Early Rising - the ‘why’ 6 tips to resolve.
This is one of the most commonly asked questions from parents, and as a parent who has had her share of 5am starts I totally get why!
Like many areas of creating little people, our genetics play a huge role in early rising. We all have a biological chronotype; the Owl and the Lark. The owl tends to be a later riser, and more alert later in the evening, hence the saying ‘night owl’ and the lark naturally wake earlier ready to start the day, and begin to wind down earlier in the evening, and are in bed reasonably early.
Babies do tend to all be Larks, and these chrontypes don’t come into play until later on, but as a parent if you are an Owl early rising can be much trickier, & focusing on your own sleep hygiene can be really helpful.
There are environmental factors which can influence early wakes, which if you make some tweaks can help push back wake times:
Sleep environment; if the bedroom is letting light in, this can wake your baby signalling daytime. And at this time of day, sleep pressure is minimal so resettling is unlikely. So a blackout blind can help assess if it is their body clock or the light causing early rising.
Mealtimes; did you know our body clock is affected by the times we eat? If you little one is waking at 5am, and having breakfast shortly after this can reinforce those early wakes.
Bedtime too early; your baby only needs so much sleep overnight, it is a myth all babies need 12 hours, many need 10 or 11, so if your baby goes to bed at 6, they quite simply may not need any more sleep.
Bedtime too late higher levels of cortisol in their system can cause early wakes.
Not enough natural light; natural light is the main factor in programming your little ones body clock, if they aren’t getting out daily in natural light their body clock may be a little out of whack.
Naps; if these aren’t releasing the right amount of sleep pressure this can lead to early wakes, so make sure these are age appropriate awake times and lengths.
I hope you found this useful, and these tips can help you with those early wakes!
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