night. The second third of the night follows, and finally the last third after 6 months of age (which includes the early morning sleep that we are talking about!)
Causes of Early Morning Waking in Babies and Young Children
Based on the science, there are several causes of early morning wakes that can be identified:
Light exposure.
Since circadian rhythm is very sensitive to light exposure, if any light is coming into your little one’s room it may signal cortisol production and and they will be up for the day. Light exposure sets our body clocks, so if they are being exposed to light early in the morning, their bodies will be programmed to start waking up at that time every day.
Sound.
Since sleep is so light early in the morning, any sounds in the house may easily awaken your little one.
Parental interference.
Again, since morning sleep is so light, any attempts at comforting your little one after 5:00 may be too stimulating and cause more harm than good.
Bedtime is too early.
If you put your baby or child to bed too early, they may either max out on their sleep quota for the 24 hour period, or they will just not have enough homeostatic sleep pressure to sleep until a reasonable wake up time. Generally speaking, 12 hours is the maximum time I want to see a child in bed for the night, and you have to consider how much they have slept for nap to figure out when a reasonable bedtime should be.
Morning nap is too early (or too long).
Naps that are taken too soon after morning waking actually encourage and solidify the early waking pattern. This is because the sleep cycles and quality that occur during an early morning nap are similar that which occurs in the last third of the night, so babies end using the nap to essentially “continue” night sleep.
Baby or child is chronically overtired/sleep deprived.
This is another important one to consider. Early morning wakes from no other identifiable cause can often be credited to overtiredness. This happens because when a child is chronically overtired, they produce a lot of excess cortisol. A higher baseline cortisol level means hitting the cortisol level which causes the body to wake for the day earlier. Boom—you get early morning wake ups. Since cortisol can tamper melatonin levels, you often see difficulty falling asleep at bedtime and increased night wakings as other effects of overtiredness.
Gratifying event taking place immediately upon waking.
This may or may not effect some children. If a child is watching TV, playing with their favorite toy, spending time on the iPad, or getting milk, juice or snacks right when they wake up, they may begin to wake early in anticipation of that event.
Hunger.
If your baby is not taking full feeds during the day or your child is not consuming enough calories throughout the daytime hours, he or she may wake early due to hunger.
Cold/Discomfort.
Children who are ill or teething may have trouble returning to sleep during the early morning hours due to discomfort. Additionally, the early morning hours are the coldest of the night, and if your little one is chilly, it can be difficult for them to get comfortable enough to get back to sleep.
Solutions for Early Morning Waking
So now that we know the typical causes of a baby or child waking early in the morning, what can we do to solve it? I recommend first identifying your likely causes. Then, identify your solution!
Make the room as dark as possible.
During the day, you should not be able to see your hand in front of your face. Invest in some good blackout blinds or curtains, tuck blankets into the gaps in the curtain rod, do whatever you have to do (even if it doesn’t look pretty).
Use a white noise machine.
White noise will block out any sounds that may be entering your child’s room in the morning, and can also serve to relax and soothe your little one back to sleep.
Practice “extinction” after 5:00 AM.
In order to avoid overstimulating your child and making it more difficult to go back to sleep, I typically recommend staying out of your child’s room after 5:00 unless you think they have a physical need or are in distress. I wouldn’t leave your baby or child crying alone for an hour, but leave them if they are just whining and fussing. You can also start this in small increments, and then work your way up to at least 6:00.
No gratifying event for 15 minutes after waking.
Just like it sounds. Make the first 15 minutes of the morning pretty boring and low key so your child doesn’t think there’s anything exciting to be up for!
Age appropriate sleep schedule.
Make sure your baby or toddler has a schedule that is appropriate for their body. If they are getting too little sleep or going to bed too late, they may be overtired. If they are getting too much sleep or going to bed too early, they will not have enough sleep pressure to sleep later in the morning.
Ensure adequate nutrition.
Your little one needs to get enough to eat during the daytime hours so that they do not wake up too early due to hunger. Babies 6 months and older should be given 6 oz of formula every 3.5-4 hours, for a total of 5-6 feedings each day. In addition, offer 2-3 “meals” of solids each day with a snack or two! If you have a toddler, it can be helpful to offer a nutritious bedtime snack, such as a banana with unsweetened yogurt, applesauce, cottage cheese, a hardboiled egg, cheese and crackers, or apples with peanut butter.
Provide adequate warmth.
If your child’s bedroom is on the chilly side (cooler than 68 degrees F), I recommend using a 2.5 TOG sleep sack. If you keep your house between 68-74 degrees, a 1.0 TOG sleep sack is fine, and if the bedroom is warmer than 74 degrees the entire night it is usually okay to use a lightweight product at 0.5 TOG. If your toddler sleeps with a blanket, make sure that is thick enough to provide lots of warmth but not too heavy or bulky.
Be sure to give these solutions some time to work; if your child’s body is used to waking early, it can take some several days to reset their body clock. Hopefully after trying these solutions, your little one (and you!) will be sleeping later in the morning and you will achieve a sleeping schedule that feels restful for everyone!
If you need more help solving early morning wakes, getting your baby or child on an age appropriate schedule, or any other sleep solution, please visit me at https://www.summitslumber.co.
