Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child
70
Owls versus Larks
March 14, 2022

Found in age groups

Related Parents' Reports

Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child

5th Edition: 
A Step-by-Step Program for a Good Night's Sleep

Buy now

Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child

5th Edition: 
Chapter 1 (only 16 pages!) outlines everything you need to know about your child's sleep.

Buy now

Introduction

A Healthy Child Needs a Healthy Brain, A Healthy Brain Needs Healthy Sleep

If you have not already done so, please read Blog Posts 1 through 5 that describe how sleep is important and beneficial. I will post specific information for parents and children based on my book, “Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child.” Please do not be put off by my book’s length. This is a reference book. Read only the topic of interest to you.

Blog 70Owls versus Larks

Owls versus Larks

Some adults are ‘owls’, they feel better in the evening, prefer to go to bed later, and, when able, wake up later. Other adults are ‘larks’, they feel better in the morning, prefer to go to bed earlier, and wake up earlier.

Dr. Isabel Morales-Munoz (Blog Post 61) recently discovered another reason why some parents keep their child up too late. She studied about a thousand families before the child was born, and at 3, 8, 18, and 24 months, and observed that some children at each age have both a high proportion of day sleep compared with total sleep and late bedtimes; the mothers of these children tended to be “owls” instead of “larks.” That is, these mothers preferred to go to bed later, woke up later, and felt better in the evening. As a group, the children of mothers with “eveningness preference” required more time to fall asleep after being put down and had more sleep difficulties. How­ever, their total sleep duration was not different from children whose mothers with “morningness preference.” Early bedtimes, not just sleep duration, makes for healthier sleep (Blog Posts 7, 22, 68, and 69)! The father’s role was also studied, and his preference for eveningness or morningness had no effect.

However, you might ask: Aren’t some children owls who really come alive in the evening and thrive on late bedtimes? After all, some of my friends have children who are owls and they appear to be just fine. The answer is clear:

  • Re­search using objective measures of sleep and salivary melatonin shows that in the age range of 30–36 months, the number of definite evening types (owls) is zero.
  • Another parent-response study found evening types (owls) in this same age range to be 0.9 percent of chil­dren. In fact, they observed that between birth and 8 years of age, evening types (owls) occurred in less than 2 percent of children at every age. The vast majority of young children are larks. Larks sleep bet­ter with early bedtimes.

Bedtimes are based on drowsy signs, not clock times, so please do not compare your child’s bedtime with that of another child. Also, realistically, circumstances may make it difficult for parents to synchronize soothing to sleep at night with the onset of drowsy signs. For some parents, the reality is that a bedtime that is too late is unavoidable. Even so, try to move the bedtime just a few minutes earlier. An important point to remember is that a little earlier bedtime, just a few minutes earlier (Blog Post 6), will benefit your child. A little bit of extra sleep goes a long way.

My name is Marc Weissbluth and I’ve been a pediatrician since 1973. This baby sleep blog will help you create a healthy sleep schedule for your child. My baby sleep advice and sleep training will teach you how to get a baby to sleep through the night. To stay updated with my latest baby and child sleep blog posts, be sure to subscribe today.

Comments

  1. Hi! I learned somewhere that the circadian rythm of children stays early (larks) until adolescence when melatonin is produced a little later due to hormone changes. So truly the classification of larks and owls comes until adolescence. Do you agree?

  2. Dear Dr Weissbluth. I have to use this platform to thank you for all your information from the bottom of my heart.

    In fact I am a post graduate of psychology but after having my children I got lost in the sleep dynamics of my eldest child’s first year and second years sleep routine.

    Your book rely has helped and I refer to it when I am in trouble to refresh my tactics from time to time as now I have 2 children.

    I randomly came across your blog which is also so informative and helpful, sharing all your experiences and research which I’m sure helps not just myself but all these parents who come to you.

    Thank you once again

    1. Dear Sokaina,
      You are welcome. My new Instagram reels (#marcweissbluth) might also be of interest to you. Are there topics that you think should be covered in more detail or new topics that I need to cover?

Add comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related blogs

These blogs are related or mentioned in this blog.
6
Blog 6
  | December 21, 2020
 | No Comments

Sleep Duration

When children, like Soldiers, get more sleep, even if it is only a few minutes each night, there are many benefits. It may take some time to see the benefits, but sometimes, the extra sleep produces benefits immediately, even overnight.
Read full post
7
Blog 7
  | December 28, 2020
 | 130 Comments

Early Bedtimes

An early bedtime may prevent sleep problems from developing in the first place. A slightly earlier bedtime alone might completely or partially solve a sleep problem.
Read full post
22
Blog 22
  | April 12, 2021
 | No Comments

No TV in Bedroom

Dr Jenny Radesky’s research suggests that having a television or other media in the child’s bedroom may be a parental response to their child’s not sleeping well; that is, allowing more screen time is a coping strategy.
Read full post
61
Blog 61
  | January 10, 2022
 | No Comments

Advice from a European Children's Sleep Researcher/Mother (#2)

"Before Vera was born, I had been investigating sleep in early childhood for three years, as part of my research. For this reason, and before being pregnant, I was already aware of the relevance of sleep, and the consequences that this might have on my health but also on my baby´s health and development."
Read full post
68
Blog 68
  | February 28, 2022
 | No Comments

My Opinion, #1

A very small minority of children with sleep problems are born with neurological issues that effect development, regulation, and sleep.
Read full post
69
Blog 69
  | March 7, 2022
 | 71 Comments

My Opinion, #2

The most common cause of sleep problems in young children is a bedtime that is too late.
Read full post

Stay updated with new blog posts

Get access to free lullabies when signing up!
Get notified when new blogs are posted
Loading
Notify me
About Marc
The first month
The second month
Months 3-4
Months 4-12
magnifiercrossarrow-left
linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram