How to combat early rising

Early rising is quite common in babies and children and can come and go with different seasons of their development. It is also normal for a child to rise early even though it's extremely frustrating and can be tiring for you.

We have to remember:

• Each child's sleep looks different.

• It is completely normal for a child to wake up before 7 am.

• Their sleep cycle and sleep pressure look different as they grow and develop.

Early rising can be tackled and supported through small, simple changes over time. They can help improve sleep quality overall and hopefully help there to be more sleep in the house.

Here are a few small tips to help you with early risers.

Is there sunlight coming into the room?

Morning sun is a lovely feel but is a natural wake-up. If you feel this is part of the early wake-up, add blackout blinds or temporary blackouts on the windows to support the excess light in the room.

Is there noise in the room that's waking them up?

Is there noise around the time they wake up? It could be a car that always pulls away around the time they wake up or birds, etc. Using white noise can help block out the noise.

Put little one to bed 15 minutes earlier.

Putting little one to bed 15 minutes earlier can help with overtiredness and support your child in connecting their sleep cycles. This can expand their sleep quality and support the early rising.

Do they need fewer naps throughout the day?

If early rising is continuing over a few weeks, then it could be a sign to reduce naps throughout the day or the times of them. It’s good to look at their development stage too and see if that is also why they are rising. Sometimes, if they are making big developments during the day, it affects their sleep habits at night.

Need a chat?

If you feel this is helpful and want some added support around early rising then why don’t you book a free call we me and we can go through some ideas that can hopefully support your whole families sleep.