Naps 101 (Part 1): Does My Baby Have a Nap Problem?
(Revised and updated from an earlier version.)
Most parents are told that babies who only sleep 30–45 minutes in a bout during infancy and those who sleep less than two hours at a time in toddlerhood aren't getting enough nap sleep. While naps this short can be frustrating, you might be surprised to learn that these "short" naps are completely normal at many phases of development. Most studies show that such naps are also beneficial to a child's learning and memory consolidation. On the other hand, "short" naps just don't seem to be enough sleep for some babies at some stages of development. So, how can you tell if your baby's short naps are normal or something to work on?
This blog is the first in our nap series. In this post, we review what is normal for naps at different ages and what to do for a baby who isn’t old enough to be expected to take consistent long naps. In our second post, we cover how to teach your 6-15-month-old baby to nap independently (which often leads to nap consolidation). In our third post, we cover strategies for nap extension for babies who seem to need longer naps. In our fourth post, we review the timing of nap transitions.
Need More Help?
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SLEEP TRAINING CLASS (for well babies 6-15 months)
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THE SECRET TO NAPS (downloadable e-book)
The Science
The frequency and duration of sleep that a child needs varies by age and developmental stage. Newborns need frequent naps throughout the day, but as babies grow, their sleep needs change. Naps become less frequent and a child's tolerance to being awake increases. By 4-6 months old, a baby might sleep 30-90 minutes at a time, in 3-5 daily naps, while at 9-months-old, a baby will typically only take two naps. By the time a child is ~18 months old, only one nap is needed, and sometime after age three, only one consolidated bout of sleep at night is required.
Scientific research has demonstrated naps are beneficial for babies and toddlers, particularly in areas such as memory consolidation, language development, and emotional regulation. Perhaps surprisingly, most of the studies conducted on napping in young children have found that these benefits still happen even with what many resources consider short naps (30-45 minutes for babies and less than two hours for toddlers).
Most studies that have examined napping in young children have exposed the child to something new, like a picture of an unfamiliar face, a new language, or a motor skill activity, followed by a period of time that included a nap or no nap. After the waiting period, the babies and toddlers would typically be exposed to the thing they learned to see if they remembered and sometimes to see if they were able to complete a task.
These studies have shown that napping (as opposed to not napping) is the most important factor in learning and memory consolidation. For example, one study found that three-month-olds only remembered a face when they had a nap after they saw it (Horvath et al., 2017). Another study in 12-month-olds found no correlation between nap duration and learning but did find that a greater number of naps was associated with better memory retrieval. In this study, napping improved memory retrieval over not napping. (Konrad et al., 2016). Similarly, fifteen-month-olds who napped an average of 84 minutes within four hours of being exposed to an unfamiliar language were able to remember the grammatical pattern of the language, while those who didn't nap didn't appear to remember any aspect of the language (Hupbach et al., 2009).
Naps also improve motor-skill learning in new walkers. A study examining babies who were within two weeks of learning to walk found that napping improved their ability to navigate crawling through a play tunnel, while those who didn't nap did not improve (Berger and Scher 2017).
Napping also seems to help toddlers regulate their emotions. Two-and-a-half to three-year-olds who were given an unsolvable puzzle were more likely to tantrum when they couldn't solve it, while they were more likely to ask an adult for help after a nap averaging 1.75 hours (Berger et al., 2013).
There is also a little evidence suggesting that babies who don't nap enough relative to norms at their age have poorer outcomes. For example, babies who take two naps at 9 months seem to have better memory consolidation than when they only take one nap (Mason et al., 2021). Similarly, six-month-old infants who napped >30 minutes (average 106 minutes, 81 minutes in a bout) over four hours versus those in a no nap condition had better memory retention on a learning task compared to those in the no-nap condition (who slept an average 16 minutes; Seehagen et al., 2015).
Another important thing to know is that it's normal for naps to vary in duration and timing from day to day. For example, growth spurts seem to introduce a temporary increase in total nap duration and/or nap frequency in infancy (Lampl and Johnson Sleep 2011). So, just because your child sleeps for a certain amount of time for a few days, doesn't mean that your child will be able to maintain that much naptime every day.
While it's clearly important that babies and toddlers nap, research is less clear about whether there are certain amounts of daytime sleep that are necessary for optimal health and well-being. For example, some studies have shown that longer napping results in later bedtimes and more nighttime sleep disruption, especially in toddlers (Thorpe et al., 2015).
