Daytime naps: How to help your baby sleep longer
Perhaps your baby only naps for 30 - 45 minutes at a time during the day, will only nap when sleeping on you or struggles to settle to sleep during the day. Meanwhile, you’re dreaming of those lovely long two hour lunchtime naps so you can have some time to recharge!
The good news is that there are lots of things you can look at to help improve daytime sleep.
Awake windows
This is the ideal amount of time your little one is awake between waking up and needing to go back to sleep.
Getting the timing right is really important for daytime naps. We want your little one to have built up enough sleep pressure to need to go to sleep, but if your baby is overtired, they can find it much harder to settle and stay asleep.
Awake windows are a guide rather than an exact science, so a little tweaking may be needed depending on your baby.
Hunger
It is always worth considering whether hunger could be contributing to short naps, particularly around the age of weaning.
If your baby is following a good routine and can fall asleep independently but is still struggling with longer naps, a pre-nap top-up feed may be worth trying.
Sleep environment
A dark room and white noise can really help babies who struggle with daytime naps.
Some babies will happily sleep in a lighter room, but if naps are consistently short, it is worth investing in blackout blinds to limit distractions.
I also recommend keeping white noise on consistently throughout the nap. It can be great for drowning out household noise that might otherwise wake your baby.
Illness and teething
It is completely normal for daytime naps to temporarily go backwards when your baby is unwell or teething.
Discomfort can make it much harder for them to move into another sleep cycle, so don't worry if naps become shorter during these times.
Are they comfortable?
If your baby has a history of reflux or tummy discomfort and is consistently struggling with short naps, it may be worth looking at whether this could still be playing a part.
Teaching self-settling for naps
Now this one is key!
When a baby can fall asleep independently at the start of a nap, they are more likely to be able to do the same when they naturally wake between sleep cycles. This can be the key to turning those 40 minute naps (that’s one sleep cycle) into longer stretches of sleep.
There are lots of different ways we can work on self-settling. Some babies respond well to reassurance in their cot through gentle touch, patting and shushing, while others do better when given a little more space to try to settle themselves, with you returning at regular intervals to offer reassurance.
Every baby is different and there isn't one self-settling method that works for every baby. One of the simplest things you can try is to watch and wait when your baby wakes from a nap. Babies can be surprisingly noisy when they move between sleep cycles. They may wriggle, grumble, babble or even have a little cry before settling back to sleep. That doesn't necessarily mean their nap is over.
Giving your baby a minute or two before rushing in gives them the opportunity to see if they can resettle themselves. Sometimes they can surprise you!
If they don't settle, you can then go in and offer the reassurance they need.
The important thing is to give them the opportunity to practise this new skill. Just like any new skill, it takes time, patience and consistency.
Short naps don't always have to be the norm.
If you’ve worked through the above and your baby is able to self-settle at the start of their naps, they are more likely to:
Fall asleep more easily at the start of their naps
Connect sleep cycles and sleep for longer
Enjoy more restorative sleep, which can mean a happier and more well-rested baby
And those lovely long lunchtime naps mean some rest for you too!
Helping your baby to sleep well during the day can make such a difference to your whole day. So if you’re stuck in the cycle of 40-minute naps, don’t lose hope. Those longer, more restorative daytime naps really can be possible!