Early Rising - Why Is My Baby Waking Up at 5AM (and How to Help Them Sleep Later)?

If you’ve been woken up by your baby or toddler at 5AM or even earlier (again), you’re not alone. Early rising is one of the most common sleep challenges families face, as well as one of the trickiest to navigate —and it can be exhausting. I've been there too!! That early rise, before the sun comes up, to start the day can feel especially tough when you’ve had broken sleep, are juggling other children, need to go to work or just desperately need a little bit more rest.

But, the first thing you need to do is work out WHY they are waking so early. Once you work out the why, then you can start to look into making some adjustments.

So, let’s explore what early rising is and why it happens and what you can do to gently shift your baby or toddler's morning wake time closer to the 6:30–7:00AM window. (Or a time that suits your family better).

What is Early Rising?

When your little one is waking to start their day before 6:00am, this is considered early rising. Anything after 6:00am, is generally fair game and an OK time to start the day.

Understanding the science behind sleep can explain early rising, but it doesn't make those early hours any easier. So what drives sleep - the circadian rhythm and homeostatic sleep drive (AKA sleep pressure). Sleep pressure is at its highest at bed time, and decreases throughout the night while your little one sleeps, along with the sleepy hormone - melatonin- which is also lower in the second half of the night and so your little one starts to enter lighter sleep. This means they are much more easily woken- whether it's from noise, hunger, light, from being overtired or undertired or just out of habit. No sleep pressure & melatonin = diffculty staying alseep and/or going back to sleep.

Top causes of early rising

Check their Sleep Environment

There are 3 main factors in regard to sleep environment that can all impact early rising. These include; Light, Temperature and Noise.

Light

Is there any morning light sneaking through their windows? If so, then it is a good idea to block that out. Any light sneaking in can cue them to wake up and start the day. The idea is that their room is dark enough that you wouldn't be able to sit in their and read a book.

I recommend using blackout blinds - I personally use EasyNight Blackout Blinds Temperature

You want to aim for your little one's room temperature to be between 18-22 degrees Celsius, and also dress them appropriately according to the room temperature. Little one's can wake due to being too cold or too warm. The temperature also tends to drop in those early hours of the morning (between 3-5am), which can be why they are waking, so ensuring you are dressing them accordingly and keeping in mind the temperature change.

Noise

Those early hours of the morning is when the world starts to wake up - think birds chirping, dogs barking, garbage trucks driving past or even people in the house getting ready for the day. All of these external noises can lead to your little one waking due to them being in that lighter phase of sleep. White/pink noise is a great tool to help block out these noises.

Check daytime routines

Is your little one having too much or not enough daytime sleep?

Under-tired- Is your little one waking early because they are ready to start their day due to having had enough sleep? They can only sleep so much in a 24 hour period, which includes day and night sleep. As your little one gets older, their sleep needs change, and so their routines need adjusting accordingly.

Overtired - On the flip side, over-tiredness can lead to early rising too. This is mostly due to the rise in the hormone- cortisol (stress hormone). This can lead to difficulty going to sleep, staying asleep, more restless/disrupted night sleep and early rising. A little one who hasnt had enough sleep during the day tends to become more overtired as the day goes on, and then by the time bedtime comes around they are way overtired and struggle with falling asleep/staying asleep.

Wake window before bed is too long - I know you're probably thinking that a longer awake time before bed should help with with being tired enough to fall asleep, but in actual fact it can make bedtime harder. This again, is due to the increase level of cortisol by the time its bedtime.

Bed time is too early - On the flip side, bed time might be too early. A bed time that is too early can again lead to early rising. It is recommended that baby's or children sleep an average of 10-13hrs of sleep overnight. So, if they are going to bed too early; for example 6:00pm, then they may wake anywhere from around 5:00-6:00am. To help address this, you can work on shifting their whole routine by 10-20 minutes so that this brings bed time closer to 6:30pm or later (depending on age)

First nap of the day too early and/or too long - I see this one a lot. It can feel a bit like a vicious cycle - baby wakes early so you move the first nap earlier and/or make it longer to make up the sleep, and then baby wakes early again the next day.... and so the cycle continues. But infact, an earlier nap can actually reinforce the early rising. So, how can you break the cycle? If you have a little one that is less than 6 months old, you can offer them a short 10-15 minute bridging nap around 7:00am (the perfect nap to do as a contact nap). This can then help with keeping the rest of the day on track. But, if you have a little one over the age of 6 months, then try and get them as close to their normal nap time as possible.

Hunger

If you have a younger baby that is still feeding overnight then they may be waking due to hunger. If they are due for a feed around the 4:00-5:00am mark, then offer them a feed and resettle them back to sleep. Keep the room dark and quiet. If you have an older baby or toddler who is no longer having feeds overnight, and they are well established on solids, then looking at their diet and ensuring they are having a good mix of carbohydrates and protein in their meals during the day (ideally lunch and dinner) can help with filling their tummies and helping them to feel fuller for longer.

Habit

The last one is habit. Early rising is one of the most common sleep concerns that families struggle with, and it is one that can quickly become a habit wake. This has a lot to do with how you respond to the wake. For example; they wake early, you get them up to either snuggle in bed with you or to start the day, and so then the cycle continues. When it comes to addressing this it involves a lot of patience, consistency and perseverance from you to help break the cylce. Tips to help - you want to limit light, noise and social interaction. If you hear them stir and wake, but they are happy, try and stop and listen and give them some time and space to re-settle back to sleep. Of course if they are upset or due for a feed, then go into them and offer a feed/comfort and re-settle them back to sleep. But it is important to stay consistent in your settling approach.

Need more help?

Book 15 Min FREE Call

If you have gone through everything above and are still struggling with early rising, reach out for further support -

Grab FREEBIE Here

You can also check out my FREE wake windows guide that can help give you an idea on your little one's age appropriate awake time