Why are naps so Challenging?
And
4 Tips to Help
Naps are an essential part of a child’s sleeping pattern for most children until 3 years of age. They are also extremely important for consolidated overnight sleep, and impact nights greatly when there is an inappropriate amount of daytime sleep. Below is a chart of nap needs by age:
Age Number of Naps Total Time
- 4-7 months 3 3. 5 hours
- 8-13 months 2 3 hours
- 14 months- 3 yo 1 2-3 hours
These are averages, and can vary within a range.
When sleep training, oftentimes, naps are more challenging than nighttime sleep. You are not alone – this is common. It can take a few weeks for naps to lengthen and become predictable in nature, while nighttime sleep can commonly change in a matter of 3-4 days. At bedtime your child’s brain is producin melatonin, a hormone responsible for preparing the body for sleep. This hormone helps regulate your child’s circadian rhythm (around 4 months and on) helping their nighttime sleep become predictable. At bedtime your child has sleep pressure (the desire to fall asleep) and melatonin in their body to help them become sleepy and drift off. During the day with melatonin absent, you are relying solely on sleep pressure to help them grow sleepy. This is trickier.
Here are a few things that can help naps go well:
1. Timing is key.
We want to help build sleep pressure by providing activity and promoting alertness during awake time between naps. Then we want to keep the awake time consistent with their developmental needs. For example, a newborn should only be awake for 45-60 minutes before falling back to sleep again for another nap. This awake time grows as your baby gets older. When kept awake too long, your child grows overtired, making it harder to fall and stay asleep for a nap.
2. Consistency.
Consistency with naps is key. That should begin with what happens 10 minutes before you want the nap to start, with a nap time routine. The naptime routine should mirror your bedtime routine with a series of around 5 predictable winddown, calming activities. Think: comfortable clothes, sleep sack, diaper, 2 books, 2 songs, set to sleep AWAKE.
3. Bedroom environment.
We want to be certain that the room is very dark with no leaking light around the window for nap times. White noise is also key to muffle daytime noises around your home. This will make it easier for your child to fall and stay asleep when waking between cycles. Please check out these window covers that really help make a room very dark, and are customizable to your window. Blackout EZ
4. Delay your response.
For longer naps, our goal is for your child to put themself back to sleep when waking between cycles. When we pause and give a child space and time to put themselves back to sleep, they get the practice they need and learn they CAN do it on their own. Similarly when they wake after a nap, delaying your entry into the bedroom can help them lengthen their nap and grow content upon waking in the crib.
Is your little one still struggling with naps two weeks after implementing these tips? Book a discovery call to hear how I can help support you to get great naps.