False Starts at Bedtime: Why is my baby awake again so soon?
Is your baby waking up again just 30 minutes or an hour after bedtime? If this is happening to you then you might be experiencing what we call ‘false starts’ or ‘false start bedtimes’.
We tend to refer to wake ups that happen between around 20-60 minutes after bedtime as ‘false starts’. But why do they happen and how can you deal with them?
It can be really frustrating when you’ve seen your little one fall asleep at bedtime, only to then wake up again soon after, seemingly refreshed and awake. Some children only experience them once in while whereas others seem to follow this pattern of waking night after night.
There are a few possible reasons for a ‘false start’ at bedtime:
- Is bedtime too early? Sometimes babies and young children can seem tired, but that doesn’t always mean they are ready to call it a night just yet. If they have had naps that are too long or too late in the day then it can reduce their ‘sleep pressure,’ (the drive to sleep that builds up over the course of the day). Sometimes pushing bedtime out by just 15 minutes or so can be enough to solve this. It is also worth reassessing the length and timing of naps to get the balance of day and night sleep right.
- Are they overtired? Overtiredness can sometimes be the reason behind a ‘false start’. You might notice that if your baby doesn’t nap as well as normal that they wake shortly after going to bed that night, and can have quite a disturbed night. Again, looking at nap lengths and timings can be helpful. If you’ve had a day where naps have been cut short or oddly timed then a slightly earlier bedtime than normal can help you get back on track.
- How are they falling asleep? If your baby or child is relying on you to help them fall to sleep, there’s every chance that they are naturally waking after one sleep cycle and looking for support to return to sleep. It might be the time to work on how your little one gets to sleep, and a plan of action to work towards independent sleep. If we fall asleep in one place, it can be quite jarring to wake up elsewhere, so it can be normal for them to cry out after one sleep cycle if they had fallen asleep in your arms.
- Is something disturbing them? Is there something in baby’s sleep environment that could be a disruptor to sleep? Maybe white noise has switched off, or you have a light that is stimulating, people moving around the house wakes them, or maybe the temperature is too hot or too cold? It is always worth doing a quick audit of what is happening around the time they wake to rule out anything that might be waking them up.
- Did they have a chance to wind down before bed? Sometimes being overstimulated before bedtime can lead to disruption during the night. Did you do something out of the ordinary before bedtime? Was baby passed around to relatives or visitors before bed? Did you rush in from somewhere and not do your normal routine? Step back and think about your bedtime routine and if you’re little one has a chance to wind down with some predictable steps leading up to sleep.
Want to know more about false start bedtimes? Read our False Starts FAQ:
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False starts FAQ
Q: Do babies grow out of false starts?
A: Babies sleep patterns and needs change a huge amount in the first weeks, months (and years!). There can be many reasons why sleep can be temporarily disrupted, for example if they are teething, unwell or going through some phases of development or changes in routine such as starting nursery. False starts won’t last forever, You can make some changes to your baby’s routine and approaches to sleep at your own pace and see how they respond.
Q: How to stop false starts at bedtime?
A: Making a change to your baby’s schedule and routine can be most common solution to false starts. You can experiment with changes to find the right balance for your little one’s current sleep needs. These changes might be…
Shorten naps: There is only so much sleep a baby or toddler can take over 24 hours – if they are sleeping for longer than they need during the day then it can make it harder for them to fall asleep and stay asleep at night.
Adjust nap timings: The length of their naps might be just right, but their scheduling might need some adjustment. If their last nap is happening too close to bedtime then they won’t have the opportunity to build up enough sleep pressure to fall asleep and stay asleep at night.
Time to drop a nap? False start bedtimes can start to creep in if your baby or toddler is ready for a nap transition i.e. they are ready to drop one of their naps.
Make bedtime later: If you feel like your current nap timings are working well for your baby, then another option to tackle the false starts could be to move bedtime back later. This creates a longer wake window between their last nap and bedtime, letting sleep pressure build.
Sleep needs change as our babies get older and their routine needs to adapt to keep up with these changes. In our sleep courses we provide routines for different ages and stages (for 0-5 months, 6-9 months, 10-18 months and 1.5-4 years old) to help you find the perfect routine to suit your little one.
If your baby or toddler is ready for sleep at bedtime and in a comfortable sleep environment but falling asleep and staying asleep is still a challenge, then the next area we look at is how they are falling asleep.
There is absolutely no right or wrong way for our babies to fall asleep. Some drift off on their own, happily in their cot, crib or bed. Others might be fed, rocked or use a dummy. However you get your little one to sleep is completely up to you. If you get to a point where your method of settling isn’t working for you or your baby anymore, then you can make a change.
If your baby is…
- frequently having false starts at bedtime
- waking frequently through the night
- taking a long time to be settled back to sleep when they wake
…then it can be helpful to start looking at changing the way they are falling asleep. Your aim might be make small changes such as move from feeding to sleep to rocking to sleep, or your goal may be to help your little one fall asleep independently.
Our best selling sleep courses cover all things sleep – including different strategies you can use to support your baby to fall asleep in their own cot, crib or bed and no longer rock/feed/bounce or pace the room with them in your arms.
Q: Do babies grow out of false starts?
A: Babies sleep patterns and needs change a huge amount in the first weeks, months (and years!). There can be many reasons why sleep can be temporarily disrupted, for example if they are teething, unwell or going through some phases of development or changes in routine such as starting nursery. False starts won’t last forever, You can make some changes to your baby’s routine and approaches to sleep at your own pace and see how they respond.
Q: Could a false start at bedtime happen because my baby is hungry?
A: Yes, you can experience false start bedtimes because your baby has woken hungry not long after they have fallen asleep. For very young babies it is normal for them to need regular feeds. For older babies and toddlers it can be helpful to look at your timings for feeds/meals/snacks in the run up to bedtime to help your little one feel full enough before bed, and be able to sleep for a long stretch at the start of the night.
Q: My baby wakes up 5 minutes after falling asleep - is that a false start?
A: Any wake up within about an hour of falling asleep can be classed as a false start bedtime. Making adjustments to your bedtime routine, length and timings of naps and how your baby is falling asleep can all help with false starts.
Q: How can I tell if a false start is happening because of overtiredness or undertiredness?
A: It can take some experimenting to find the right balance of sleep for your baby’s current sleep needs. As a general guide, you can consider how quickly your baby is falling asleep. If they are taking a long time to settle to sleep then it can indicate that they aren’t tired enough for bed just yet, and are ready for less day time sleep or a longer gap between their last nap and bedtime.
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