Why Your Baby’s Naps Are So Short (And How to Fix Them)
Does your baby seem to wake up from their nap at precisely 37 minutes (or 33, 42, or 49 minutes) no matter what you do?
Short naps can be incredibly frustrating, especially after spending time getting your baby to sleep, only to have them wake up 20-30 minutes later. You might also notice that your baby remains grouchy and clearly needs more sleep, but struggles to stay asleep on their own. This cycle of trying to get your baby to fall and stay asleep until they are well-rested can be exhausting.
This blog post will discuss what is considered a "normal" nap length for both newborns (0-4 months) and older babies (5+ months), why babies get stuck in the short nap cycle, and how to extend those naps to ensure both you and your baby get the rest you deserve.
Normal Nap Lengths
Newborns (0-4 months)
For newborns, nap lengths can vary greatly from day to day and baby to baby. A nap can range from 20 minutes to a few hours and is considered "normal." Most newborns take several short naps (30-45 minutes) throughout the day, with one or two longer naps. Some newborns may only take short naps. It might seem random, but this variation is normal!
Parents often find that babies take their longest naps during contact naps. While contact naps are wonderful for snuggling, it’s okay to feel a bit trapped and desire a break. Both feelings are valid!
Remember, you cannot spoil a newborn, so using contact naps, rocking, or other sleep aids won’t create “bad habits.” Do what feels manageable for you, knowing this phase is temporary. By around 5 months, babies generally begin to take longer, more consistent naps and can learn to fall asleep independently, leading to better sleep for both of you.
Older Babies (5+ months)
Around 4-5 months, babies often start taking naps that last over an hour, though it may take until 6 or 7 months for consistent longer naps. This isn’t to discourage you but to remind you that the short nap phase can take time to overcome.
The duration of naps is influenced by your baby’s individual sleep needs, sleep pressure (the right level of tiredness before napping), and their ability to fall asleep independently.
In general:
Most 4-6 month-olds take 3 naps a day, each lasting about 1-1.5 hours.
Between 7-9 months, babies usually transition to 2 naps a day, each lasting about 1.5 hours.
By around 14 months, babies typically move to 1 nap a day lasting about 2-3 hours.
These are averages, so monitor your baby to ensure they are getting enough sleep. Signs of adequate sleep include falling asleep relatively easily and waking up happy. If your baby struggles to fall asleep or wakes up upset, they might not be getting enough sleep or may need a schedule adjustment. Note that some babies might wake up cranky (aka just not a morning person) but are still well-rested. If they can’t go back to sleep within 10-15 minutes with your help, they may just need a moment to adjust.
Why Babies Wake Up Early
So why do babies wake up from a nap when they aren’t really done sleeping?
It has to do with sleep cycles. All sleep occurs in cycles, which last about 30-45 minutes during the day. Your baby goes through four stages of sleep in each cycle. At the end of a sleep cycle, they ideally wake briefly (which is normal) but then transition into another cycle to continue their nap.
If your baby is consistently taking short naps, they might only be completing one sleep cycle. Instead of successfully starting another cycle to get a longer nap, they wake up grumpy and tired, having only slept 30-45 minutes. Their body is waking them up prematurely, rather than them waking up naturally when they are truly finished sleeping.
There are three main factors that can contribute to short naps:
Undertired: On the internet, you might see a lot of emphasis on overtiredness, but being undertired can also be a problem. Babies need to be sufficiently tired before napping to stay asleep for longer. If your baby isn’t tired enough, they may either take a long time to fall asleep (longer than 15-20 minutes) or wake up from a short nap feeling happy and ready to play. Both are signs that they might need more awake time before their nap.
Overtired: Overtiredness usually presents in one of two ways:
A) Baby falls asleep quickly but wakes up upset and is hard to console.
B) Baby has difficulty falling asleep and still wakes up upset and hard to console.
When babies are approaching their ideal sleep time, their bodies release sleepy chemicals. If they are pushed past this ideal time, their bodies start producing chemicals like cortisol and adrenaline to keep them awake. This mix of sleepy and awake chemicals can leave a baby wired and overly tired, making it difficult for them to fall and stay asleep.
