Why is my baby waking at 5am? And how to stop the early wakes

If your baby is regularly waking at 5am, it can feel incredibly frustrating.

You may have spent the whole night looking forward to getting a little more sleep, only to find your day is starting before you're ready!

There are lots of different reasons why babies wake early and it isn't always immediately obvious which one is causing it. Sometimes it’s a case of trying a few different things (but one at a time) to see what it is needed to move that wake-up time a little later.

We all have slightly different body clocks, so some babies will naturally be more inclined to wake earlier than others. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re stuck with a 5am start!

Here are the things I'd look at.

1. Is your baby overtired?

This is one of the first things I'd look at with early waking.

It might seem logical to keep your baby awake later in the hope they'll sleep later, but it doesn't always work that way. In fact, an earlier bedtime can often help an overtired baby sleep for longer in the morning.

If your baby normally goes to bed at 7pm but hasn't napped well during the day, don't be afraid of an earlier bedtime. A 6pm bedtime might actually be exactly what they need.

Going to bed overtired can make sleep more unsettled overnight and make it harder for your baby to resettle when they naturally wake in the early hours.

If early waking has become a habit, you might not see an improvement straight away. I'd give an earlier bedtime a good week before deciding whether it's helping.

2. Napping at the right time and that last awake windows

It’s worth looking at how much daytime sleep your baby is getting and whether their awake windows are roughly right for their age.

Too little daytime sleep can lead to overtiredness, but too much daytime sleep can affect night sleep too.

I always think about sleep over a 24-hour period. If your little one is having too much sleep during the day, they may naturally wake earlier in the morning because they have already had a good amount of sleep and are ready to start their day.

It’s also worth looking at when daytime sleep happens. Ideally, we want your baby’s longest stretch of daytime sleep to be around the middle of the day, rather than too close to bedtime.

And keep an eye on their awake windows too. You want to make sure they have enough time awake before bedtime to build up enough sleep pressure to help them fall asleep and stay asleep through the night.

3. 5am wake: What’s happening at the time and how to help your baby resettle

The early hours of the morning can be a tricky time for your baby to settle back to sleep independently. Sleep naturally becomes lighter as we get closer to morning and our bodies begin preparing to wake for the day. Melatonin (our sleep hormone) levels are falling and cortisol (the wake-up hormone) starts to rise, making it harder to drift back off.

So, if your baby wakes at 5am during this lighter sleep and relies on you to get them back to sleep, they may find it harder to resettle and decide that 5am is the start of their day!

This is where helping your baby develop the skills to self-settle can make a big difference.

Some babies respond well to reassurance in their cot through gentle touch, patting and shushing, while others do better when given a little more space to try to settle themselves, with you returning at regular intervals to offer reassurance.

One of the simplest things you can try when your baby wakes at 5am is to watch and wait. Babies can be surprisingly noisy when they move between sleep cycles. They may wriggle, grumble, babble or even have a little cry before settling back to sleep. That doesn't necessarily mean they are ready to start their day.

Giving your baby a minute or two before rushing to help them gives them the opportunity to see if they can resettle themselves. Sometimes they can surprise you!

If they don't settle, you can offer the reassurance they need.

The important thing is to give them the opportunity to practise this new skill. Just like any new skill, it takes time, patience and consistency.

If your baby has a 7pm bedtime, I'd generally encourage you to treat any wake before 6am as nighttime and give them the opportunity to go back to sleep. Keep the room dark, keep interaction to a minimum and keep them in their sleeping space until you’re your chosen wake-up time, for example 6:30am.

4. Could your baby be hungry?

Hunger is another factor worth considering, particularly with younger babies.

If your baby is under six months and has recently dropped all their night feeds but has suddenly started waking early, it may be worth considering whether they still need that final night feed.

5. Is their sleeping space dark?

Light can be a big factor, particularly during the summer months when it can start getting light outside from around 5am.

If you're dealing with early waking, make sure your baby's room is dark.

A good blackout blind can help keep the room dark and reduce distractions. Darkness also supports the body's natural production of melatonin. And don't worry about your baby being afraid of the dark - they don't need a nightlight.

White noise can also provide a consistent background sound and help mask household noises that could otherwise disturb your baby as they move into lighter sleep.

6. What happens when they wake?

Have a think about what happens when your baby wakes at 5am.

Do they come into your bed for a cuddle? Have a feed? Get up and start the day?

There is absolutely nothing wrong with any of these things. But if your baby has started to expect something at 5am, it can become part of their routine.

If you want to move their wake-up time later, try to keep those early morning wakes quiet, calm and boring and treat them as nighttime until your chosen get-up time.

Keep the lights off, keep interaction to a minimum and give them the opportunity to go back to sleep.

7. Do you give them an early ‘catch-up’ nap?

If your baby wakes at 5am, it can be tempting to let them have a long morning nap to catch up on the sleep they've missed.

But this can sometimes keep the early waking cycle going.

Here’s why: a long ‘catch-up’ morning nap can mean your baby isn't tired enough for their lunchtime nap - typically the longer, more restorative nap we want to see in the middle of the day.

They may then have a short lunchtime nap or refuse it altogether. This can leave them overtired by bedtime, which can then contribute to another early wake the following morning.

If you're dealing with early waking, look at when that first nap is happening and how long it's lasting. You may find that gently pushing it a little later, ideally after 8am and keeping it shorter helps your baby get more sleep later in the day.

The aim isn't to cut daytime sleep, but to make sure it's happening at the right times for your baby.

It's all about finding the right balance. Sometimes less sleep in the morning can actually help your baby sleep more later in the day.

Early waking can be improved

The biggest thing I want you to take away is that 5am waking doesn't necessarily have to become your baby's normal.

There are lots of different factors to consider and sometimes it takes a bit of detective work to work out what's going on.

Look at the bigger picture rather than changing everything at once. Check their daytime sleep, awake windows, bedtime, sleep environment and what happens when they wake.

Make a few small changes, give them time to work and see what happens.

6am might be an acceptable start to the day, but 5am is just too early for most of us!