Eliminating Short Naps
Short naps are those that only last one sleep cycle (one sleep cycle lasts approximately 50 minutes.) So,. with naps under 50 minutes, they are waking up due to the fact that they are having a hard time transitioning into a new sleep cycle and staying asleep.
Why is this a problem?
Short naps are preventing restorative sleep which is the time when the body is restoring and growing which helps with memory, brain development and also helps them to feel less cranky when they wake up.
Short naps can cause longer wake windows in the day which can cause more wake ups in the night or early morning wake ups. All of which continues the cycle of short naps.
Short naps can cause us mommas to feel like we are stuck at home, trying to fix this problem, and dealing with a cranky baby which makes things even harder on us moms.
Do you fee like you are in this cycle of not sleeping? Is your baby is not sleeping and miserable and you don’t know where to begin?
Don’t worry! I am going to give you some tips on how to help with these short naps.
In order to fix the short naps that your baby is having we need to first dive into the reason(s) that are causing your baby to be having these short naps.
There are many factors that can cause short naps:
Room Environment:
This is the key to success when it comes to all sleep. Having a good room environment includes making sure that the room is dark enough, and when I say dark, I mean so DARK that you can’t see your hand if front of your face. Your baby is learning to sleep, so even the smallest amount of light can cause a disruption in falling asleep, staying asleep, or falling back to sleep during naps. You also want to make sure the room is at the right temperature. Ideally you want to see it around 68-72 F or 20-22 C. If you aren’t able to control the temperature in the room, look into getting a fan, portable A/C or heater and dress your baby according to the temperature in the room. You also want to make sure you have a sound machine that plays white noise, the whole time with no timer. Babies are not accustomed to silence, and a stop in the sound can cause them to wake up. This also helps to block outside noises that may cause your baby to wake up.
Sleep Associations:
This is how your baby falls asleep for their nap. If your baby needs to be nursed/fed, rocked, bounced or needs a soother in order to fall asleep, they will most likely need these in order to fall back to sleep as well. If that is the case, after one sleep cycle, your baby will not be able to fall back to sleep on their own and they will rely on you or one of these things to fall back to sleep. I recommend nursing or feeding 15-30 minutes before bed or nap to ensure they are not falling asleep while eating. This ensures a good long feed, and ensures they do not get drowsy so they can go down to sleep fully awake, which helps them to learn the skills required to fall asleep independently.
Nap Routine:
A short 5-10 minute routine before nap will help your baby to wind down, relax and calm their mind to get ready for sleep. Doing this routine in a consistent order every time will help your baby know what is to come next and help associate that with sleep.
An example of a nap routine: Change diaper, remove uncomfortable clothes, put on sleep sack, read a book, put on sleep sack, turn on the sound machine, turn off the light, snuggle and sing/hum a song, then place your baby down fully awake, say “key phrase” like “Goodnight, Mommy/Daddy loves you,” then leave the room and shut the door.
This routine tells the brain that it is time for sleep, helping the body to release melatonin to help them fall asleep.
Readiness to Sleep:
In the newborn stages you watch for sleepy cues in order to help you know when to put your baby to sleep. Once they are around 4 months old those cues aren’t as obvious. At this point you start to go off of wake windows in order to know when they should go down for nap. Check out my blog on how to create a daytime schedule with all of the details on wake windows for each age group. These wake windows change with age until they are on a two-nap schedule. Often times short naps can be due to the fact that they went down too early and weren’t tired enough. Even though they were able to fall asleep quickly, their sleep drive was not high enough to fall back to sleep between sleep cycles. Push nap by 5-15 minute to see if this helps your baby to lengthen those naps.
Make sure you are busy in-between naps so that your child is tired enough for their nap. If they are just sitting around, watching tv, not moving around, they will not be as tired or ready to sleep. Practice their skills in the day, like tummy time, back time, rolling, crawling, standing/getting down and walking so they are less likely to practice these things when they are in their crib.
