Why is my child waking up at 5:00 a.m.?
Early morning wakings can be BRUTAL.
Unfortunately, they’re pretty common. Most children will deal with them at some point in time, because there are so many things that can cause them.
When my son was about 2, we all got COVID. This, paired with a regression due to cognitive development, was a recipe for disaster and resulted in him waking at 4:00 a.m. every day.
There wasn’t much I could do to prevent it. I was pregnant with my daughter and also sick, so I would bring him into bed with me. We would try to get a few more hours of sleep, no matter the cost. Unfortunately, my response just reinforced the behavior and his early morning wakings.
In this instance, the early morning wakings were caused by illness and development. They were then reinforced by my response.
In this post, I’m going to go over what is considered an early morning waking, why they’re so common, all the potential causes of early morning wakings, and how to prevent or fix them.
What is an early morning waking ?
Anything prior to 6:00 a.m. is considered a night waking. So, if your child is waking at 4:00 or 5:00, they’ve got some early morning wakings going on! Ideally, we don’t want children starting their day until a more appropriate time, between 6:00-8:00 a.m.
Why do early morning wakings happen?
Around 4:00-5:00 a.m., the melatonin (the sleepy hormone) that was in your child’s body is almost gone. Simultaneously, cortisol (the wakeful hormone) levels are building. Since your child has (hopefully) slept most of the night already, there isn’t too much sleep pressure left to help keep them asleep, especially if there is something causing them to wake at this time.
If you or your partner is starting to get up and move around the house (take a shower, open and close the garage door, etc.) it can definitely cause your child to awaken. If the air conditioning or a furnace is kicking on at that time, it can cause your child to awaken. If it’s too cold or warm in their bedroom at that time of morning, it can cause your child to awaken.
Here’s a quick list of other things that may cause or reinforce early morning wakings:
Light entering the room
Lights from appliances shining in the room
External noises
Illness
A new environment
Scheduling issues
Too late of a bedtime
Too early of a bedtime
Hunger
Too hot
Too cold
Lack of independent sleep skills
One other thing I want to mention is that so many parents think of sleep issues separately - “We’re struggling with short naps.” Or, “It’s only early morning wakings.” But it’s never that. All of your child’s sleep is connected. How they’re falling asleep, when they’re going to bed at night, etc. - IT’S ALL CONNECTED.
In fact, having too late of a bedtime can be a cause of early morning wakings. This seems counterintuitive, but it’s how our circadian rhythm works. When a sleep consultant tells you to put your child to bed earlier at night, it often solves a lot of these problems! Who knew?!
How to Prevent (or Fix) Early Morning Wakings
Because sleep is all connected, I’d first recommend you look at how your child is falling asleep at bedtime. If they don’t have independent sleep skills, night wakings, and early mornings, especially, are going to be hard to come back from.
Then, consider the environment. Make sure it’s optimized for sleep - it’s cave-like darkness with no light streaming in from anywhere, you’re playing white noise around 55-60 dB, and it’s boring. Your child does not need anything extra in their crib with them (besides a lovey if they’re over a year).
Assess what’s going on in your home during those early morning hours. Does someone need to shower downstairs instead of in the bathroom right next to the baby’s room? Do you need to place another sound machine strategically between your baby’s crib and the window because the garbage truck always drives by at 5:30 a.m.? Is there light coming in under that doorway or between the curtains at 5 a.m. when the sun starts to come up?
Make sure you have full blackout solutions, utilize black electrical tape over small appliance lights, and a draft stopper on the door. All of these seemingly minor changes can make a big difference when it comes to your child’s early morning wakings.
Is this something you’re struggling with? Grab my FREE Early Morning Wakings Checklist to help you troubleshoot the cause of your child’s early mornings. Once you know the cause, you can find your solution!
And, if you find that you’ve tried all the things and it’s just not getting any better, schedule an a la carte strategy call or package with me. Let’s get it figured out together!
