You’ve officially left the infant days behind and are — hopefully — beginning to enjoy longer stretches of sleep at night.
While sleep can vary dramatically from one toddler to the next, most fall into a pattern that parents can handle. If that pattern includes unusually early wakeups, however, you may be feeling nearly as exhausted as you did during the newborn days.
Depending on the nature of your toddler’s sleep, you may need to adjust your child’s wake windows, nighttime environment, or your expectations.
How Much Sleep Do Toddlers Need?
While a variety of factors can cause toddlers to wake up early, the amount of sleep they're getting each day often comes into play. Most toddlers sleep somewhere between 11 and 14 hours in a 24-hour period, with between 10 and 12 of those hours occurring at night.
These numbers can range, however, with research suggesting that perfectly healthy toddlers can sleep as little as 11.4 hours within a 24-hour timeframe, while other also healthy children in this age group get over 16 hours.
If your toddler seems cheerful upon waking up early in the morning, the total amount of sleep probably isn’t an issue. Cranky wakeups are another story and might be telling you that they need more high-quality sleep at night.
If you’ve determined that your toddler isn’t getting enough sleep and that unusual circumstances such as teething are not to blame, you might be able to fix the problem by making a few strategic tweaks to your sleep strategy.
Tips for Managing Your Early Riser
Try for a later bedtime. Often, the chief culprit behind an early wakeup is an early bedtime. Going to bed later can help, but you risk causing your toddler to be overtired if you make the switch too quickly.
Instead of suddenly switching to a later bedtime, try putting your toddler down for bed 15 minutes later each night for several nights in a row until you reach the new bedtime. Don’t ditch your bedtime ritual — just start it later. Keeping bedtime predictable even when making changes can make your child feel safe and secure.
Adjust naps. If nightly shut-eye isn't causing early wakeups, daytime snoozing might be the problem. This will shift as your toddler grows older. Around twelve months, your child will probably still take two naps per day. Soon after they'll start to shift to just one nap. This can cause significant sleep disruptions.
By 18 months, your toddler should nap once in the afternoon. Typically, this daily nap will last about two hours, although some toddlers sleep for just one. How long this nap lasts and when it ends may influence bedtime and even when your toddler wakes in the morning. If your toddler is regularly napping for more than two hours per day, it may be time to cut a nap or try for shorter naps.
After the age of 2, your toddler may be ready to drop napping for good. Some research suggests that as toddlers reach their preschool years, naps may actually harm nighttime sleep.
Consider your toddler’s sleep environment. How comfortable is your toddler’s room? Mattress firmness or room temperature might not bother your child at the beginning of the night, but these issues could make it harder for them to stay asleep in the morning.
Don’t forget light levels. If you notice your toddler waking earlier as the days get longer, consider installing blackout curtains or determine whether lights from other areas of the home or from devices could be waking them up. Research shows a clear link between TVs in bedrooms and sleep problems, so if you have a television in your child's room, consider moving it.
Serve a healthy, filling dinner. Processed foods high in simple carbs probably won't keep your child full through the night. Introduce high-protein foods, healthy fats, and complex carbs to stave off nighttime hunger.
If your toddler wakes up early to nurse, consider that both hunger and comfort may be required. Some toddlers wean at night, but waking up to nurse is also normal for extended breastfeeding.
Avoid wet diapers. Some toddlers are sensitive to the feeling of a full diaper. You can minimize this problem by using nighttime diapers or using a diaper one size larger than their usual size. Some parents also limit liquids in the evening. Even if your toddler is potty-training and using underwear during the day, they may still need diapers at night.