In some situations, a child may need more daytime sleep but may be unable to get it because of sleep associations. Sleep associations are the conditions that your baby requires to fall asleep. Since there are brief wakings during sleep, a baby who falls asleep with a parent rocking/bouncing/feeding/holding and is later transferred to another sleep location may awaken fully after a short time because his or her sleep location has changed (babies and toddlers don't typically realize they have been moved when transferred asleep, making it startling to wake up).
Sleep associations can be more problematic during the day than at night because even a short nap dampens sleep pressure. This means your baby may be just refreshed enough to stay awake for a while. Practically speaking, this means that if your baby wakes after 30-45 minutes, it can be hard to impossible to re-establish the sleep association to get your baby to sleep another cycle (e.g., if you rock your baby to sleep, your baby may be too awake to be rocked back to sleep after a short nap).
Working on consolidating nighttime sleep (for example, using the techniques in our 0-6 month or 6-15 month classes) isn’t exactly easy, but since both sleep pressure and the circadian rhythm (your child's biological clock) are pushing your baby to sleep, you’re guaranteed that sleep will come eventually. During the day there are no guarantees. It’s just sleep pressure that is driving your baby to sleep, and sleep pressure can be overcome. When you put your baby down to sleep in a new place or when using a new sleep cue, he or she might not go to sleep for an hour, or in some cases, might resist sleep all day. At night, your baby doesn’t need to do anything when faced with a new situation: When the drive to sleep becomes overwhelming, he or she will just flip from wake to sleep like a switch. During the day, sleep requires action. In order to initiate sleep, your baby needs to relax, lie down, slow his/her breathing, and close his/her eyes. These are all simple actions that adults take for granted, but for babies these actions can be difficult to learn. Also, at different stages of development, babies become very distractible, and it can be very difficult for your baby to sleep when there are so many interesting things to do and see in the world.
Does my baby have a nap problem?
Before you start trying to solve a problem, you need to figure out if your baby actually needs more sleep. Your baby’s age (calculated from due date) and demeanor between naps are your best way to determine whether your baby is capable of taking longer naps.
Birth to ~3 months
Most healthy babies don’t have trouble napping during the first few months, because sleep is immature. Babies in this age range will usually have somewhat random and unpredictable stretches of sleep, and that’s totally normal. Naps could be 20 minutes or three hours and will vary from day to day. During this time the only thing you need to do is give your baby the chance to fall asleep in the crib/bassinet on his or her own. You don’t have to push it; you just have to let your baby become familiar with the sleep space and falling asleep there whenever you can. Our 0-6 month sleep class teaches gentle methods for how to do this.
~3 months until ~6 months old
From about 3.5–4 months until 5.5–6.5 months, 30-45-minute naps are normal. At this age, doing a big intervention (i.e., sleep training) to teach your baby to sleep might not lead to extended sleep at all. You may successfully teach your baby to fall asleep on his or her own, but you may not be able to get him/her to put sleep cycles together consistently. For this reason, we don't usually recommend doing a strict intervention during this age range. That said, we know it can be very frustrating to finally get your baby down, only to have him or her up after a short sleep. There are a few paths that parents can choose during this tricky time:
1) Assisted sleep
Yep. You read that right: We said assisted sleep. The fact is, sometimes it’s just easier to hold your baby for a nap, go for a walk, and let your baby fall asleep in a bassinet-style stroller or carrier to induce longer stretches of sleep. Of course, you must ensure that your baby is sleeping in a safe location. If you choose this path, it can be helpful to put your baby in his/her primary sleep location for most naps, while helping your baby get one big 'anchor nap' at some point during the day (usually the afternoon is best for a long nap). Doing this allows your baby to maintain positive sleep associations with the crib or bassinet, while also getting a big refreshing sleep to help you get through the day. Again, we take a deeper dive into how and why to do this in our 0-6 month sleep class.
2) Frequent sleep
Yep. You read that right, too. In this age range, catnaps are ok. You just need to make sure your baby has enough catnaps to make it to bedtime in a rested state. This means that you may have to offer 4, 5, or even 6 naps a day. If your baby won't sleep in a safe alternative location or if you don't want to run the risk of having your baby develop the sleep associations that come with assisted sleep, offering frequent naps is a good and perfectly appropriate option.
