Logo - The Possums baby and toddler sleep program.

the possums
sleep program

find essentialsbrowse the programabout the programspeak to dr pamaudiologin / sign up

search for articles

  • baby sleep (0-12 months)
  • body clock reset

essential article

It takes one or two weeks to reset your baby’s body clock

Dr Pamela Douglas27th of Jun 202321st of May 2024

antique looking wristwatch

When your baby’s night waking is excessive, well beyond what is developmentally normal night waking, it’s time to reset your baby’s body clock. This is most effective if it is done alongside the other steps detailed in The Possums Sleep Program.

When we are so incredibly sleep deprived and exhausted, we naturally crave a quick way to find some relief. But if you try to reset your baby’s body clock too quickly, the days and nights with your baby can seem to fall apart altogether, because baby’s sleep pressure is suddenly very high very often and she becomes much more dialled up than she usually is. This doesn't help, and is even more exhausting!

Parents find the reset goes best when they make incremental changes at one or more of the three pressure points of the body clock, just by ten or 15 minutes a day. If you keep nudging back sleep times gradually at your chosen pressure points, you'll usually find you have much better consolidation of your baby’s sleep at night and a return to developmentally normal night waking within a couple of weeks.

It can help to think about your own experience of jetlag, if you have ever taken flights across time zones. It typically takes a week or so to reset your own circadian rhythm. This is also true when we are aiming to reset the body clock of babies. If your baby’s excessive night waking is severe, it might even take up to three weeks to change. But slow and steady changes are best.

If you have a newborn or a baby less than two months old with sleep problems, please read here. If your baby is no longer a newborn and you are in a sleep emergency, please read here.

Finished

share this article

Next up in body clock reset

Sleep your baby in the midst of light, noise and activity during the day

dark skinned baby sleeps peacefully in sling against mothers chest during the day

Light, noise and activity tell your baby's body clock that it's daytime, even when he's sleeping.

When baby falls asleep during the day, she is just taking the edge off her rising sleep pressure. We want her sleep pressure to be highest in the evenings, ready for the Big Sleep at night. She'll decrease her sleep pressure by a smaller amount, but enough, if she sleeps during the day in the midst of light and the sounds of life. Her body will take just what sleep she needs, but not more than she needs. Baby sleep is always about patterns over time.

When your baby's sleep pressure is high enough, he'll go to sleep regardless of lots of noise and vigorous activity around him (as long as he's dialled down). He'll sleep through...

more articles in body clock reset

  • 2

    minute
    read

    Being relaxed about your baby's daytime sleep helps create healthy night-time sleep patterns
  • 8

    minute
    read

    Getting your baby up at the same time each day helps if you have night-time sleep troubles
  • 4

    minute
    read

    What to do when your baby wakes too early in the morning?
  • 6

    minute
    read

    How to balance the three pressure points as you reset your baby's body clock
View full article list
Possum sleep program logo

the possums
baby & toddler
sleep program

about the programfind essentialsspeak to dr pamaudiocode of ethicsterms & conditionsprivacy policyFAQs / help
Dr Pam logo

© Dr Pamela Douglas 2025

visit drpam.baby for more programs