In the baby sleep world, a "false start" is when bub wakes up shortly after being put down to sleep. With a false start, your little one will usually sleep for about 40-60 minutes, then wake up and seem either upset or ready to party! (We can’t decide which is worse). This can be super frustrating; we know how precious time is when our little ones go down to sleep. A sleeping baby means we can finally attack that growing pile of dishes in the sink, have a bite to eat in peace and don’t even get me started on the washing! So, what exactly is the reason for these sudden disruptions to your little ones sleep, and what can you do to stop them! | | Their afternoon awake window wasn’t long enough This leads to under tiredness and can happen commonly when we try to drop from 3-2 naps. Our little ones go to bed and treat bedtime like the 3rd nap due to the sleep pressure not being high enough. In this instance, you will notice they wake perky and ready to party. Solution Slowly increase their awake time by 15 minutes to help develop that sleep pressure. | | Sleep Associations They may have a sleep association that they are relying on to fall asleep/ As such, they struggle to connect their sleep cycles without this at bedtime. Hence, the false start when they wake up looking for this to resettle again. Solution: Helping your little one settle without this association at bedtime is what will help here. We go into further detail on sleep associations over on the Sleep Teacher blog. Read it here. | | Overtiredness If naps have been slightly off or your baby has had too much awake time before bed, they may have rising cortisol levels that disrupt sleep. This higher than usual level of stress hormones makes it really hard for our little ones to fall into a deep sleep and they will seem a little restless. Solution: Ensure you are sticking to their age-appropriate awake times. This will help take the guesswork out of what time bedtime should be. | | After some further support with your little ones sleep? From newborn to 4 years, we have a guide that will help you and your little one no matter what their age. Or for more unique circumstances consider a one-on-one consult. We will be with you every step of they way! | | | | |