Note: In both cases, it's very helpful to work on teaching your baby how to fall asleep in the crib/bassinet so that your baby doesn't rely on needing your help to fall asleep. This doesn't mean you have to nap/sleep train. It just means you need to give your baby the chance to fall asleep in his/her primary sleep location. Our Happy Crib Time approach, covered in our 0-6 month class, reviews how to do this in a baby-led way.
3) Anticipate waking
If you feel that you really have to do something about your baby’s short sleep cycles, and you don’t want to use assisted sleep, try anticipating your baby’s waking. Since sleep cycles are often an exact duration each time (e.g., 32 minutes, 41 minutes, etc.), time your baby’s sleep cycles and go to your baby’s room right before you expect him or her to wake up. As soon as your baby starts to stir, immediately reestablish any sleep association that helps him or her sleep. This might be putting your hand on his or her tummy or picking him/her up and rocking. The key to having this work is catching your baby before he or she wakes fully. It’s also important to note that this just doesn’t work for some babies, and in many cases, it’s won't be possible to transfer your baby back to the crib if you had to pick him or her up. Although this isn't a guaranteed approach, you might want to try it because guiding your baby to longer naps in the crib/bassinet helps some babies get into a pattern that will lead to longer naps without parental intervention.
~6 months until toddlerhood
From about 6 months on, most babies are capable of putting more than one sleep cycle together for naps. Importantly though, some babies will maintain short naps due to lower sleep needs or long nights (e.g., babies who have 11+ hours of night sleep often sleep less during the day). Check out our ages and stages sleep chart to see what is typical for naps at your child's age. If you determine that your baby needs more daytime sleep, you can start to work on extending naps that are too short. In our next post, we’ll describe some strategies for how to do this.
Need more help?
We are moms with formal education in sleep medicine, nursing, and behavior analysis. We always appreciate it when you share our blogs and resources with other parents who could benefit from the information. If you need a little help to figure naps out or if you are facing other challenges, then please check out our other blogs, our newborn class, and sleep training class. We have blogs on schedules, travel, toddler issues, and more! If you just need to talk to someone who can help you devise a sleep plan, then feel free to book a one-on-one consultation with us. We are always happy to help!
References
Siren-Tiusanen, H. and Robinson, H.A., 2001. Nap schedules and sleep practices in infant-toddler groups. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 16(4), pp.453-474.
Staton, S., Rankin, P.S., Harding, M., Smith, S.S., Westwood, E., LeBourgeois, M.K. and Thorpe, K.J., 2020. Many naps, one nap, none: A systematic review and meta-analysis of napping patterns in children 0–12 years. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 50, p.101247.
Mason, G.M., Kurdziel, L.B. and Spencer, R.M., 2021. The memory benefits of two naps per day during infancy: A pilot investigation. Infant Behavior and Development, 65, p.101647.
Hupbach, A., Gomez, R.L., Bootzin, R.R. and Nadel, L., 2009. Nap‐dependent learning in infants. Developmental science, 12(6), pp.1007-1012.
Horváth, K., Hannon, B., Ujma, P.P., Gombos, F. and Plunkett, K., 2018. Memory in 3‐month‐old infants benefits from a short nap. Developmental Science, 21(3), p.e12587.
Berger, S.E. and Scher, A., 2017. Naps improve new walkers’ locomotor problem solving. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 162, pp.292-300.
DeMasi, A., Horger, M.N., Allia, A.M., Scher, A. and Berger, S.E., 2021. Nap timing makes a difference: Sleeping sooner rather than later after learning improves infants’ locomotor problem solving. Infant Behavior and Development, 65, p.101652.
Thorpe, K., Staton, S., Sawyer, E., Pattinson, C., Haden, C. and Smith, S., 2015. Napping, development and health from 0 to 5 years: a systematic review. Archives of disease in childhood, 100(7), pp.615-622.
Konrad, C., Seehagen, S., Schneider, S. and Herbert, J.S., 2016. Naps promote flexible memory retrieval in 12‐month‐old infants. Developmental Psychobiology, 58(7), pp.866-874.
Seehagen, S., Konrad, C., Herbert, J.S. and Schneider, S., 2015. Timely sleep facilitates declarative memory consolidation in infants. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(5), pp.1625-1629.