Using daylight savings to help with an early riser

Daylight savings is a sure sign that spring is around the corner! However I also know it’s also a change that gives parents, especially new parents, a great deal of anxiety.

I tend to try to keep things simple with my clients so instead of advising them to gradually shift their child’s bedtime by 15 minutes a day a few days prior, I advise them to simply go to bed earlier the night before.  This way, everyone wakes up feeling well rested regardless! You can help your child’s 24 hour sleep cycle auto-regulate by exposing them to light first thing in the morning and making sure that their room is dark during naps and at bedtime.  Try and stick to your child’s routine as much as possible and try to have as much patience as you can with your kids.

If you have an early riser, which is defined as a child who is getting 11-12 hours of sleep at night and waking before 6:00 am, you can use this change to help by encouraging sleeping in longer.  The spring time change can automatically propel your baby’s sleep schedule forward. i.e a 6:00 am wake up is now 7:00 am.   After the time change, your child’s schedule is transformed and everything is automatically an hour later.  The key to success is maintaining it.  After the time change, make sure to keep your child in their darkened room until one hour (according to the clock) after their normal waking time.  The time will feel exactly the same to them despite the fact that the time on the clock will be an hour later.  Offer meals, naps and bedtime an hour later as well.  Keep in mind it will feel the exact same to them and not an hour later.  Be sure to expose your child to bright lights in the evening as possible.

Questions? Please feel free to reach out!