My eldest child is a night owl. In the evenings, when her sisters are starting to wind down and are ready for bed, she’s wide awake and good to go for another couple hours. She’d gladly stay up until midnight each night and sleep until midmorning each day.
Unfortunately, most days she must get up at a reasonable time because we have things (such as school) that we must complete in the morning. To get sufficient sleep, she needs to go to bed at an earlier time.
With school about to start, the flexibility she’s had over these past few weeks is about to end. How can I gently help her become more of a morning person?
Why are some people night owls?
We have internal clocks (circadian rhythms) that help control many aspects of our lives. The rhythm of a person’s inclination to sleep at a certain time and rise at a certain time is referred to as a chronotype. Chronotypes are influenced by genes, metabolic processes, and behaviors.
Most individuals fall into one of three chronotypes: intermediate, early, or late. As you might guess, those with an intermediate chronotype tend to have balanced sleep-wake cycles, preferring to sleep around sunset and rise around sunrise. Those with an early chronotype (early birds or early risers) prefer to go to bed earlier in the evening and rise early in the morning. Those with a late chronotype (night owls) prefer to stay up late at night and rise later in the morning.
Changing sleep-wake cycles is very challenging because genes play a big role in determining our chronotypes. However, in the absence of sleep disorders that require assistance from medical professionals, we can make behavioral changes and adjustments to external cues that can successfully change our sleep-wake cycles.
How to help a night owl become an early bird
Helping a child switch from being a night owl to an early bird is best approached with a lesson learned from The Tortoise and the Hare: slow and steady wins the race.
Gradually shift to an earlier bedtime
One of the struggles night owls have with early rising is feeling tired during the day because they get too little sleep due to going to bed so much later. This means that our soon-to-be early birds need to shift to earlier bedtimes so they get adequate sleep. This is best done gradually. A significant change could lead our kiddos to get frustrated because they are lying in bed unable to sleep for an extended time. However, starting with a shift of just 5-10 minutes per night helps them adjust to the new time gradually.
Institute calming bedtime rituals
It can be helpful to have calming bedtime rituals that serve as a cue to the body and mind that bedtime is coming. What works will vary from one child to the next, but good options include taking a bath, reading books, stretching gently, or listening to calming music. Whatever your child uses as his or her bedtime ritual, keep doing it regularly.
Use light to your advantage
The body associates light with wakefulness and darkness with rest. Bright light has a strong alerting effect, and it has a powerful influence on a person’s circadian rhythm. Exposing a night owl to natural light early in the day (within 20 minutes of rising, if possible) can help shift his or her chronotype earlier. This can be accomplished by having a child sit out on a porch for a bit in the morning or having him or her sit by a window into which light is streaming. If neither of these are possible, then consider getting a lamp that is designed to imitate natural light.
In the evenings, you want to take the opposite approach—you want to do what you can to help your child avoid bright lights. This entails avoiding screens (phones, tablets, TVs, etc.) and dimming overhead lights (or using small accent lights instead of bright overhead lights). Another possibility is using amber light bulbs in the lights you use before bed. This is because amber lights promote relaxation and help the body prepare for sleep by reducing one’s exposure to blue light (which interferes with melatonin production).
Create a pleasant morning routine
No one wants to get out of bed when what awaits is unpleasant, so having a pleasant morning routine can make it easier for our kids to get out of bed. Researchers have found that using an alarm with melodic alarm noises (as opposed to obnoxious beeps) makes it easier to shake off feelings of grogginess. Another good alternative for a gentle alarm is a dawn simulator. Once awake, nice activities such as drinking a preferred beverage (like chocolate milk) and playing with a pet for a few minutes are good ways to motivate kids to get out of bed and get moving.
Be active during the day
Being physically active, especially early in the day, has a significant impact on circadian rhythms. In fact, researchers have found that regular exercise can move forward the sleep cycles of night owls by as much as 30 minutes! For kids, physical activity is easy to get and can take many forms. It can include formal activities (such as playing sports), but informal activities such as going for a morning walk, playing tag in the backyard with siblings, and playing on the playground work just as well.
Eat dinner earlier
Eating close to bedtime (during the 3 hours before going to sleep) can result in poor sleep quality and increased sleep disturbances. This is because of how digestion impacts circadian rhythms. To fall asleep at an earlier time, it may be necessary to move dinner up so there is at least a 3-hour window between it and bedtime.
Be consistent
I could easily do everything listed above to help my daughter become more of an early bird. However, doing so consistently, even on weekends and while on vacations, would be a bit more difficult. The reality is that our children can’t do these things for a week and magically become early birds. It takes sustained change to accomplish this. Occasionally being off for a day or two (such as when there is a special event or travel) won’t ruin everything, but it is necessary to maintain these habits and routines as much as possible.
Final thoughts
I left out a few other changes that don’t typically apply to children. One is caffeine consumption. Caffeine should be avoided during the 6 hours prior to sleep, and daily consumption should be limited to 400 milligrams. Alcohol and nicotine should also be avoided in the hours before sleep. Earlier in the day, one’s consumption of alcohol should be limited and, if possible, nicotine should be avoided entirely.
For additional information, please visit my sources:
- What Makes Someone a Night Owl vs. An Early Bird
- So, You’re a Night Owl: Is That Bad?
- How to Go From A Night Owl to An Early Bird
- How to Become a Morning Person
We’ve slowly been utilizing some of the strategies listed above. Honestly, it hasn’t been as challenging as I anticipated! Hopefully the same will be true for you if you give it a go.
What has been your experience with helping your child (or yourself) become more of a morning person? What tips or advice can you share?
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