Becoming a parent brings a lot of joy—and a lot of sleep disruption. From unpredictable night wakings to early morning feedings, caring for a young child often means putting your own sleep on the back burner. While the most obvious culprit is sleep deprivation, there’s another hidden factor making the fatigue even worse: a disrupted circadian rhythm.
What Is the Circadian Rhythm?
Your circadian rhythm is your internal body clock. It helps regulate your sleep-wake cycle, energy levels, hormone production, body temperature, and even your mood over a roughly 24-hour cycle. This rhythm is highly responsive to cues like light, meal times, and physical activity.
When your circadian rhythm is aligned, you feel sleepy at night, alert during the day, and more resilient overall. But when it’s off-kilter—like it often is for new parents—you might feel like you’re in a fog, even when you’ve technically gotten "enough" sleep.
How Parenting Young Children Disrupts the Circadian Rhythm
Sleep challenges change as your child grows—but both stages can knock your circadian rhythm off course in very different ways.
- The Newborn Phase: No Rhythm, No Rules
One of the biggest shocks for new parents is how unpredictable newborn sleep can be. That’s because newborns don’t have a functioning circadian rhythm yet.
Their internal clocks are still developing, which means they sleep and wake in short bursts around the clock—regardless of whether it’s day or night. Feeding needs, growth spurts, and comfort demands don’t follow a schedule, so parents are often up at all hours, with no consistent opportunity for restorative sleep.
This kind of fragmented, irregular sleep and the light exposure during the wake-ups makes it hard for your own circadian rhythm to stay aligned, which leads to:
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- Trouble falling asleep when you do have a window
- Light-headedness or foggy thinking during the day
- Energy crashes and mood swings
- The Toddler Phase: Early to Bed, Early to Rise
Once your child develops their own circadian rhythm, you'd think things would get easier. But for many parents, it’s a different kind of challenge.
Toddlers tend to have much earlier sleep and wake times than adults. Their natural rhythm may call for bedtime at 7:00 or 7:30 p.m. and wake-ups at 6:00 or 6:30 a.m.—sometimes even earlier.
That means your own rhythm may need to shift earlier too, which can be tough if you're naturally a night owl or juggling evening responsibilities. Trying to stay up late for some personal time, only to be woken up at dawn, creates a constant mismatch between your biological clock and your child’s needs.
This misalignment often results in:
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- Sleep debt that adds up quickly, even if you're technically getting “some” sleep
- Fatigue that persists through the day
- Difficulty feeling alert and productive in the early mornings
Why This Matters
Sleep deprivation doesn’t just make you tired—it impacts memory, emotional regulation, immune function, and even long-term health. An out-of-sync circadian rhythm compounds these effects, leading to chronic fatigue, irritability, and a sense of never really feeling "caught up"—even on days when your child miraculously sleeps through the night.
What You Can Do
While there’s no magic fix (and definitely no pause button on parenting), you can support your circadian rhythm in small but powerful ways:
- Get outside in the morning light. Even 10–15 minutes of sunlight early in the day helps reset your clock and boost energy. You can arrange morning walks with your little ones, which will help them establish their circadian rhythms as well.
- Align your sleep schedule with your child’s. Sleep when your newborn sleeps. Don't try to squeeze in work or chores during their nape time. If your toddler goes to bed early, consider shifting your own schedule earlier—even if it’s temporary. Going to bed shortly after your child can help sync your rhythm and improve your overall sleep quality.
- Use light intentionally. Use dim light or red light for your night time wake-up and baby duty. This will reduce the disruption in your circadian rhythm, and help them establish theirs. Some parents also use light-based tools (like a sunrise alarm or a circadian rhythm-supporting light mask) to help adjust to earlier schedules more efficiently.
- Prioritize sleep when you can. We know this one is easier said than done—but when the stars align for an early bedtime, take it. The dishes and laundry can wait. Rest is recovery, and you’ll be more equipped to handle everything else with even just a little more sleep.
A Note of Compassion
If you’re parenting a little one and running on fumes, know this: You’re not doing anything wrong. You’re navigating one of the most biologically and emotionally demanding periods of adult life. Your circadian rhythm will recover—and so will you.
Until then, giving your body even small cues of rhythm and routine can help make the fog a little less heavy—and the good moments a little easier to enjoy.
