How to Help Your Baby Adjust to Daylight Savings
Before having a baby, daylight savings time was probably a minor inconvenience (or celebration, when you "gained" an hour of sleep instead of losing it). But with a little one in the mix, it can feel like a major interruption to their—and therefore your—sleep schedule.
When it comes to daylight savings and baby sleep, there's a notable consensus: making small adjustments in the days leading up to the time change can make a big difference.
How Can Daylight Savings Time Affect Baby Sleep?
First, let's talk about why the time change can throw off your baby's sleep schedule. Babies' sleep cycles are shorter than ours—about 50-60 minutes, compared to 90 minutes for adults—and they move through multiple cycles during a single night.
When their bedtime routine is disrupted (as it can be when the clocks "spring forward" or "fall back"), it can throw off their internal sleep clock and lead to disrupted sleep patterns.
It will affect some babies more than others. Maybe you'll be the lucky parent whose little one doesn't even notice the time change. But if you do have trouble adjusting, here are some tips for helping them (and you) get back on track.
7 Tips for Adjusting Your Baby’s Sleep to Daylight Savings Time
- In the days leading up to the time change, gradually adjust your baby's bedtime by five or ten minutes each night.
- Use natural light to help reset their internal clock. During the day, open the curtains and let them play in a sunlit room. At night, dim the lights in their bedroom and limit screen exposure as bedtime approaches.
- Stick to a consistent bedtime routine, including a bath, quiet playtime, and reading or singing before you lay them down in their crib.
- Don't be afraid to adjust nap times as well. If they seem tired earlier or later than usual, follow their cues and put them down for a nap at the appropriate time.
- Keep nighttime wakeups to a minimum. When they do wake up in the middle of the night, try to keep lights and noise low as you comfort them back to sleep.
- Make sure they're comfortable. Swaddles, sleepsacks, and sleepsuits can help your baby feel secure, and the right room temperature can also play a role in their sleep.
- Don't stress too much about it—for babies under six months old, their sleep patterns are still developing, and the time change will likely have less of an impact. And as they get older, they'll become better able to adapt to changes in their sleep routine.
These small changes can help ease the transition for your little one and hopefully prevent too many sleep-deprived nights for everyone involved.
Get Better Baby Sleep With Baby Merlin
Remember, every baby is different and may respond differently to the time change—but with a little patience and effort, you can help them adjust more smoothly. And if you're looking for more sleep tips and tricks, the Baby Merlin Sleep System can help promote better sleep for babies of all ages.
With the Baby Merlin Magic Sleepsuit or Dreamsack, your baby stays comfortable and safe, promoting better baby sleep for you and your little one. Check out our website to learn more about the benefits of this unique swaddle transition tool. Happy (hopefully well-rested) parenting!
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Five Questions about Early Morning Wakeups for Baby
The team at NAPS helps you tackle the issue of early wakeups. *BONUS* NAPS is hosting a webinar on February 24th. Register here and use the extra-special code MAGICMERLIN and you can join the webinar FREE of charge!
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The sound of cheery calls of “MAAAAMAAAAA” from the next room may be lovely at 7am. At 4am, or 5 am, not so much. Your baby may be up and ready to start the day, but you probably aren’t.
Answering the questions below may help you get there.
- Is your nap schedule mucking up your baby’s overnight sleep?
This might seem like an obvious question, but your baby’s sleep needs will change fast in the first few years of their lives. A quick look at the average nap number and duration might give you an idea:
- For babies from 3-6 months old, it’s normal to take 3-4 hour-long naps per day.
- For babies 6-15 months old, expect 2 naps with 3-3.5 hours of total sleep.
- For one and two-year-olds, you should expect a single 2-hour nap.
Part of the reason you might be seeing earlier wakeups is that your baby has graduated from one nap cycle to the next.
- Does your baby have enough time between their last nap and their bedtime?
We call this an “awake window,” and it can make a big difference. It might seem strange that your baby went to bed fine the night before, and you’re seeing a response to nap scheduling in the pre-dawn hours, but if your kiddo’s sleep is disrupted at night, it will impact the morning.
- 3-6 months, at least 1.5-2 hours between final nap wakeup and bedtime.
- 6-12 months, at least 2.5-3.5 hours between final nap wakeup and bed.
- 12-18+ months, 3.5-4.5 hours between final nap wakeup and bed.
- Is the room staying dark after the sun comes up?
Black 0ut curtains can make a big difference here. Remember that our brains signal wakeup when the light changes. So if dawn is at 430am, and even a little bit of light comes into your baby’s room, their little brains will PING with wake up juice.
- Is your baby going to sleep too early or too late?
It might seem counter-intuitive, but a late bedtime can actually backfire on you. Overtired kids don’t sleep as well. If you made their bedtime later and it didn’t fix the problem, try an earlier bedtime and see if that helps. You might be surprised.
- How do you make it better?
Try to make one change at a time; just one. Stick with that change for 3-5 days to see if it impacts things. (One night is usually not enough to see substantial change.) Be as consistent as you can with the change you made. For instance, if you decide to increase the space between bedtime and final nap wakeup, make sure to stick to the wakeup time you planned.
If your baby is waking up and chirping happily to themselves, feel free to leave them there for a little while. Let them get used to being alone in the crib. If you can, try to delay the start of the day by 5-10 minutes each day. This can make a big impact.
Everything else aside, remember that this is a short time in your kid’s life; as they get older, their sleep will become more regular, and so will yours. Don’t let yourself get too discouraged. Things are hard now, and you’re doing a great job.