Every year Daylight Saving Time (DST) brings a subtle yet significant shift to our daily routines. But for parents of young babies, coupling babies and time change mean way more than an extra cup of coffee. That one-hour time change – whether it’s forward or backward – can throw off an infant's internal clock in a big way.
Little ones can be very sensitive to even the smallest disruptions to their sleep routine. Daylight Saving Time can lead to early wake ups, difficulty falling asleep, overtiredeness, and a complete deviation from your schedule.
The good news? It’s temporary – and with a bit of planning and consistency, the question on how to adjust your baby’s sleep schedule when the clocks change becomes easy to answer. Here is everything to know about navigating the beginning, and end, of Daylight Saving Time.
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If you’re looking for a personalized age-appropriate sleep schedule for your baby, take this free sleep assessment. The Smart Sleep Coach by Pampers app includes a real-time schedule that adjusts your baby’s bedtime and nap time to align their circadian rhythm. During time changes, this makes it easy to adjust their schedule to get them back on track...fast.
Understanding Daylight Saving Time and Baby Sleep
Daylight Saving Time is the practice of setting the clocks forward by one hour in the spring and back by one hour in the fall to make better use of natural daylight during the summer, when days are naturally longer. This means longer days with later sunsets in the warmer months, and shorter days with more light in the morning when the weather starts to get cold again.
DST was originally started to save energy and many countries who experience seasonal daylight changes continue to follow it. Many countries, including in Europe and the UK, refer to Daylight Savings as Summer Time. In the United States and Canada, it usually starts early March and ends early November. In Europe and the UK it starts the last Sunday in March and ends the last weekend in October.
While not everyone loves Daylight Savings for different reasons, it’s important to know how to prepare yourself – and your baby. These changes shift the light-and-dark cycles that regulate your baby's circadian rhythm. This rhythm helps set your baby's natural sleep and wake times, and even a 60-minute change can lead to disrupted naps, early wake-ups, or bedtime resistance.
What Ways Do Time Change Affect Baby Sleep?
Sleep is key to our health and development. For a baby, aligning and nurturing their circadian rhythm plays a major role in ensuring they get the most restorative sleep possible. Apps like Smart Sleep Coach help align your baby’ rhythm so that they fall asleep quickly, stay asleep longer, and stay on a predictable schedule.
Babies also thrive on consistency, so even a one-hour difference can feel like a big change. Even if your baby is sleeping through the night or falling asleep fast at bedtime, a time change will often cause them to temporarily struggle with sleep in some way or another.
Here are the most common effects parents notice:
- Bedtime Battles: When the clocks “spring forward,” bedtime comes an hour earlier. Even though the clock says it’s time to sleep, your baby’s body may not feel ready yet – leading to resistance or longer settling times. During “fall back” your baby may be tired early – and if you miss those wake windows, overtiredness can set in, making it harder for them to fall asleep.
- Early Mornings: During the “fall back,” the day starts earlier. Babies often wake with the sun, so you may find your little one up before you’re ready to start the day. Early wakeups before you’re ready can be especially hard for parents who need their sleep, too.
- Nap Disruptions: That missing or added hour can make naps tricky. Your baby may fight sleep, skip a nap, or struggle to stay asleep as their internal clock adjusts.
- General Fussiness: Any shift in schedule can leave babies feeling a bit off. Until their body clock realigns, you might notice more crankiness or clinginess – in part thanks to overtiredness.
As you've likely experienced with sleep regression, sleep struggles are temporary. With a little preparation – and tools like the Smart Sleep Coach app’s Smart Sleep Schedule – you can ease the transition and get your baby’s rest (and yours) back on track after the time changes quickly.
How to Prepare Baby for Daylight Savings (Spring and Fall)
Whether the clocks are “springing” forward or “falling” back, the one-hour time change can disrupt your baby’s circadian rhythm. While there are different approaches to adjusting to the direction the clock changes, there are ways to get your baby ready for any time change. (This includes any overnight travel to other time zones, too.)
Ways to prepare baby for time change:
- Take Control of Inside Lighting: Use blackout curtains to keep mornings dark or open them to bring in natural light, depending on the season.
- Use Natural Light strategically: Expose your baby to bright light in the morning to help reset their internal clock. This is especially important in the 4th trimester, when their sleep is still disorganized – a morning walk is a great way to do this! Dim lights and use blackout curtains in the evening.
- Don’t Forget White Noise: Minimize any chance for additional disruptions and with a sound machine.
- Stick to Your Routine: A consistent bedtime routine full of familiar activities like bathtime, story time, and lullabies provide strong sleep cues even when the clock changes. For younger babies, implementing the Eat Play Sleep schedule is a great way to start forming a daytime routine to promote better nighttime sleep.
- Gradually Shift Your Baby’s Schedule: Move bedtime and wake time by 10-15 minutes each day, starting a few days before the change, depending on which way the clocks or moving. Read on further for more on specific Daylight Savings sleep schedules and Daylight Savings routines.
- Monitor Naps: Longer-than-usual naps, even if your little one is exhausted, can cause them to struggle to sleep at night, which can further disrupt their whole cycle and lead to overtiredness. Try to cap naps at their usual length. More on how long naps should be
- Watch for Sleepy Cues: Put your little one to sleep at night when you notice sleepy cues to prevent their sleep schedule from getting further thrown off. Earlier bedtimes are always a good idea!
