Late Bedtime for Baby

Sleep advice for babies and toddlers can be confusing and contradictory!  Your parents and friends may tell you to give your baby a later bedtime so he/she will sleep later in the morning. 

Is that true? No. Typically a later bedtime leads to an overtired baby causing more night wakings and early morning wake ups. But there are times when a later bedtime is appropriate, for example in the newborn stage. 

There are other times a later bedtime could work for families or maybe you’re wondering if baby bedtime is getting late. Here’s what we will cover:

  • when can a baby have a bedtime

  • is 8pm too late for baby bedtime

  • is it ok for baby to have late bedtime? why do babies sleep so early?

  • what happens if baby goes to bed late

  • baby bedtime getting later and baby sleeps late at night

  • how to delay baby bedtime

  • what bedtime for 6 month old

  • why do babies sleep so early

  • baby sleeps late at night

  • is a late bedtime bad for babies

  • what happens if baby goes to bed late

  • is my baby going to bed too late

When can baby have a bedtime?

Having a predictable and consistent bedtime routine is one of the most important aspects in a healthy sleep foundation. Babies thrive on routine! Starting a bedtime routine as soon as you have your baby is fine! The time you put your baby to bed will vary depending on their age. This blog post will help you find the right wake time for your little one’s age

Sleep is complexed and driven by circadian rhythm and sleep pressure.  Our circadian rhythm is roughly a 24 hour cycle that drives our sleep and wakefulness periods and is influenced by light.  Light travels through our optic nerve to a group of cells in our brain that control hormones, body temperature and other functions, this group of cells releases a hormone called cortisol, which helps to feel awake.  When there is no light, these cells release melatonin, a hormone that makes us feel sleepy.  

Is 8pm too late for baby bedtime? 

A child’s circadian rhythm is wired to get their best sleep between 6-8pm to 6-8am. Sleep outside of that time is outside of their circadian rhythm and doesn’t result in the best, most restorative sleep. (Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child).

Another important factor for circadian rhythm is sun exposure. Exposing our bodies to sunlight early in the day is beneficial for sleep later in the day.

Is it OK for baby to have a late bedtime? why do babies sleep so early?

When can you offer a later bedtime?

  • When your child is younger

  • When your child is waking too early in the morning

  • When your child’s sleep needs drop

When your baby is first born until about 2-3 months old, you may have a bedtime somewhere between 8 and 11 p.m. This late bedtime is intentional, as it is lined with your bedtime so your little one’s longest stretch of sleep is at the same time you are sleeping! 

Once your baby’s sleep matures at around 4 months of age, you’ll want to start aiming for an earlier bedtime anywhere between 6pm-8pm.

What Happens If baby goes to bed late? 

If your little one is doing an 11 hour night with a 10pm - 9am schedule, but your child is having multiple night wakings and rarely does a 3-4 hour stretch at night, you may want to reconsider this schedule.  Your baby isn’t naturally sleeping to 9am in the morning, instead they are catching up on the sleep they lost in the middle of the night.  

Babies optimal sleep is between 6pm-8pm bedtime until 6am-8am waking in the morning. 

baby bedtime getting later and baby sleeps late at night

If bedtime is getting really late for your child and you don’t love it, the first suggestion would be to start waking them 15-30 mins earlier in the morning which will shift their whole day earlier including nap(s) and bedtime. This way you can control their day, getting their bedtime to a time that works better for you without causing a lot of overtiredness.

If bedtime is getting really late and you do love it, then it’s a totally personal decision for you to keep it!

how to delay baby bedtime?

Maybe you’re looking for a way to move bedtime later (if you’re stuck in an early bedtime/early waking cycle, I GET IT!) or you just want to do a later bedtime occasionally to accommodate plans, vacations, holidays, etc.

If you’re stuck in the early bedtime cycle, the best suggestion we have it scoot your out of bed time in the morning later every few days. Doing this, you’ll count their first awake time from out of crib time to their first nap which will shift their schedule including bedtime.

If you just want to accommodate plans with a later bedtime, then you can try to do an extra nap to help tide them over or just let it go for a day, and then get back on track the next!

what bedtime for 6 month old?

Bedtime does depend slightly on morning wake up, length of naps, how many naps, and what we call a “critical” bedtime.

A critical bedtime is when your child sleeps their best and longest overnight.

For example, if your child sleeps 7pm-7am when you do a 7pm bedtime, but sleeps 8pm-6am with a later bedtime, then doing the earlier bedtime for a longer night could be beneficial, even though a 10 hour night is technically okay too!

is a late bedtime bad for babies?

The only time we would be super concerned about late bedtimes for babies is if they’re not sleeping well overnight and therefore missing out on a lot of good sleep.

Sleep that happens earlier in the night is more restorative than sleep that happens later at night so we like to maximize that whenever possible! They say “an hour before bedtime is worth 2 after!” for a good reason.

what happens if baby goes to bed late?

Nothing is ever definite— every child is different and you may find that your child is totally unaffected by later bedtimes! Some potential reasons people utilize earlier bedtimes include:

  • their child wakes early in the day

  • their child takes long naps

  • it works best for their family/work schedules

If a late bedtime is backfiring, then you could have:

  • more night time wakings

  • early morning wakings

  • short naps

is my baby going to bed too late?

If you find that your child is not getting good stretches of sleep in no matter what, despite having all the other puzzle pieces in place, then it could be that their bedtime is too late! You can always troubleshoot and try an earlier bedtime for a few weeks to see.

If you’re really struggling with the late bedtime, set up a consult with Jenna and see what package might be a good fit!

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