Early sleep phases - are you stuck?
What is it?
An early sleep phase occurs when your child's body clock is programmed for an earlier bedtime, resulting in an early morning wake-up. This biological rhythm is influenced by environmental factors as well as internal elements such as the production and release of melatonin and cortisol
What plays a part in an early sleep phase?
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Your child's individual sleep needs
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Drive to sleep (sleep pressure)
Taking Your Child's Sleep Needs into Account
It's essential to consider your child's sleep requirements. These needs influence sleep pressure, helping us gauge how much awake time is appropriate for them and when during the day they should be awake to encourage restful sleep come bedtime. If your child has slightly lower sleep needs, an early wake-up might simply mean they have had sufficient rest.
For children who get an average amount of sleep for their age and still wake up early, it may be a sign of an early sleep phase.
Sleep pressure
If sleep pressure is high earlier in the evening, resulting in an early bedtime, your child will cycle through their sleep phases earlier. When they rouse in the early morning hours between sleep cycles, they may fully awaken as sleep pressure is now so low.
Hormone production
The two hormones that help regulate our sleep wake patterns are melatonin and cortisol. Melatonin being our sleepy hormone and cortisol being our alertness hormone. Cortisol naturally rises in the early hours of the morning, in preparation to get up and start the day. For a child in an early sleep phase, melatonin levels peak earlier in the evening so cortisol levels then start rising earlier as well.
Sleep stages/cycles
Each cycle progresses through different stages , from ight sleep to deep sleep to REM sleep. In the first half of the night, deep sleep dominates. As the night progresses, REM or lighter sleep stages become more frequent making children more prone to wakefulness in the early hours.
Children in an early sleep phase will have their deep sleep phases done earlier in the night and enter light sleep phases in the earlier hours of the morning. A child who is having off day naps as a result of early rising, may quickly enter these deep sleep phases as they fall asleep (conk out), which means they come out of these deep sleep phases even earlier.
What can you do??
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Try shifting bedtime 10-15 mins later every few days (as well as naps) so bub doesn’t get overtired at bedtime
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Shift naps to end later in the day so sleep drive is higher later in the evening
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Limit exposure to light in the early hours of the morning, keep the house dark or leave bub in their dark room for as long as you can
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Encourage lot’s of daytime physical activity
Adjusting this sleep phase takes time (and patience)
If you feel like you’re little on is in an early sleep phase and you’re not sure how to tackle it, book in a consult with one of our team here!
