Day vs Night

Why is My Baby Confused?

Interestingly, babies aren’t born with an internal body clock—what we refer to as circadian rhythm (the body’s natural timing device that regulates physical, mental and behavioral processes that follow a 24-hour cycle). Because of this, they often have their ‘days and nights’ confused. And this is a problem, because the last thing any parent wants is their baby awake and ready to party at 2:00 a.m!

At around 3–5 months of age, their circadian rhythm will begin to develop and they’ll start to respond to light, dark, feeding, movement and develop their own (more predictable) 24-hour rhythm.

While you can’t force this development, there are a few things you can do to help your baby distinguish between day and night until their circadian rhythm develops:

During the day: Expose your newborn to lots of daylight, even during naps. 

During the night: Draw the blinds, dim the lights and keep things as dark as possible for all overnight wakings.

As your baby begins to develop their circadian rhythm (around 3 – 5 months of age) it can also be helpful to: 

• Expose your little one to early morning sunlight

• Set a wake up time

• Dim the lights when performing their bedtime routine and ensure their sleep space is dark overnight

• Set the time of their first feed, even if they wake up earlier.

This is a natural process, but a little ‘coaching’ during the development phase can really help them distinguish between night and day, and make a positive difference to their sleep routine, so practice consistency and you’ll reap the rewards!