Nap struggles can be one of the most frustrating challenges for parents. This week at playgroup many mums came to talk to me because they were struggling with naps. I also went through huge nap time resistance with my twins when they got older and realised they could play with each other instead of sleep!
The truth is, nap resistance is common and can happen for many reasons, from developmental changes to environmental factors. In this blog, I’ll explain why babies resist naps and share strategies to help your little one get the rest they need.
Why do babies resist naps?
Understanding these reasons can help you adjust your approach and improve your baby’s daytime sleep.
1. Over tiredness
Babies have limited awake windows, and staying up too long can lead to overtiredness, making it harder for them to settle down.
Solution:
- Follow age-appropriate awake times:
- 0-3 Months: 45-90 minutes
- 4-6 Months: 1.5-2.5 hours
- 6-9 Months: 2-3 hours
- 9-12 Months: 2.5-3.5 hours
2. Under tiredness
If your baby isn’t tired enough, they may fight naps or take short, inconsistent naps.
Solution:
- Adjust awake windows. This can be tricky as most baby’s will still look tired at the end of old awake window times. Try to keep extending awake times as they grow in small 10-15min increments. Important to note: Awake windows also don’t have to be the same throughout the day. Most babies do better with longer awake times towards the end of the day.
- Ensure age-appropriate stimulation during wake times, such as tummy time, sensory play for babies and lots of running, jumping and whole body movement for toddlers. This will help increase sleep pressure and make it easier to transition to sleep.
3. Sleep environment issues
After the newborn phase, babies sleep best in dark, quiet, and cool environments. Disruptions such as noise, light, or an uncomfortable room temperature can interfere with naps.
Solution:
- Use blackout curtains to keep the room dark.
- Play white noise to block out household sounds.
- Maintain a room temperature of 22-24°C for comfort.
Important note: This does not mean you can’t do on the go naps but aim for a least one cot nap a day.
4. Developmental milestones
Babies can experience sleep disruptions during key developmental stages like rolling over, crawling, or walking. These milestones can cause temporary nap resistance. This biggest mistake I see parents make during these times is adding sleep associations and being inconsistent. This can make it much worse.
Solution:
- Be patient and consistent with nap routines and timings
- Be 100% consistent with the way you approach sleep.
5. Changes in sleep needs
Babies’ sleep needs change as they grow. This means increasing awake time and sometimes reducing daytime sleep or dropping naps. Common nap transitions include moving from three naps to two (around 6-8 months) or from two naps to one (around 12-16 months). If you are seeing nap resistance it could mean that you need a new schedule.
Solution:
- Make sure you have baby appropriate not just age appropriate schedules. What does this mean? It means you need to try and work out what’s right for your baby. Some 6m olds will do fine on 3 naps and others will wake frequently at night and do much better on a 2 naps day (if you need help with this just message me!).
- When you need to drop naps, extend wake windows gradually throughout the day so you don’t end up with one really long awake window at the end of the day.
6. Sleep skills
Babies can often resist naps when they find it really hard to transition to sleep and need a lot of support from parents to do this.
Solution:
- If your baby relies on rocking or feeding to fall asleep, consider gradually encouraging independent sleep with gentle sleep coaching methods.
- If working towards independent sleep is not something your baby or you are ready for yet, try to work on getting the daily rhythm right as discussed in the points above to make it as easy as possible for your baby to transition to sleep with your support.
Final Thoughts
Nap resistance is a normal part of a baby’s development, but with the right strategies and consistency, you can overcome common nap challenges. If you can work out which of the above issues could be occurring for your baby you can help make nap time easier for them.
Top tip: it’s usually a combination of these different factors and not just one of them! If you need help trying to figure it all out please don’t hesitate to reach out to me.