False Start Bedtimes
- Apr 18, 2024
- 4 min read
Updated: Apr 19, 2024
Picture the scene. You just sit down for a little ‘me’ time after a long day, when all of a sudden you hear a familiar cry through the baby monitor. You only put your little one down 45 minutes ago, so why have they woken again so soon?
If this is happening to you on a regular basis, it could be that your baby is experiencing ‘false starts’. False starts typically occur up to an hour after bedtime and can be incredibly frustrating.
So, why do false starts happen and what can you do to prevent them?
I hear from parents dealing with false starts very regularly. They are really common and have a few possible causes. Let’s explore these below:
Is your baby overtired?
Overtiredness has a lot to answer for and, yet again, I cite it as one possible reason for this sleep challenge. If your little one has struggled to nap in the day, timings have been off or you have had a lot on, you may find that they wake soon after being put to bed. In fact, your baby might be generally unsettled for the whole night. You can get back on track by putting your little one to bed slightly earlier than usual. If the false starts continue, consider if your child is getting sufficient daytime sleep and how this is arranged throughout the day.
How is your baby settling?
The chances are, if your baby is needing you to support them to fall asleep, they are waking after just one sleep cycle and anticipating the same help to get them back off again. If false starts have become a regular occurrence and you feel they are problematic, it might be time to think about working gently towards more independent settling.
Is your baby’s bedtime too early?
Even if your child appears tired, there may be occasions where they simply haven’t built up enough ‘sleep pressure’ for bedtime. This can happen if naps are particularly long or late in the day, or if your child has not had quite enough physical activity. If this is the case, try pushing bedtime back by about 15 minutes. If false starts are happening a lot, it might also be worth looking at nap length and timings to find the right balance going forward. It helps to look at sleep over 24 hours, rather than dividing it into night or day time sleep.
How was wind down time?
Have you ever found that you are too wired to fall asleep if you have had a busy evening? Perhaps you have been out with friends or family and, although you feel tired and know you should sleep, you just can’t? Well, this happens to babies too. An overstimulated baby at bedtime can lead to all sorts of disruption during the night. No matter how your day or evening has gone, finding time to calm things down and complete at least some of your child’s familiar bedtime routine will be really important in enabling them to sleep well.
Is your baby being disturbed?
Take a good look at your child’s bedroom environment. Is something happening to disturb them? A light, outside noise, a temperature fluctuation. Has the white noise turned off? Sometimes it really is as simple as them being woken by a sibling or a light being too bright.
Is your baby hungry?
Younger babies will need to wake regularly for feeds, so false start type bedtimes will be very normal. For older babies and toddlers, consider timings of meals and snacks to ensure they are full enough to sleep for the long stretch overnight. Look at the variety of food your child is eating too. Some foods contain essential amino acids that may help children to sleep better. These include:
White wheat bread;
Seeds - flax, sesame, sunflower and pumpkin;
Fruit - strawberry, banana, apples, avocado, peaches and cherries;
Nuts - peanuts, cashews, walnuts, pistachios, chestnuts and almonds;
Cheese;
Milk and milk products, e.g. warm milk;
Fish, including salmon, mackerel, cod and tuna;
Vegetables - spinach, asparagus, potatoes, mushrooms, peas, cabbage, cucumber and tomatoes;
Grains - wheat, brown rice, oats, corn and barley;
Meat - chicken and turkey and;
Legumes - soybeans, mung beans.
Avoid sugary drinks and snacks and anything containing caffeine, particularly in the hours before bedtime.
Finally…
Remember to give your child time to resettle if they do wake. Perhaps they CAN get themselves back off to sleep if you give them a few minutes to try. Research has suggested that leaving your child for three minutes before going in to settle them could make all the difference between teaching them to fall back to sleep independently or becoming reliant upon your help. Having said this, it is best not to let your little one get too upset, as excessive cortisol is certainly not conducive to good sleep.
If you are struggling with false start bedtimes and would like more personalised advice about how to cope with them, please book a FREE consultation with me today. Just click the link below.
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