- Consider Re-Sleep Training: If you’ve previously sleep trained your baby, sometimes after a time change it can help to re-start or re-implement your sleep training method if they are struggling to fall asleep independently. Usually, it takes a few days, and they’ll be back on track.
- Be Patient: Both you and your baby may just need a few days to fully adjust to the new schedule and daylight hours. Any disruption to the routine or sleep is temporary, so try to stay calm and embrace the slight chaos that represents a change in season.
Babies and Daylight Savings: Spring Forward
In spring when Daylight Savings begins, the clocks move forward so we lose an hour of sleep. This gives us more daylight in the evening to enjoy the warm summer nights.
This shift can make it harder for babies to both fall asleep at night and wake up in the morning.
Later sunsets mean brighter evenings – making bedtime protests more common. Later sunrises mean darker mornings, which can make it harder for your little one to wake up on time.
To help your baby adjust to Daylight Savings starting, there are different approaches you can take:
- Start 3-4 Days in Advance: Gradually shift your baby's entire routine 10-15 minutes earlier each day leading up to DST – this includes their wake time, nap time(s), feedings, and bedtime. Every day leading up to the time change, shift your baby’s routine earlier by 10-15 minutes again. That way, by the time you reach Sunday, it’ll be like the clocks never changed.
- Prep the Night Before: If the time change sneaked up on you (which it often does), simply put your baby to sleep 10 minutes earlier than usual. Even after the clocks spring forward, keep shifting sleep back by 10 minutes until they are back to their regular bedtime.
- Deal With it In Real-Time: On the morning of the time change, set an alarm for the “normal” time and wake your baby up then. So, if their wake time is around 7:00 AM, wake them then – even though it will feel like 6:00 AM. After a few days of this, they should be back on track.
- Do Nothing: If you’re looking for your baby to sleep later in the morning, Daylight Savings can help! If you have a newborn, time changes, including travel and time zone changes, are irrelevant – their circadian rhythm isn’t yet developed so you’ll likely not see a difference.
Spring forward adjustment sleep schedules
Here’s a schedule for how to gradually shift your baby’s schedule in the days leading up to the time change. All babies are different, so these are just examples, depending on how many naps they take.
If you’re using the Smart Sleep Coach app and want to adjust your baby’s sleep, simply put your baby to sleep 15 minutes earlier than the app recommends – this will help the app adjust to the time change, too.
For a 2-Nap Schedule:
If your baby’s wake time is usually around 7:00 AM, nap around 10:00 AM, nap around 2:30 PM, and bedtime around 7:00 PM.
*Adjusted clock time
Daylight savings toddler sleep spring forward
For a toddler taking 1 nap who usually wakes around 7:00 AM, naps around 12:00 PM, and goes down for sleep around 7:00 PM.
*Adjusted clock time
Babies and Daylight Savings: Fall Back
In October or November, depending on where you live, the clocks will "fall back”. This may give us an extra hour of sleep, but it doesn’t always give us more rest. For one, the sun rises earlier again, meaning your baby may, too. On the flipside, it can be harder to fall asleep, as bedtime is technically moved an hour earlier.
Whichever direction the clocks turn, you and your baby may take a few days to fully adjust. But we have ways to help.
To ease this transition:
- Begin Shifting Bedtime Later: About 3-4 days before the change, delay bedtime by 10-15 minutes each day. Come Sunday, it’ll be like the clocks never changed. You can also start the transition closer to the time change if needed. (If you want your baby to have an earlier bedtime then do nothing – the clocks will do that for you!)
- Keep Mornings Low-Stimulation: If your baby wakes early, keep the room dark and quiet. Hold off on breakfast or play until the preferred wake time.
- Download Smart Sleep Coach: In addition to a library full of content customized to your baby’s sleep needs, the Smart Sleep Coach by Pampers app will help you with everything from getting your little one back on schedule to navigating daylight savings sleep training – which is not for the weary! (More on gentle sleep training here)
Fall Back Adjustment Sleep Schedules
Here’s how to gradually adjust in the week leading up to “fall back.”
For a 2-Nap Schedule:
If your baby’s wake time is usually around 7:00 AM and bedtime around 7:00 PM.
*Adjusted clock time
Daylight savings toddler sleep fall backward
If your toddler’s wake time is usually around 7:00 PM and they have made the transition from 2 to 1 nap.
*Adjusted clock time
Daylight Savings and Baby Sleep: Important Dates to Remember
Curious when to prepare your baby for Daylight Savings Time? Here are the DST dates for 2025 through 2030.
Daylight Saving Time Dates in the U.S. and Canada (2025–2030)
Daylight Saving Time (Summer Time) Dates in the UK and Europe (2025–2030)
Final Thoughts
By taking small steps to prepare your infant or toddler for Daylight Saving Time, and knowing yourself what to expect, you can help your little one adjust to the time change with as little disruption as possible.
- Stay Consistent: Babies thrive on predictability. Keep their routine as stable as possible.
- Be Patient: It can take up to a week for babies and toddlers to adjust.
- Use Blackout Curtains and White Noise: These tools can help buffer the effects of brighter mornings or lighter evenings.
