Early Waking After the Clocks Go Back: Babies and Toddlers

On the last Sunday in October, the UK clocks go back an hour at 2am. Adults gain an hour in bed. Babies and toddlers do not, because their body clock has no idea the clocks have changed. A child who woke at 6am the week before now wakes at the same moment by their body, which the kitchen clock calls 5am.

That alone would be one hard week. The second problem is bedtime. Most families keep bedtime at 7pm on the new clock, and to a body still running on the old time, 7pm is 8pm. Your child goes to bed an hour later than they are used to, but still wakes at the same body time. The night shrinks by an hour, they start the day short of sleep, and overtired children sleep more lightly in the early hours. So the waking can creep earlier still, to 4.45 or 4.30am, in the second week.

That is why many parents find week two worse than week one, and why "it will sort itself out in a few days" often does not hold. The body clock does shift, but it needs help, and the help is the same for a 6-month-old and a 3-year-old: move the whole day in small steps, and make the morning boundary clear.

For the general picture of the autumn change and how to prepare for it, see the guide to the clocks going back. This guide is for the weeks after, when the early starts have not gone away.

Most babies and toddlers adjust to a one-hour change within one to two weeks. If your child is still waking at 5am three weeks after the clocks went back, the clock change has probably turned into something else. Check these before you blame the clocks:

• The day has stayed an hour early. If you moved bedtime to 6pm to match their body, and naps and meals moved with it, nothing has told the body clock to shift, and the whole day is still running on the old time.
• The 5am start has become a habit. If 5am has meant milk, breakfast, lights on or the television for three weeks, your child's body is now preparing for a 5am start every day.
• The first nap has crept earlier. A nap at 7am after a 5am start can work as the second half of the night and keep the early wake in place.
• The room has changed. Colder nights, and the heating switching on at 5am with a clunk and a blast of warm air, can each wake a child in light sleep.

If one of these fits, the steps below still work. If none fits and the early waking started before the clocks changed, the guides to a baby waking at 5am and a toddler waking at 5am go through the other causes.

The body clock sets itself by the timing of light, food, sleep and activity. To move it an hour later, move all of them together, a little at a time. Start from where your child's body is now, and shift everything 15 minutes later every two or three days.

Here is how that looks for a child who was waking at 6am, napping at 9.30am and in bed at 7pm before the change, and is now waking at 5am:

Days	Earliest start	First nap	Bedtime
1 to 3	5.15am	8.45am	6.15pm
4 to 6	5.30am	9am	6.30pm
7 to 9	5.45am	9.15am	6.45pm
10 to 12	6am	9.30am	7pm

Move meals with it: breakfast, lunch and tea each 15 minutes later at each step. For a toddler on one nap, move the lunchtime nap the same way. If your child copes well, you can move in 20 or 30-minute steps. If a step goes badly, stay on it for a couple more days before moving on.

Some children adjust faster if you skip the steps and switch the whole day to the new clock at once. That works best for easy-going children who were not early risers before. For a child who was already waking at 6am, the gradual route is usually gentler.

In early November the sun rises around 7am in London, and later further north, so it is dark at 5am, which helps. In late autumn, a 5am wake is driven by the body clock, and light is not the trigger. The aim is to keep it dark and dull until your start time, then make the morning unmistakable.

• Before your start time: lights off or a dim red nightlight, quiet voices, no screens, no breakfast. Respond as you would at night.
• At your start time: curtains open, lights on, a warm good morning, breakfast.
• After breakfast: get outside in daylight for 20 minutes or more if you can, even on a grey day. Morning daylight is one of the strongest signals for moving the body clock later.
• In the evening: dim the lights for the last hour before bed, and keep screens off.

For a toddler with a toddler clock, set it to the start time on your table and move it with each step, so the clock always shows a target they can reach. A clock set straight to 7am when they are waking at 5am teaches them to ignore it.

If you kept bedtime at 7pm from the first night, your child has been going to bed an hour later by their body for a week or more. For some children that is fine, and they shift within days. For others it builds up overtiredness, and the early waking gets worse.

Signs your child is overtired: falling asleep the moment they are put down, waking at 5am crying, rubbing their eyes or melting down mid-morning, and short naps. If that fits, bring bedtime back 30 minutes earlier for a few nights, then join the table above at the step that matches your child's wake time.

The opposite is also possible. A child who wakes at 5am cheerful and full of energy, and lasts happily until the first nap, may have had a full night. For them, a later bedtime in 15-minute steps is the right direction. The guide to overtired and undertired signs helps tell the two apart.

Naps tend to drift earlier after the clocks go back, because a child who starts the day at 5am is tired by 7.30am. A nap that early can hold the early wake in place, so move it later in the same 15-minute steps as the rest of the day, using a walk, a bath or a change of room to get through the last stretch.

Watch the length as well. An overtired child may make up for the short night with a long first nap, which then takes sleep from the next night. For babies on two or three naps, keep the first nap to about an hour while you adjust. For toddlers on one nap, keep it to 60 to 90 minutes and finish by 2.30 or 3pm.

The clocks going back comes as the nights turn cold, and the room can add to early waking. Check it at 5am, when it is coldest.

• Temperature. The Lullaby Trust advises keeping a baby's room at 16 to 20°C. In that range, a 2.5 TOG sleeping bag over a long-sleeved bodysuit suits most babies. Choose a sleeping bag that fits well around the shoulders. Do not add hats, loose blankets, hot water bottles or electric blankets, and keep the cot away from radiators. Check your baby's temperature by feeling their chest or the back of their neck. The TOG guide has the full chart.
• The heating timer. If the boiler fires up at 5am, the noise and the change in temperature can wake a child in light sleep. Moving the timer to just before your start time is a simple test.
• Noise. White noise, run continuously all night at a low volume and at least 2 metres from the cot, masks the boiler, early traffic and alarms.
• Toddlers. Toddlers in a bed often kick off the duvet and get cold before dawn. A toddler sleeping bag or warm pyjamas help.

For babies under 12 months, keep the cot clear of pillows, bumpers, toys and loose bedding, and put them down on their back for every sleep. If a 5am start leaves you exhausted, never doze with your baby on a sofa or armchair, which is the most dangerous place to fall asleep with a baby. The safe sleep guide covers the full Lullaby Trust advice.

With the whole day moving in 15-minute steps, most babies and toddlers are back on their old times within about two weeks. Some take three, particularly children who were early risers before the change. A bad morning or two along the way is normal. Stay on the current step for a couple of extra days and carry on.

When the clocks go forward in spring, the problem runs the other way: a child who woke at 6am now wakes at 7am by the clock and resists bedtime. The same step-by-step approach works in reverse. The guide to clock changes and baby sleep covers both.

Talk to your GP or health visitor if:

• Your child snores most nights, gasps, or seems to pause in their breathing while asleep.
• They seem to be in pain at night, or are unwell, off their feeds or food, or have fewer wet nappies.
• The early waking came with other changes, such as losing a skill or a big change in behaviour.
• You are finding it hard to cope after weeks of 5am starts. That wears anyone down, and your GP or health visitor can help.

If you are worried your baby is ill, call NHS 111. If they stop breathing or will not wake up, call 999.