All About Wake Windows

If you are anything like me when I was a new Mom, when my baby was a newborn I thought she would sleep when she needed to, isn't that where the term "sleep like a baby" comes from? There is so much information to sort through on social media and in google searches about baby sleep, it is so difficult to know what information is accurate. A few months into parenthood, I had learned about wake windows from a friend, and began to google the topic. Pinterest had lots of flashy guides on the subject, but I couldn't seem to figure out how to get my little one sleeping when she was supposed to, even with these beautifully designed charts. It wasn't until I worked with a sleep coach for my daughter's sleep at 4 months of age that I learned there is a real science to baby sleep and wake windows are a big part of that.

Now I am glad to have studied the topic in detail and can share more about this with other tired parents struggling to find the right info.

What is a Wake Window?

Quite simply, it is the duration of time that your baby or toddler is awake between naps and bedtime. The window begins when you baby wakes in the morning or after their naps and ends the moment they fall asleep for a nap or bedtime.

Why are Wake Windows so Important?

What Wake Windows Should You be Following?

Will Using Wake Windows Solve My Baby's Sleep Challenges?

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Why are Wake Windows so Important?

Daytime sleep is actually the biggest predictor for successful overnight sleep. If a baby becomes overtired during the day from not napping at age-appropriate times, their cortisol can spike making bedtime challenging and causing disrupted overnight sleep. Following wake windows that are based on your baby's age and stage will mean that your little one avoids being overtired and will have a much better success rate for falling asleep and staying asleep overnight.

What Wake Windows Should You be Following?

There are lots of guides out there for wake windows based on your baby's age. Often times they include a "range" of time such as 1-2 hours. The most appropriate wake window for your baby can range for each unique kiddo, however, there are some standard rules of thumb regarding wake windows based on the baby's age.

The wake window for your little one will change over time and usually this shift happens month-to-month. For example, a 4-month old baby typically cannot handle being awake more than 2 hours at a time without getting overtired, and by 6 months of age this can go up to as much as 2 and 3/4 hours.

When advising on what wake windows you should be using with your baby or toddler, I will always make those recommendations based on the data we are seeing with your unique baby as each baby will vary as to where they fit into the windows for their age group. You will know if your baby's wake window is too short because it will take too long for them to fall asleep at naps (more than 20 mins is a good rule of thumb). If they fall asleep at nap time in less than 5 minutes, it's usually a sign that the have been awake too long and need a shorter window.

Again, customizing your little one's wake windows is just one of the benefits of the sleep coaching we do with you and is a huge value to optimizing your baby or toddler's daytime sleep and an important part of the formula for reducing or eliminating overnight wakings.

Will Using Wake Windows Solve My Baby's Sleep Challenges?

Yes and No...

Using age-appropriate wake windows is certainly a key important factor in setting your baby or toddler up for optimal sleep conditions. With using wake windows, your child will be falling asleep when their body is ready and not accumulating cortisol in their system due to being overtired. This is critical to have success with sleep coaching your child. However, using wake windows is not a quick-fix, miracle-solution that will get a baby sleeping who may be challenged with frequent overnight wakings, short naps and disruptive bedtimes. These babies often need more help and coaching and there are several other elements of a sleep plan that can be created to teach them how to achieve great naps and overnight sleep as they learn to sleep independently.

All that to say, I absolutely encourage you to follow age-appropriate wake windows to help you little one sleep when their body needs to, it will be a very important part of setting the stage for great sleep, and will help you little one get the rest they need when they need it.

Please feel free to leave comments and questions below, I'd love to hear from you.