Wake Windows 101
I am sure you have heard of the term “wake windows” by now. While it is a popular term, wake windows can feel confusing at times. Today I am going to dive into what a wake window is, why wake windows are important, and how to use them to prevent overtiredness.
What are wake windows?
A wake window is the amount of time your baby is awake before needing to go to sleep. A wake window starts when your baby wakes up (in the morning or from a nap) and ends when they next go to sleep.
Wake windows include feeding, changing, “playing”, and the time it takes your baby to fall asleep. For example, if your baby woke up at 7:00 am, fed until 7:20 minutes, played until 8:05, then you spend 10-15 minutes rocking them to sleep and they drift off at 8:20, their wake window was 1 hour and 20 minutes.
Why are wake windows important?
The key to better baby sleep is preventing overtiredness. An overtired baby is going to be more fussy and have a harder time falling asleep and staying asleep. An overtired baby is likely to take short naps and wake frequently at night. Optimizing your baby’s sleep schedule will lead to an easier time getting them down, better naps, and consolidated rest at night. Good daytime sleep leads to good nighttime sleep.
What should my baby’s wake windows be?
Wake windows are not perfect or fool-proof. They are based on the average amount of time most babies are awake before needing to sleep. Although they are just averages, they can still be extremely helpful when trying to figure out when your baby needs a nap.
Below are the average wake windows for each age:
0-3 Months: 45-90 minutes before naps and up to 1.5-2 hours before bed
4 Months: 90 minutes before naps and up to 2 hours before bed
5-6 Months: 2 hours before naps and up to 2.5 hours before bed
7-13 Months: 2-3 hours before naps and up to 4 hours before bed
14+ Months: 5 hours before both thier nap and bed
These wake windows are just averages and are meant to be used as a guide to find your baby’s optimal wake window. Some babies are going to do better with longer wake windows and others will do better with shorter ones. Use these as a starting point when working to find the best wake window for your baby.
Wondering if your baby’s wake windows need to be extended or shortened? Check out my blog post, Is My Baby Undertired or Overtired?
Sleepy cues or wake windows?
What if your baby is displaying some sleepy cues but it is not yet the end of their wake window? What do you do?
First, let’s chat about how to detect sleepy cues. Sleepy cues are signs that your baby will likely need a nap soon. Some common sleepy cues we see in babies are:
a calm, peaceful demeanor
a subtle yawn
reddish eyelids/eyebrows
eyes staring off into the distance
body is still
Many parents mistake tired signals for sleepy cues. Tired signals are signs that your baby should already be asleep so get them down as soon as possible. Some common tired signals we see in babies are:
fussing
avoiding eye contact
tugging on ears
rubbing eyes
rigid body
The key to figuring out when your baby needs to go down for a nap is using a combination of sleepy cues and wake windows. For example, if your 4 month old has been awake for 75 minutes, start to keep your eyes peeled for some sleepy cues. If you see a sleepy cue, you know it is time to put them down for a nap.
Some parents have a hard time catching their baby’s sleepy cues. Some babies don’t show any and can go from being happy to overtired in a matter of minutes. Sleepy cues can also become less reliable as your baby gets older (5+ months) and there may be times when we have to push our older babies to stay up a tad longer before going to sleep.
This is when tracking your baby’s sleep and awake time can be very helpful. All babies are different so finding YOUR baby’s optimal wake window is going to take some trial and error. Start tracking how long your baby was awake before they went down for a nap or bed. Then take a look at how the nap or night went.
For example, if you tried a wake window of 90 minutes with your 3 month old and they fought their nap, seemed upset, and woke up fussy from a short nap, that was most likely too long of a wake window. Try reducing the awake time by 10 minutes before the next nap. Over time you will be able to figure out how long your baby should be awake between naps and you can start to put together a loose sleep schedule. For more guidance on sleep schedules, check out my free nap schedule guide.
If you are having a hard time determining your baby’s wake windows or you find that your baby’s awake time is far from the average, schedule a call with me here. We can figure this out together!
Looking for more? Follow @sleepbyalex on instagram for daily sleep tips, schedule a free discovery call with me, or download my free guide, 7 Steps to Sleeping Through the Night.