Clock Based Sleep Schedule - Clock Times vs. Wake Times

A clock-based sleep schedule is the third active ingredient of the LUNA Sleep System. Here is everything you need to know: 

1. If your child is 4 months or older, their circadian rhythm is developed or on its way to being developed. Simply, this means that your child no longer wants or needs to sleep based on their wake times but rather following the time on the clock. Your child’s biological need is such that they will sleep better on a nap schedule based on clock times than one based on wake times. Although following wake times is a good strategy for infants and newborns, it is no longer beneficial for your child when they are over four months old. Part of what we do at Luna is recommend evidence-based clock times for your child’s nap schedule and nighttime sleep schedule according to their age. These proposed times and schedules are based on the data from thousands of children your child's age.
  

2. Transitioning into a clock based schedule (instead of wake times) will be a very important piece of your child overcoming sleep regressions. It is necessary for your child to have a clock based schedule in order to practice and perfect their independent sleep skills. The day to day differences in nap timing resulting from a wake time sleep schedule is usually the cause of what parents refer to as “sleep regressions”. In fact, going by wake times leads to very different nap times each day which confuses your child’s body and leads to worse sleep overall.


3. Sleep quantity and quality can sometimes get worse before better. As part of your journey with Luna, your child will learn to sleep based on the clock. In the first few days of this transition, it may mean they will sleep for a shorter amount of time. However, within a matter of days, you will find your child sleeping for longer and in a more consistent manner. 


4. The clock times are not so strict that your child needs to go to sleep at the exact same minute for each nap every day. In fact, there is a 30 minute range for each sleep time to allow for flexibility depending on your child’s fatigue and your plans for the day. 


5. Your quality of life as a caregiver can improve due to the consistency of sleep timing. Not only will your child sleep better based on a clock based schedule, but in our experience, families like the predictability of knowing when their child will nap each day and go to bed at night. 
 We are very excited to support you as you begin clock based sleep schedules. It is a monumental step in your child's sleep journey.