To most grownups, a nap sounds like paradise. You get to take a part of your day and sleep for an hour or two so you can wake up recharged and ready to take on the rest of the day at your own pace. For parents though, naps can be a bit of a nightmare because our babies sometimes just don’t want to sleep during the daytime even though they absolutely must in order to grow and flourish. In today’s article, we’re going to go over why naps during the day are harder for your baby and how you can help make them a bit easier. Please leave a comment with your experiences or hit us up on social media! We can’t wait to hear from you.
Reason 1: Biology
Biologically speaking, the sleep cycle in humans is a complex process that involves many different factors and hormones within our entire body. During the first few weeks of life, our body is still trying to “figure” this process out. With each night, they are able to get cues from the day/night cycle to help them sleep, but during the day, that is absent. It takes time (usually 6 weeks or more) for them to link shorter stretches of sleep into one longer one. This first takes place at night.
Reason 2: Sleep Pressure
Sleep pressure accumulates over time each day. The longer a baby is awake, the more the sleep pressure builds up, until they finally have to fall asleep. Unfortunately, this sleep pressure typically has to build up over their natural wake periods which is during the day, so their nap cycles suffer.
Reason 3: Lack Of Melatonin
When you are a baby, your body doesn’t immediately have the ability to produce the hormone “melatonin” which is crucial to inducing sleep for all humans. Babies under three months of age have a hard time producing this at all or can produce very little at a time, which impacts their ability to sleep both in onset and duration. Melatonin production is supported by the biological mother as well as consistency with routines and the development of night sleep stretches.
Reason 4: Environmental Stimulation
Whether we like it or not, the world is a noisy place during the daytime and with that comes a wild amount of stimulation that can be distracting for your poor little one. During the day, the amount of general stimulation is stronger and can be overwhelming to their little brains, which makes it harder for them to want to sleep or to be able to fall asleep naturally. This can also lead to them being overtired which can also impact their ability to fall asleep at night. To combat this, try to reduce the amount and intensity of their daytime stimulation and to regularly transition them to dark, quiet spaces when it is time to go down for a nap.
Before You Go
We hope you enjoyed learning about tips for understanding why naps are harder than night time sleep. If you would like to know more about this, our sleep learning, consulting or training programs or any of our excellent newborn care services, let us know. Just contact us and we can go over your options and help you find the best path for your little one. Best of luck to you and your little one.
About The Author: 💤Katie Bishop | The Early Weeks 💤
✅ Certified Master Pediatric Sleep Consultant
✅ Board Certified Holistic Healthcare Practitioner
✅ Advanced Newborn Care Specialist
