It’s quite common for babies to experience short naps, which can be overwhelming for the parent caring for them during the day. This can affect the parent’s ability to relax, complete tasks, and manage other responsibilities, often resulting in sheer exhaustion. Babies may also feel overwhelmed by overtiredness, resulting in bursts of energy, frustration, fussiness, and difficulty calming down or settling.
You may frequently hear parents say that their baby simply doesn’t nap well and that they’ve come to terms with it.
Nonetheless, let me reassure you that your baby is capable of taking naps—and extended ones as well. Before we further explore this topic, if you’re unsure about a baby’s sleep cycle, take a look at my recent blog post ‘navigating the 4-month sleep regression‘, which delves into sleep cycles in more detail and the four-month sleep regression.
Sleep cycle and melatonin recap
Melatonin is a hormone that helps us humans sleep through the night. While our bodies produce cortisol during the day, which keeps us alert, at night, melatonin is released, making us drowsy and signaling that it’s time to sleep. During sleep, our bodies undergo several cycles, transitioning from light sleep to deep sleep and back again. In contrast to adults, a baby’s sleep cycle lasts about 40 to 50 minutes.
Helping a baby sleep through the night is generally easier than getting them to nap during the day. This is due to the presence of melatonin at night, while in the daytime, cortisol provides them with the energy they need. Thus, establishing nap routines relies more on consistency, habits, and creating the right environment. As mentioned, a baby’s sleep cycle is 40 to 50 minutes, so it’s common for them to wake up after completing the first cycle during naps (as they don’t have that melatonin to help them transition back to sleep).
And that’s your brief science lesson!
Short Nap Remedies
Where should your baby nap?
The ideal place for your baby to nap is in their crib. As a parent myself, I understand how inconvenient this advice might seem, with so many hours in the day when you want your baby to sleep on the go—whether in the car, stroller, or while being held in friends’ or family members’ homes. However, the reality is that on-the-go sleep often leads to fragmented and less restful sleep for your baby. I realize some parents may argue that their baby sleeps just fine outside the crib, but keep in mind this advice applies to the majority and not just specific cases.
Laying your baby down in their crib, in the nursery, is an important step toward achieving more restful daytime naps.
Consistency and predictability
Imagine falling asleep on your sofa and waking up later in an unfamiliar bed. It’s not very comfortable and can even be a bit unsettling—how did you end up there, and why aren’t you in the same place where you dozed off? For babies, this experience can be even more alarming. After completing a sleep cycle, they briefly reenter light sleep and may have a brief awakening. If they wake in a different place than where they fell asleep, they become alert and are harder to soothe back to sleep.
To encourage better sleep, try putting your baby in their crib while they’re still awake. This way, they can fall asleep and wake up in the same, familiar place. This consistency helps them settle back to sleep more easily if they wake or stir after a sleep cycle.
Sleep prop dependency
If your baby relies on an external aid to fall asleep, it’s known as a sleep prop. This could include being held, fed, rocked, or sung to sleep, among other actions.
If you’re assisting your baby in falling asleep during nap time, they’ll expect the same aid to fall back asleep if they wake up during their sleep cycle. Since it’s not nighttime and melatonin levels are low, it’s unlikely they’ll easily transition back to sleep, with or without your help again.
Many parents use sleep props because they temporarily help the baby fall asleep. However, this approach typically leads to only short, unsustainable periods of rest rather than long, restful sleep.
Baby is overtired
This is a common issue with babies. Often, when babies become overtired, they appear very energetic, making it seem as though they are not tired at all. As a result, many parents might extend their baby’s awake time and ignore recommended wake windows, regardless of whether the baby shows signs of tiredness. The body functions in mysterious ways—being overtired can prevent proper sleep because the body goes into overdrive, producing more cortisol and reducing melatonin secretion.
An overtired baby is not only difficult to settle but also tends to have disrupted sleep, both during naps and at night. It seems contradictory: if a baby is tired, shouldn’t they sleep easily? However, as with many aspects of parenting, it’s quite complex.
To address this, it’s important to follow your baby’s wake windows and consistently put them in the crib while they’re still awake.
Nap environment
I was initially going to title this section ‘the bedroom environment,’ but many parents opt not to have naps in the bedroom. It’s crucial to emphasize that naps should occur where your baby sleeps at night. In other words, it’s generally easier for your baby to fall asleep in a different room at night due to the effects of melatonin and a darker environment. However, during the day, environmental factors can pose significant challenges and doing it in the room will massively help.
Daytime is filled with light, noise, traffic, movement, doorbells, and more—all of which can disrupt sleep. My best advice is to consistently have your baby nap in their bedroom. Ensure the room is dark by using blackout curtains if necessary, use white noise to mask sounds, and maintain a calm atmosphere. Even the smallest amount of light can wake a baby, so this cannot be stressed enough.
In conclusion
Short naps are quite common, but they can be improved. It generally takes about 2 to 6 weeks for naps to become consistent, so the key is to remain consistent and predictable in your approach. Have your baby nap in the bedroom, ensuring the environment is quiet, dark, and calm. Outdoor naps should be occasional rather than a daily practice, and avoid making them long. If your baby takes three or more naps a day, you can have the last, shortest nap on the go, but it’s best to have the main naps at home. The last nap is simply to tide your baby over until evening.
Additionally, pay close attention to your child’s wake windows and establish a regular schedule. Avoid becoming their sleep aid; encourage independent sleep instead.
If you’re finding it challenging, feel free to reach out for assistance, and we’ll work together to improve your baby’s nap routine. Improving your child’s naps can give you your days back and also help your baby sleep through the night.
