3 More Tips For Early Risers

Last month I shared three tips for the early riser. And this month I’m going to share three more! The first three that I shared were a great starting point. But if you’ve given them a good solid effort and still haven’t seen improvement then it may be time to dig a little deeper into what is causing the early wake up (between 4-6am). So, here are three more tips for the early risers!

Tip 4: Early Bedtime

Did you know that children who are overtired have a harder time falling asleep and staying asleep? This means that, contrary to popular belief, setting a later bedtime won’t cause a later wake up. An early bedtime will ensure that your child is getting all the sleep that their body requires. Even up to 10 years old, babies and children need 10-12 hours of sleep per night. If your child is going to bed after 7pm and they are waking up before 6am, try an earlier bedtime for a few weeks and you may be surprised to see your child start sleeping later into the morning.

Tip 5: Check on Daytime Sleep

I know as much as anyone how precious naptime is and how you don’t want to do anything to interrupt your happy napper. BUT there is such thing as too much daytime sleep. Use this chart to determine approximately how much sleep your little should be getting based on their age.

Age	Total Daytime Sleep	Total Nighttime Sleep	Total Sleep Per 24 Hours
4-5 Months	3-4 hours	10-12 hours	12-15 hours
6-8 Months	2.5-3.5 hours	10-12 hours	12-15 hours
9-12 Months	2.5-3 hours	10-12 hours	12-15 hours
13 Months-2.5 Years	2-2.5 hours	10-12 hours	12-14 hours
2.5-3 Years	1-2 hours	10-12 hours	12-14 hours
4-8 Years	0 hours	10-12 hours	10-12 hours

If your little is getting more that the recommended daytime sleep it may be time to cut back on their naps. A child can only sleep so much in a 24-hour period. By cutting back on naps, you give your child the opportunity to redistribute those daytime hours and add them the early morning hours.

Tip 6: Check on Daytime Calories

There’s no doubt that what happens during the day, impacts the night. If your little one is waking in the early morning due to hunger, then it may be time to look at their calorie intake during the day. When a child consumes enough calories during the day, it allows them to go the entire night without feeding.

Depending on your child’s age it may look a little different. If your child is under a year then you will want to focus on offering full feedings, ensuring baby stays awake during the feed. If your child is over one, then you will want to look at the feeding schedule to ensure they are taking in meals instead of serial snacking. You can also consider introducing a low sugar-high fat/protein bedtime snack.

Early risers can be a hard code to crack! Like I said in my previous post with the first 3 tips for early risers, it takes time! With whatever strategy you choose to implement, you will need to give it time to see success. The body clock is a sensitive thing to adjust so we cannot expect quick fixes. Have patience and consistency for a solid 2-3 weeks.

If you do not see any improvements in that timeframe, then look at making a different change. You won’t be able to use all 6 tips at once and see results. Choose one or two that you think will be helpful for your child and give that a solid try before switching up your strategy.