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Is it a problem if your baby only catnaps during the day?

Dr Pamela Douglas16th of Sep 202321st of May 2024

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Your baby's daytime naps are only meant to take the edge off her rising sleep pressure

It's normal and common for babies to sleep for very brief periods only during the day. Babies' daytime sleep needs are highly variable, both between babies and in the one baby from day to day.

Daytime naps function to take the edge off your baby's rising sleep pressure. If naps occur in the midst of the circadian cues of noise, light and activity, then your baby will only stay asleep while the sleep pressure is high. What's most important is that you protect night-times. We want your baby's sleep pressure to be very high and her body clock aligned with yours at night, so that she wakes a normal amount of times through the Big Sleep (rather than excessively).

I am always saying to parents: "Don't try to get your baby to sleep during the day, and don't try to keep your baby asleep during the day. Don't hesitate to put your little one down if she has dropped off to sleep, too. If she really needs the nap, she'll stay asleep. If she wakes up, then she's taken the sleep she needs."

Why does your baby cry when he wakes up during the day?

Sometimes parents might hear that their baby wakes up crying because he needs more sleep. But there are other, more helpful, ways of making sense of this. Here are three reasons why your baby might wake up crying.

  1. He is frightened of being alone (even though it's daytime and you know he's safe), and wants the comfort and safety of your arms, close to your body. This is normal baby behaviour.

  2. He wants to be surrounded by a richer environmental experience. Lying on a mattress inside a room is a very low sensory motor experience.

  3. Transitioning from sleep to wake during the day feels unpleasant. Have you ever woken up from a daytime nap yourself, and found the experience disorienting and unpleasant? I believe the same happens with babies!

Often, you might offer a quick transitional breastfeed when your baby wakes, to dial your little one down, and then you move on into your day, with its focus on your own enjoyment and rich and changing sensory motor nourishment for your baby.

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Next up in sleep science and naps

Babies with a pattern of long naps during the day might have very late bedtimes or wake excessively in the night

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Long blocks of baby sleep during the day might not be good for family sleep

It's tempting to encourage your baby to take a number of long naps during the day, because this gives you, as primary carer, some time out. It's normal to look forward to your baby's sleep! If nights are going well, then you don't need to worry about the length of your baby's daytime naps. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"

Parents are often advised to make sure their baby has long naps in a predictable routine during the day, often in a quiet dim bedroom. Or you might have noticed that your baby wakes whenever you put her down during the day, so you keep her close to your body to make sure she has good blocks of sleep.

You might even have heard that you need to do this...

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