Navigating Baby Wake Windows and Sleepy Cues
One of the best things you can do to help promote your baby’s sleep is find their optimal wake window. When your little one has just the right amount of awake time between sleeps, they will fall asleep more easily and wake up more content and ready to explore their exciting, new world!
So, what are wake windows?
A “wake window” simply refers to the time between when your baby wakes up and when your baby falls asleep again for either naps or bedtime. For simplicity, I like to think of a “wake window” as crib to crib, or the amount of time between when you get baby out of their crib (or other safe sleep space) to when you put your baby back in their crib.
Why is finding my baby’s optimal wake windows important?
Determining your baby’s optimal wake window can be so beneficial when tackling sleep struggles. When we are able to get baby to sleep when they have just the right amount of sleep pressure, they have a much easier time falling and staying asleep. Baby brains are still super under construction and are a bit like Goldilocks; they can’t be too awake (undertired) or too sleepy (overtired). The timing has to be just right.
Wake windows are not science-based but instead averages of the awake time that works best for most babies at the given age. Some babies need more sleep than the average, and some babies need less. There is a wide range of normal! Signs that your baby is getting enough sleep for THEM are an overall happy demeanor throughout the day, typically falling asleep easily at nap and bedtime, and meeting their growth/developmental milestones. Each baby is different, and wake windows are simply a guide to help parents know where to start.
How do I determine what my baby’s wake window should be?
We’re looking at two main factors to determine what is the most ideal wake window for your little one: their age and their sleepy cues.
Age: Wake windows for our teeny newborns tend to be very short, 60-90 minutes. Newborns generally take between 4-7 naps, and their schedule is unpredictable (which is totally normal!). As babies get older, their wake windows lengthen, overtiredness becomes less of a tripwire, and the schedule becomes more predictable.
Wake windows tend to be shortest in the morning and longest in the evening. For example, a 4-month-old may have a 75-minute wake window between waking up and their first nap, 90-minute wake windows between each subsequent nap, and a 2-hour wake window before bed.
Sleepy Cues: Think of your baby’s sleep cues like the 20% battery alert you get on your phone; baby is getting close to needing to take a nap to feel recharged. When you get baby to sleep when they start slowing sleepy cues, you catch them when their brain is releasing sleepy chemicals and they are able to drift off more easily.
Tired signals are like the glowing empty sign on your car’s gas gauge; baby needs to get to sleep ASAP. When we miss our baby’s sleepy cues (which will happen!), you run the risk of having an overtired baby who is tired, but their little brain thought they needed to stay awake and they will now need much more intervention to get calm and asleep.
Knowing the difference between sleepy cues and tired signals is SO valuable when trying to figure out what your baby’s wake windows should be so we can get them to sleep when they need it and save ourselves some time and stress in getting baby asleep.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: When can I stop using sleepy cues and go to a clock-based schedule?
A: Most babies can go to a clock-based schedule around 5 months, when wake time has stretched out between naps and naps have lengthened. More formal sleep training can be useful if you are wanting to move toward a clock-based schedule.
Q: What if my baby is showing sleepy cues, but they aren’t close to the end of their typical wake window?
A: This can be so confusing! My suggestion would be to keep one eye on the baby and one eye on the clock. Meaning, if your little one typically has a 2-hour wake window and is showing sleepy cues at 1 hour and 15 minutes, I would suggest pushing closer to the 1 and a half-hour mark to try to maintain a semblance of your schedule. Sometimes, babies are extra tired when they are sick, teething, had a short nap, etc., and do need a shorter wake window than normal. That’s ok! Tune into your mama intuition and know that your schedule may be a little off the rest of the day.
Q: What if my baby doesn’t show strong sleepy cues, and I’m not sure what their wake windows are?
A: If you have no idea where to start, I would look at the typical wake window based on your baby’s age and err on the shorter side of average. Signs a wake window may be too short is baby consistently taking a long time to fall asleep (20+ minutes) and waking content after a short nap (less than an hour). Signs your wake window may be too long is significant fussiness/difficulty falling asleep at nap and bedtime and waking up upset after a nap, regardless of the nap length (short or long).
By understanding the concept of wake windows and how to tune in to your baby’s sleepy cues, you are one step closer to being able to optimize your baby’s sleep schedule. It can take some patience and a little bit of trial and error, but getting your baby on a schedule that works for them can help pave the way to sweet dreams for you and your little one.
If you need support tweaking your schedule, let’s chat! Doing the mental math of a baby’s schedule can be exhausting, and sometimes you need someone in your corner to do it with you. Schedule a consult here!
