How long should I keep my baby awake?
Why is everyone always talking about my child’s “wake windows” when I ask for sleep help? What is a wake window anyway?
Wake windows are the time from when your child wakes up to when they are back in bed. This means when your child wakes up from a nap and you go get them, their wake window has begun. This is the amount of time your baby is able to stand being awake before becoming overtired. The wake window is important because if a baby becomes overtired they struggle to settle down for sleep. They may begin to fight sleep and cry, leaving you wondering if they are actually tired at all. When babies are born they barely have any wake time. It seems that they only wake long enough to eat and possibly get a diaper changed before they are snoozing away again. As they grow, almost monthly their wake windows stretch and grow as well. After about 3 months of age, a baby starts to produce melatonin that can help regulate the day/ night confusion. They also begin to produce cortisol, which is the hormone that helps keep us awake during the day. If a baby gets overtired and stressed, they can produce cortisol which can make them get “wired” or “hysterical”. If you can imagine a scenario where you were about to fall asleep and then you heard a noise outside at your front door. You go check the door to find that it was two animals fighting outside. You feel relieved, but your heart is still racing. You were prepared for something worse. Now you try to calm down and go back to bed. It feels impossible to fall asleep now! Your body was just in “fight or flight” mode and it was pumping cortisol into you in case you needed it. Now you have to find a way to settle down before you can possibly fall asleep. For some, that may mean just closing your eyes and trying to relax. For others, it may mean turning on the TV to calm their mind. Either way, sleep does not just come immediately after a stressful, cortisol-inducing moment. The same happens for babies. When a baby becomes overtired, they start to stress out and attempt to force themselves to stay awake by producing cortisol.
When babies are born, they have almost no wake window. It seems they sleep all day, but somehow keep us up all night. That is because babies have a wake window of about 35-60 minutes, and they have no knowledge of what day and night means. Infants can often have day and night confusion because they have no circadian rhythm yet. A good way to work on this is to expose them to daylight during the day as much as possible and to keep things dark and quiet at night. As your baby ages, you will re-evaluate their wake windows about once a month for the first year of life.
Finding the right time for your baby can be tricky, and not a perfect system. Some trial and error will occur, but you will begin to learn your baby’s cues to let you know when they are ready.
A good starting point for wake windows is as follows:
0-4 weeks 35-60 min wake window
4-12 weeks 60-90 min wake window
3-4 months 75-120 min wake window
5-7 months 2-3 hour wake window
7-10 months 2.5-3.5 hour wake window
11-14 months 3-4 hour wake window
14-24 months 4-6 hour wake window
These times are meant to be a starting point, as every baby is different. The goal is to take your baby out of the crib and begin the wake window then. Give them plenty of activity and nourishment during the awake time so when it is time for the nap they are tired enough and ready.
If you are struggling with wake windows and need some help, I am happy to be your sleep coach . Click on the services tab for more info
Good luck <3
Melanie
