Daylight saving and baby sleep: how to handle the clock change

When the clocks change, your baby's body clock doesn't change with them, so for a few days their sleepy times arrive an hour early or an hour late by the new clock. There are two good ways to handle it. You can shift naps, meals and bedtime in small steps over the days before the change, or you can switch to the new time on the day and let your baby catch up. Nationwide Children's Hospital suggests babies and toddlers shift by about 15 minutes a day over 4 days, and the AAP says children usually adjust within about a week either way.

Light does a lot of the work. Morning light helps after the clocks go forward, blackout blinds help with light evenings, and evening light helps after the clocks go back, when early waking is the usual problem.

When do the clocks change in Australia, the UK and the US?

Each country sets its own rule, and the hemispheres change at opposite times of year.

• Australia: the NSW Department of Communities and Justice says daylight saving begins at 2 am on the first Sunday in October and ends at 3 am on the first Sunday in April, and is observed in NSW, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, the ACT and Norfolk Island. It isn't observed in Queensland, the Northern Territory or Western Australia, and Lord Howe Island moves its clocks by 30 minutes.
• UK: GOV.UK says the clocks go forward 1 hour at 1 am on the last Sunday in March and back 1 hour at 2 am on the last Sunday in October.
• US: the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) says daylight saving time begins at 2 am on the second Sunday of March and ends at 2 am on the first Sunday of November. It isn't observed in Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands or the state of Arizona, except the Navajo Indian Reservation, which does observe it.

At the time of writing (October 2026), the official sources list these next changes: the UK goes back on 25 October 2026 and forward on 28 March 2027; the US goes back on 1 November 2026; and the NSW Government lists the end of daylight saving as Sunday 4 April 2027.

Should I shift my baby's routine gradually or switch on the day?

Both are fine. Pick the one that suits your baby and your week.

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) says you can start before or after the clocks change, as long as you take small steps, and that adjusting takes children longer than one night. Nationwide Children's says that if you only have a couple of days, aim to shift the schedule by at least half an hour.

How to shift gradually, step by step

1. Start a few days ahead. The AAP suggests starting about a week before and nudging naps and bedtime in the direction the clocks will move. Nationwide Children's suggests about 15 minutes a day over 4 days for babies and toddlers.
2. Move the morning wake-up too. Nationwide Children's suggests waking your child 15 minutes earlier each morning before the clocks go forward. Bedtime only moves if the morning moves.
3. Shift naps and meals by the same step. Stanford Medicine Children's Health suggests moving mealtimes by 15-minute steps, and nap times for younger children. Feed a hungry baby whenever they need it, whatever the clock says.
4. Keep the bedtime routine the same. The steps, order and wind-down stay the same; only the start time moves. See bedtime routine.
5. Use light to help. Bright mornings and dark bedrooms help the shift stick (see below).

Example: a 7 pm bedtime

Example day — adjust to your baby. This uses 15-minute steps over 4 days for a baby or toddler who usually sleeps 7 pm to 7 am. Move morning wake-up, naps and meals by the same amount each day.

By Saturday night your baby's routine is a full hour ahead of (or behind) the old clock, so on Sunday the new clock catches up and everything lands back on the usual times.

How to switch on the day

1. Change every clock the night before so the morning starts on the new time.
2. Wake your baby close to the usual time on the new clock. Stanford Medicine Children's Health suggests avoiding sleep-ins on the day of the change, and Nationwide Children's warns that oversleeping can make bedtime a battle.
3. Run the day on the new clock, but watch tired signs for naps. Your baby may need a nap earlier or later than the clock suggests for a few days.
4. Expect a few unsettled days. The AAP says children usually adjust within about a week, and Nationwide Children's 2025 guide says it can take a few days, sometimes up to a week.

What happens when the clocks go forward?

When the clocks spring forward, an hour disappears. At the new bedtime, your baby's body thinks it's an hour earlier, so they may not be tired, and in the morning they may sleep later by the clock. The AAP says the spring change may be a little easier on young children, who tend to be early risers. A baby who usually wakes at 5 am may wake at 6 am on the new clock.

