When I have a discovery call with tired parents to discuss their baby’s sleep, short naps are the most common struggles they mention. They tell me they spend 30 minutes trying to get their baby to fall asleep only to have them wake up 30 minutes later. If you have a baby that naps 4 times a day, putting them down could take up hours of your day. Rough!
How Long Should Naps Be?
When thinking about naps, you need to consider how much daytime sleep your baby needs and how much awake time they can handle. For example, a four-month-old needs approximately 4 hours of daytime sleep. If they did all four hours of sleep in one (or even 2) naps, they would have way too much awake time before and after the nap , resulting in extreme overtiredness.
It’s important to remember that at this age, a baby can only stay awake for about an hour and 45 minutes to 2 hours and 15 minutes. This means that the ideal daytime schedule for a 4-month-old might look something like this:
3-4 Months Old Example Nap Schedule
6:00 am-7 am: wake up
1.75-2 hrs after waking up begin nap 1
2-2.25 hrs after waking from nap 1, begin nap 2
2-2.5 hrs after waking up, begin nap 3.
2-2.5 hours after waking from nap 3, possible nap 4.
6:30 begin the bedtime routine
7:00 bedtime
The schedule changes by age because as a baby gets older, they need less daytime sleep and more wake time. Take a screenshot of this graphic to keep on hand.
Why Do Short Naps Happen?
When a baby is between 12-16 weeks, their circadian rhythm starts to develop. This is often referred to as the 4-month sleep regression. It should be called a progression because your baby is developing just as they should be.
Babies, just like adults, sleep in sleep cycles. We start off in light sleep where we are often easily woken up or even move around quite a bit. Then, we move into a deeper stage of sleep. This, my friends, is where the sleep magic happens. Our immune systems boost, emotions regulate and why we wake feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. These are just a few of the benefits of sleep.
As adults, our sleep cycles last about 90 minutes. Babies have 30-45 minute sleep cycles.
Babies that are taking short naps are waking after one sleep cycle, and are unable to link another cycle on their own. They typically need help getting into another sleep cycle, if it happens at all, because how a baby falls asleep is how they stay asleep.
If your baby falls asleep nursing, they are going to be looking for the same thing to get them into another sleep cycle. It’s okay to put baby down fully awake and alert so that they drift into the first sleep cycle on their own.
Why Do Some Babies Take 2 Hour Naps?
A baby that naps for 2 hours is also briefly waking after one 30-45 minute sleep cycle, but they have learned how to fall back to sleep on their own. This baby is linking sleep cycles and getting those long restorative naps.
I already mentioned the importance of knowing your baby’s age appropriate wake window, but it’s also key to know that your baby needs to be awake and alert the entire time. If they take a ‘micro nap’ and fall asleep for even just a few minutes, it can result in short naps.
Here’s why micro naps can result in short naps
Sleep pressure is the brain and body’s need to fall asleep. When your baby is awake they are building enough sleep pressure to fall asleep and to stay asleep (or link sleep cycles). If they fall asleep for a few minutes, it decreases the sleep pressure and makes falling asleep or staying asleep more difficult.
Number 1 Tip for Short Naps
Just wait. When you hear your baby wake after one sleep cycle, set a 5-10 timer. Give your baby the opportunity to fall back to sleep before rushing in. I’m not suggesting you don’t respond to your baby’s needs, but I am recommending that you don’t react instantly. Your baby will never link a sleep cycle on their own if you rush in the second you hear them. Just wait!
If you give this a try and you don’t see progress, there is something else that needs to be tweaked. Book a call with me, because this is what I’m good at - taking a look at the whole day and seeing what changes need to be made so that your baby falls asleep easily for bedtime and naps, and stays asleep so that the entire family is well-rested.