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Wishful thinking that your baby’s internal clock will adjust as quickly as your iPhone. When the clock falls back 1 hour on November 1st be prepared for early rising which throws off your nap and bedtime schedule. Follow these simple steps to help your child adjust to the time change and prevent sleep regressions.

Preparing your babies and toddlers to fall back:

  • Identify the type of child you have. How do they adapt when they miss a nap or bedtime is too late? If they turn into a hot mess when sleep is off start 5 days before the time change. If they are very adaptable and don’t seem to skip a beat on an off-sleep day start 2 days before.
  • Start the shift slowly. 5 days before daylight savings, start shifting your child’s nap & bedtime schedule later by 10 minutes every day. Adjust meal time as well!
  • Adopt the new clock immediately. As soon as the clock officially falls back we need to work off the new clock right away. Don’t make the mistake of calculating what bedtime or nap time would have been yesterday.
  • Use black out shades. As the light creeps in earlier in the morning this is an important step to help minimize early rising.
  • Set awake for the day no earlier than 6:30 AM. Wait to get your baby until 6:30 AM the day of the time change and each day after. Choose a sleep training method you’re comfortable with using any one of the gentle sleep training methods offered by Dream Baby Sleep.

Sleep training does NOT have to mean Cry It Out. Once your baby is 16 weeks or older you can choose to sleep train using Pick Up Put Down, Chair Method or Check & Console.

Following these steps and exposing your children to as much natural light as possible the days immediately following the time change will help naturally reset their internal clocks.

Dream Baby Sleep® offers customized sleep consulting solutions for tired families worldwide.

Click HERE to schedule a free 15-minute sleep consultation if your baby isn’t sleeping well before the time change because unfortunately it’s only going to get worse.

Keep in mind you have the option to do nothing and simply adopt the new clock immediately on daylight savings. No matter what you choose don’t panic, it’s only 1 hour, we’ve got you.

Be sure to follow @dreambabysleep on Instagram for more tips and tricks.

CONTRIBUTORS

Natalie Barnett, PhD serves as VP of Clinical Research at Nanit. Natalie initiated sleep research collaborations at Nanit and in her current role, Natalie oversees collaborations with researchers at hospitals and universities around the world who use the Nanit camera to better understand pediatric sleep and leads the internal sleep and development research programs at Nanit. Natalie holds a Ph.D. in Genetics from the University of New England in Australia and a Postgraduate Certificate in Pediatric Sleep Science from the University of Western Australia. Natalie was an Assistant Professor in the Neurogenetics Unit at NYU School of Medicine prior to joining Nanit. Natalie is also the voice of Nanit's science-backed, personalized sleep tips delivered to users throughout their baby's first few years.

Dr. Maristella Lucchini serves as Senior Clinical Researcher at Nanit. In her role, Maristella works to secure grant funding in collaboration with Nanit's university research partners and supports the development of the company's research collaborations around the world. Previously, Maristella served as an Assistant Research Scientist in the Division of Developmental Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University Irving Medical Center where she led projects across several cohorts focusing on prenatal and perinatal health. Maristella holds a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Politecnico di Milano.

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