Independent Sleep Skills: If your baby knows how to fall asleep independently but still struggles with long naps, they might be having trouble connecting sleep cycles. At the start of a nap, your baby is at their most tired, and as they sleep, their sleep pressure (how tired they are) decreases. They may still need to keep sleeping, but transitioning between cycles can be challenging as they become less tired.
Independent sleep skills can be the secret to extending naps because if baby knows how to go to sleep on their own at the beginning of a nap when they get to a sleep cycle transition, they will have the skill to go back to sleep into the next sleep cycle and finish out the nap leading to a well-rest baby and a parent who had a well-deserved break.
How to Extend Naps
The 1-hour mark is significant because if a baby sleeps past this point, they likely have completed at least two sleep cycles and are waking up because they are truly done sleeping, not just due to being at the end of a sleep cyle.
For Newborns (0-4 months)
Newborns are not capable yet of learning how to fall asleep independently and are typically reliant on their caregivers to help them to fall asleep.
Here are two things to do now to set a foundation for longer naps:
As little as possible, but as much as necessary. You can experiment with seeing how much your baby does or doesn’t need to get to sleep. If you can get away with helping them to sleep in their crib with tummy rubs, the eyebrow stroke, or gently jostling them, great! But some babies will need more support and that is developmentally expected.
When you can, help extend naps. If your baby wakes from a short nap and seems tired, try to extend the nap to the hour mark. This can involve rocking, finishing with a contact nap, or using a carrier. This helps set the stage for longer, independent naps in the near future. Not every nap will be an hour and baby won’t always need that long of a nap, so tune into your baby and where you are at the moment to decide what to do.
Older Babies (5+ months)
For babies older than 5 months, first, make sure they are on an age-appropriate schedule (keeping their unique sleep needs in mind) and teach them independent sleep skills. Both things set the foundation for long naps, and your baby is going to be much more successful at extending naps with a solid schedule and independent sleep skills!
If you’ve gotten those two things buttoned up, here are three different approaches to help extend naps if it isn’t happening naturally.
Gradual: When baby wakes up from a short nap, help them back to sleep and get the nap over the hour mark. Keep in mind the guideline “as little as possible, but as much as necessary”. If you can help the baby back to sleep in their crib, that’s a win! If they need you to pick them up and rock them back to sleep, that’s fine, too. Keep the room dark and quiet when you are attending to them.
When they do wake up, greet them warmly and turn the lights on, gently cueing that this is when they were supposed to be awake!
This approach can take a few weeks to a few months for baby to start consistently taking longer naps independently, but it can be a good fit for parents who prefer a more hands-on approach or are still enjoying some of those midday cuddles.
Modified: If baby wakes up from a short nap, give them 10-15 minutes to see if they can fall back asleep on their own. If they aren’t able to fall back asleep, you have two options.
You can do a check-in and then give them an additional 10 minutes to try to fall back asleep. If they don’t fall asleep in another 10 minutes, go ahead and get them up.
OR after the initial 10-15 minute timer, you can help them to sleep, again keeping in mind “as little as possible, but as much as necessary.”
When you either go in after both timers or they wake up the second time, make it a big deal and greet them warmly, gently cueing that this is when they were supposed to be awake!
With this approach, we would expect baby’s naps to start consistently extending within 2-4 weeks, depending on their age. The younger the baby, generally the longer it takes for naps to start extending. Older babies tend to have longer wake windows and can handle more sleep pressure and start taking longer naps, sooner.
Accelerated: When baby wakes up from a short nap, give them up to the hour mark (an hour after they originally fell asleep) to try to figure out how to fall back asleep. At the end of that time, go in and turn on the lights, greet them excitedly, and let them know this is when they were supposed to wake up!
With this approach, you can expect baby’s naps to start lengthening within 1-2 weeks.
Support
They are a lot of pieces of the puzzle that go into extending naps and each baby is different. If you’re feeling overwhelmed or aren’t sure what the cause of your baby’s short naps might be, we would love to jump on a consultation with you to figure out your baby’s nuances and get you and your baby those consistent and LONG naps!
