Early rising can be so frustrating, but if your little one is waking up before you're ready, you’re definitely not alone. Many parents struggle with early morning wake-ups, leading to stress, exhaustion, and a lot of early mornings. But don’t worry — we’re here to help you figure it out.
So, what exactly is considered "early rising"? If your baby is waking before 6:00 AM, it’s classified as early rising. While waking at 6:00 AM might feel early to you, it's actually biologically normal for babies and toddlers to start their day around this time. But if your little one is consistently waking before 6:00 AM, there may be underlying reasons at play. Let’s dive into those factors so you can better understand why this is happening and how to fix it!
Why is my baby waking early?
Melatonin, often called the "sleepy hormone," naturally decreases in the early hours of the morning to prepare our bodies to wake up and start the day. As a result, we enter a lighter stage of sleep between 4:00-6:00 AM, making it easier to wake during this time.
As adults, we've become pros at drifting back to sleep if we wake up, often without even realising it. But little ones aren’t quite there yet — they might need more support to settle back to sleep. Without the help of melatonin to keep them snoozing, they’re more likely to fully wake. On top of that, other factors can contribute to their early rising, making it harder for them to go back to sleep:
- Sleep environment is not conducive to sleep: Creating an optimal sleep environment is key to encourage the continuation of sleep. When light is sneaking in in the early hours of the morning, it stimulates your little one's brain, communicating that it is time to be awake. Moreover, external noise could also wake them up during the light stage of sleep. This could be a dog barking, cars driving past, doors shutting, loud neighbours etc. This is why I am pro sound machines. Continuous white noise not only drowns out external noise, but soothes & relaxes little ones, encouraging them to keep sleeping.
- They have had all the sleep that they actually need: Most of the times, little ones may wake early because they actually have had all the sleep that they need over 24 hours. This is why it is important to know your individual child's sleep needs. This way, you are able to structure their day & balance day sleep & night sleep well. If your little one is low sleep needs and only ever takes 10 hours of sleep overnight & you’re putting them down at 7pm. They will likely wake up at 5am because they’ve had all the sleep they actually need. NOT ALL BABIES NEED 12 HOURS OF SLEEP OVERNIGHT.
- Overtiredness: If your little one didn't have enough day sleep or had too much awake time before bedtime, this increases cortisol (stress/wake up hormone) in their bodies, which can cause them to wake early. Giving them age-appropriate wake windows, can help avoid this.
- Hunger: If your bub is not getting the calories they need during the day, they will likely wake early due to hunger. To rule out hunger, it is important to feed your infant every 2.5-3 hours.
- Discomfort: If your little one is sick, teething, gassy or experiencing some form of discomfort, this will cause them to wake early, especially when their melatonin decreases in the early hours of the morning.
- Parent-reinforcement: When little ones experience early morning waking and you respond by getting them up, starting their day & feeding them. You are kick-starting their metabolism before 6.00am, therefore reinforcing their early rising. This could then lead to a habitual wake, where they wake up at the same time every morning (before 6.00am).
So what do I do if my little one wakes early?
- If your little one wakes before 4.00am, treat this as a night waking. Do all you can to try and get your little one back to sleep. It is important to stay consistent with the approach or method you choose to use because you don't want to confuse your little one.
- If your child is waking after 4.00am, but before 6.00am, PAUSE & give them a bit of time to try and go back to sleep. Most of the time, when you go to them straight away, you end up stimulating them, waking them up fully. Pausing & giving them a bit of time can encourage them to practise self settling (ability to fall asleep independently).
If after pausing, your little one is still awake & now unsettled, you can go in and support them by using your settling technique or approach to try and get them back to sleep. Avoid starting their day before 6.00am as best as you can.
- If your little one is happy on you, then just stay with them in the dark, with white noise, no stimulation then take them out into the light once it is 6.00am. Light plays a vital role in their sleep-wake cycles. When you go out into the light before 6.00am, this is telling their body that it is time to be awake, again reinforcing the early morning waking.
- Add in a bridging nap after 1-1.5 hours of being awake. A bridging nap is only a 15-20 min nap & is best achieved as a contact nap. It's role is relieve a bit of sleep pressure to help your little one get to their first nap of the day. So for example, you have a 6 month old and their day started at 5.30am. You can give them a bridging nap from 6.30-6.45am to help them get to their first ideal nap at 8.00am. A bridging nap can help avoid moving their entire day forward, which results in early bedtimes and the vicious cycle of early rising continuous.
- Anchor their day to their first nap. This means no matter what time they start their day, you are sticking to the same time they would normally go down for the first nap of the day. I know this may sounds like a LONG morning & sounds horrible, but trust me, this works! You can do this by slowly stretching your little one's first wake window by 10-15 minutes each day until they reach their ideal morning nap. For example, your 9 month old started their day at 5.00am and their ideal first nap would be at around 9.00am (3 hours from 6.00am, which is an appropriate awake time). Each morning, you will try to keep your little one awake 10-15 minutes more until you reach your goal nap time, 9.00am. This will then push out the rest of the day, resulting in an ideal bedtime, resolving the cycle of early morning waking.
Did you know that I have a Free Early Rising eGuide? You can grab your copy here.
If sleep has always been a challenge whether it's on the go or at home, I have digital Sleep Guides for you! The 5–24 Month Sleep Guide & 2-4 Year Old Sleep Guide offer a customisable, holistic approach to sleep training. I’ll walk you through a step-by-step plan that keeps you emotionally connected to your baby while helping them sleep 10-12 hours at night and take solid naps. Plus, I’ll provide practical tips for handling regressions, transitions, and any other hurdles.
If your little one is younger than 5 months old, don't worry, I also have Sleep Guides for 0-4 months old. These guides will help you implement age-appropriate settling techniques, lay down a solid sleep foundation from the start and teach you how to get your little one to practise falling asleep independently through my gentle, no-cry approach.
If you have absolutely tried every sleep guide and would like one-on-one support specifically for your situation and your child's sleep issues, then I have services available for you here. If you're unsure where to start book a FREE 15 min discovery call.