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Your baby drifts off for their nap and you finally get some time to yourself. But no sooner does that hot cup of coffee reach your lips than they wake up again. It starts to feel like the daytime nap isn’t even worth it!
So, is it?
One of the questions I get asked a lot is:
“If my baby sleeps through the night, is it OK if they take catnaps during the day?”
The answer is no – because good quality day sleep is equally as important as good quality night sleep.
In this article:
Babies and young children are rapidly growing, developing and always learning. When they nap, their brains store all the wonderful pieces of information they gather when they are awake (1).
They also get tired quickly and need sleep during the day to recharge their batteries. Biologically, they need sleep – a lot of it.
Your baby or child needs a sleep routine that supports their natural circadian rhythm, which means that a long stretch of sleep overnight is important. However, it’s also important that you think about your baby’s sleep over a 24-hour period.
The amount of total sleep they get over the 24-hour period needs to be considered because although they might be getting their solid stretch of sleep overnight, if they aren’t having enough deep, restorative sleep over the course of the day, they will be short on hours in the full 24 hours.
Here’s an example of what I’m talking about:
A one-year-old baby needs around 15 hours of quality sleep in a 24-hour period to function at an optimal level.
Your one-year-old might be sleeping independently through the night and getting 12 hours of uninterrupted sleep, which is great, but they also need a further three hours’ sleep at some point during the day.
However, if during the day your little one is having just two 30-minute naps (AKA catnaps), they’re only getting 13 hours’ total sleep. As a result, your baby is missing out on 2 hours of sleep in a 24-hour period.
If this happens every day, your baby will miss out on:
I know it all sounds very technical and the numbers are scary, but the fact is, sleep debt builds and builds, and unless your baby is making up those hours, they will progressively become more and more overtired.
If your baby is not getting enough quality sleep over the 24-hour period, day after day, week after week, it’s very likely you’ll start seeing other sleep issues.
Your little one may start:
All of these effects are quite simply the result of them being overtired.
Catnapping also means that when your baby is sleeping, they aren’t making their way through a full sleep cycle (around 45 minutes) and into the next sleep cycle.
Different parts of the sleep cycle look different and serve different purposes (2), and if your baby is napping for 20 minutes and then waking and not returning to sleep, they are not getting the deep and light periods of sleep that they need.
Around preschool age, a sleep cycle evolves to around 90 minutes, and it stays that length right through adulthood. This tells us that any baby or child who wakes after 20 minutes is not waking because they’ve had enough sleep – they’re waking for another reason.
Here are some things to consider if you have a baby who is catnapping:
Despite popular belief, you can combat catnaps!
The first thing you need to do is address the possible causes of your little one’s catnaps. Start by working your way through the list above. Can you answer yes to anything?
Each item in the list is a potential roadblock for your baby when it comes to sleeping for a complete sleep cycle (or two), so if you answered yes to any of them, the first thing to do is address that specific issue.
Once those potential issues are in check, put your baby down awake in their cot for their nap so they have the opportunity to drift off to sleep following the tired cues their body is giving them.
If everything is in check and they do wake soon after going down, then you need to allow them time and space to settle themselves back to sleep. Practice makes perfect, and the more they get used to doing this, the better they will get.
Each item in the list is a potential roadblock for your baby when it comes to sleeping for a complete sleep cycle (or two), so if you answered yes to any of them, the first thing to do is address that specific issue.
Once those potential issues are in check, put your baby down awake in their cot for their nap so they have the opportunity to drift off to sleep following the tired cues their body is giving them.
If everything is in check and they do wake soon after going down, then you need to allow them time and space to settle themselves back to sleep. Practice makes perfect, and the more they get used to doing this, the better they will get.
Now, in saying all of this, if you’re happy with how things are going, your baby is sleeping well through the night and having short naps without any issues, then roll with that. Ultimately, this is the advice I give to all families facing sleep challenges because each one is different.
But if you do start seeing issues, like disrupted overnight sleep, early rising, and crankiness, I encourage you to look at exactly what is happening over the 24-hour period and make the changes you need to ensure your little one is happy, healthy and sleeping soundly, day and night.
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