If your little one is currently ready to start their day at 4am I hear you. Its so incredibly tough. By 8am it can feel like you have already done a days work.
What is considered an early riser?
An early riser is usually considered as waking anytime before 6am. Unfortunately most little ones are programmed to be natural ‘Larks’.
Im sure most parents will have had some experience of their little one waking before this time ready to start the day.
There is so much we can look at, but here is a few pointers to look into with your little one.
Total sleep
Start by monitoring how much sleep they get within a 24 hour period.
Here is a rough guide of the average total sleep for a child:
| 0 – 3 months | 14 – 17 hours |
| 3 – 6 months | 13 – 15 hours |
| 6 – 9 months | 12 – 15 hours |
| 9 – 16 months | 11 – 14 hours |
| 16 – 24 months | 11 – 14 hours |
| 2 – 5 years | 10 – 13 hours |
Sleeping environment
- Temperature – Check consistency of temperature throughout the night and into the morning.
- Light – Check sufficient blackout is at windows.
- Noise – Could introduce white noise.
- Pre 6am – Keeping sleep space dark will help to regulate their body clock.
Naps
Are they in the process of dropping a nap? If so, it could help to bring bedtime forward to help support them through this transition.
Ensure naps are happening at the right time of the day to ensure the best balance of sleep pressure for bedtime, not undertired or overtired.
If you have an early riser, they may reinforce this with an early morning nap and/or a late afternoon nap. Depending on age, try to adjust overtime. This is something i can help with.
Regulating Circadian Rhythm
- Eating at consistent meal times.
- Exposure to natural bright light in the daytime.
- Dimming lights in the hours leading up to bedtime to help onset of melatonin.
- Ensuring they have had enough exercise throughout the day.
Sleep Latency
Look at their sleep latency at bedtime. If ‘crashing’ into sleep, this could suggest they are overtired.
If taking longer than 25 minutes to fall asleep, this could suggest they are undertired.
Adjusting bedtime and/or naps could help with this.
As always, consistency is key!
Most importantly, look after yourself. Those early morning wakes can be tough. So try to get some early nights and reach out to your support network to get you through those long days. You’ve got this!
Holistic Sleepy Sam 