Over-tired:
If your baby is over tired, this too can cause your baby to have short naps. If your baby is waking up screaming and upset, this usually indicates that they are over-tired. Often times this nap is under 40 minutes when they are over-tired. When they are over-tired, they can either cry more when they are falling asleep, need more assistance to fall asleep or they can fall asleep very quickly in under 3 minutes.
Does your baby have a consistent wake up time?
Having an inconsistent wake up time can affect your child’s mood and sleep pressure making it harder to read their tired cues. This also makes their nap times inconsistent which can make it harder for your child to adapt and learn to lengthen naps. Studies have shown, even for adults, that having a consistent wake up time allows you to wake up happier, more refreshed and ready to start the day. This also helps to set their circadian rhythm which helps the body to release hormones that tells the body when to wake up and when it is time to sleep. This is very important for naps and to achieve a good night’s sleep.
Accidental cat naps:
If your baby falls asleep for even a few minutes in the car, on the breast or playing on the swing, this can affect their nap. In order for your baby to have a good nap, or fall back to sleep, they need to be tired. Even the smallest cat nap or them closing their eyes for a minute or two can cause that sleep pressure to drop, making it harder for them to sleep for their nap.
Is Your baby waking up hungry?:
I recommend feeding every 2-4 hours in the day, depending on your babies age and how much they drink at each feeding. Babies need 24 oz and up to 32 oz in a 24 hours period. If your baby is not feeding in the night, you need to ensure they are getting enough and are feeding long enough in the day so they can sleep while getting enough calories. Make sure your baby is getting a feeding in before a nap if they are going to be having a long nap or if a feeding time will interfere with a nap.
Tips to help your child have a good nap:
Go outside and play: This helps the body to release melatonin which will help your child sleep better. The fresh air helps them to feel better, releasing serotonin and oxytocin to help them feel happier in the day. Playing outside, crawling, running, interacting will help to get them tired out and stimulate their brains while they’re awake allowing them to calm down for sleep. Serotonin is also converted to melatonin when it is dark and the body is preparing for sleep.
Be active and practice their skills between naps.
Swimming, or having a bath before nap will help set your baby up for a good nap as this drops the core body temperature slightly. This helps the body to release melatonin which will help your baby to fall asleep more easily.
How To Extend Naps:
When your baby wakes up early from their nap, give them 10-15 minutes to resettle and fall back to sleep. The less ‘check-ins’ the better as this can disrupt their ability to fall back to sleep. Work on lengthening the first nap first then work on the other naps (if they are taking other naps.) Your goal is to wait 10-15 minutes. If they do not fall back to sleep then try and rock them back to sleep. Try rocking them for 15-20 minutes and if they don’t fall back to sleep then stop and try again next nap. In doing this, you are teaching your baby how to fall back to sleep and letting them know that they should be sleeping longer, rather not waking up after one sleep cycle. Once your baby has learned this skill, it will help to lengthen their other naps as well. Even if they know how to put themselves back to sleep at night, they need to learn how to do this in the daytime.
Be patient, it takes time and practice for them to learn the skills to connect sleep cycles.
What you don’t want to do is go in right away when they wake up and end the nap. All this teaches is that they don’t need to nap longer and their bodies will struggle to nap longer than even one sleep cycle. Some babies sleep well without doing anything, but MOST babies are not this way! This skill is taught and with anything in life, it takes time and practice to get good at something. You can help your baby along the way while still giving them the space to learn this on their own.
If your baby/child has a short nap prior, you can put them down 5-15 minutes early for their next nap, based on tired cues to prevent them for being over tired.
Need more help?
I have a “Guide To Conquering Nap Time Battles’ that can help you find your child’s ideal schedule and help you with troubleshooting these short naps. These short naps may also be affecting their night time sleep as well.
We also offer one on one support where we can help you by creating a personalize sleep plan that will work for your child’s sleep needs and offer our support and knowledge to troubleshoot your sleep struggles. We can get your child to take longer naps!