What helps:

• Morning light. Nationwide Children's suggests opening the curtains and turning the lights on when it's time to wake up, and Stanford suggests getting outside in the morning, such as breakfast outdoors or a walk.
• A dark bedroom at bedtime. Evenings are suddenly lighter. Nationwide Children's suggests blackout curtains closed before bedtime.
• Watching early mornings later in the season. Sunrises keep getting earlier through spring and summer, so the blackout blind that helps at bedtime also helps keep early light out. See early morning waking.

What happens when the clocks go back?

When the clocks fall back, an hour repeats. The AAP says this change can cause younger children to crash before bedtime and wake up earlier than usual: a baby who woke at 6 am may now wake at 5 am on the new clock.

What helps:

• Evening light. Nationwide Children's 2025 guide suggests natural light later in the day, which helps reset the body clock for this change, and blackout curtains if your child tends to wake with the sun.
• Keep the early hours dark and boring. Treat waking before your usual get-up time like a night waking, then start the day with bright light once it's time. Early morning waking has a step-by-step plan.
• Nudge naps and bedtime later. If your baby is falling apart before the new bedtime, move bedtime later in small steps over a few days rather than all at once.
• Toddler clocks. If your toddler uses a colour-changing clock, keep it set to the time they can manage and move it later in small steps.

How do light and blackout blinds help?

Light is the body clock's main signal. Australia's Tresillian says natural daylight in the morning and early afternoon helps regulate a baby's body clock and daytime alertness, keeping things calm and dim at night helps them tell day from night, and bright artificial light at night can delay the development of their natural rhythms. The AAP's healthy sleep habits also suggest bright light when it's time to wake up and dim lights before bed.

If you put up blackout blinds or curtains, keep the cot away from them. Red Nose's safe sleeping environment advice in Australia says to keep the cot away from hanging cords such as blinds, curtains or electrical items, because they can get caught around a baby's neck. Tie cords up high, out of reach of the cot.

A clock change never changes the safe-sleep basics. Red Nose's six safe sleep recommendations include placing your baby on their back, keeping their head and face uncovered, and a safe sleeping environment night and day, in their own sleep space in your room for at least the first 6 months.

Do newborns and young babies need to adjust?

Much less. The AAP's guide to getting your baby to sleep says babies don't have regular sleep cycles until about 4 months, and newborns sleep and feed around the clock. For a young baby, simply follow their cues on the new time, feed when they're hungry, and keep days light and nights dim. Tresillian says keeping nights calm and dim helps create a clear difference between day and night.

From about 4 months, as sleep cycles become more regular and naps and bedtime settle into a pattern, the clock change becomes more noticeable, and a gradual shift is more likely to help. See the baby sleep schedule by age.

How long does it take a baby to adjust to the time change?

Usually about a week. The AAP says children usually adjust within about a week, and CHOP says children should adjust within about a week or two. A gradual 15-minute shift over 4 days means most of the adjustment happens before the change.

During that week:

• keep the same wake-up time each day on the new clock (the AAP suggests the same wake time on weekdays and weekends)
• protect naps, and keep any late nap short so it doesn't push bedtime later
• offer an earlier bedtime on a day when naps fall apart
• don't use melatonin or other sleep aids for a clock change unless your doctor advises it; the AAP says to talk with your paediatrician first, and sleep aids and melatonin explains why

If you're also crossing time zones, the same ideas apply on a bigger scale; see baby sleep when travelling.

When should I get help?

A clock change on its own isn't a health problem. Talk to your GP or child-health nurse if sleep is still unsettled more than two weeks after the change. CHOP says children should adjust within about a week or two, and both CHOP and the AAP suggest talking to your doctor if sleep problems carry on. If you're struggling to cope with broken sleep, a parenting support service (Tresillian or Karitane in Australia, your health visitor in the UK, your pediatrician's office in the US) can help.

Call your local emergency number (000 in Australia, 999 in the UK, 911 in the US) now if your child is struggling to breathe, has blue, grey or pale skin, lips or tongue, is floppy or can't be woken, or is having a seizure. These are on the NHS list of signs needing urgent help. If your child seems unwell, don't put unsettled sleep down to the clock change.

What's worth noting around the change?

For a few days either side of the change, jot down wake-up time, naps and bedtime on the new clock. You'll see how quickly your baby is catching up, and whether one part of the day, often the last nap or the early morning, needs a small extra nudge.