Should I Hang Blackout Curtains in My Baby's Room?

Is there any data on blackout curtains in the baby’s room? My baby sleeps great but always wakes up at sunrise. As someone who already wakes up at 6 for work every day, I would love to get her past 6:30 on the weekends, but if I add blackout curtains to her room, I’m afraid of messing up her circadian rhythms. I know blackout curtains aren’t recommended for adults, so I’m applying the same logic to children, but I would also really love for her to sleep just another hour.

—No such thing as weekends

First of all, I will push back on your comment on blackout curtains for adults! When we talk about good sleep hygiene, a very dark room is a common recommendation. Blackout curtains (or an eye mask) can promote melatonin production and align your sleep with a more natural sleep/wake cycle. There are concerns raised at times about chemicals in these curtains, although the chemical levels in them are similar to other household products.

A similar point can be made for kids. Your concern about screwing up her circadian rhythms is unfounded given what you are planning. This would be a concern if you were trying to, say, get her to sleep during the day. But encouraging sleep at night is reinforcing, not disrupting, these rhythms.

There are two cautions here. One is that if your child gets used to sleeping in the dark, she might struggle to sleep in more light conditions. This is true, although there isn’t much data on it, and you may be willing to trade good sleep at home for slightly less good sleep in other locations.

A second caution is that it might not work. Kids tend to have a pretty consistent intrinsic sleep schedule, which has them up between 6 and 8. Your child may be one who simply wakes at 6, even if it is dark. Given this, an approach you might take is to move the time you go get your child, even if you cannot move the time she wakes up. Kids can be happy in their crib alone for a bit. Worth considering!

However: I see no reason why you should not also try some blackout curtains.