Daytime sleep & night sleep work hand in hand. When thinking about how to improve our little ones night time sleep we really need to look at the whole 24 hour period.

 

Research suggests that parents should start by looking at their baby’s daytime sleep routine and naps, in order to improve the quality of night sleep.

⭐️If your baby isn’t sleeping well during the night then adjusting their daytime routine may help to resolve the situation. If your baby is napping for long periods of time in the day, they will sleep less at night. Too little sleep in the day results in an increase of cortisol, making it harder for them to settle at night & will also lead to night waking's or early rising. The goal is to find the right balance and this balance changes as babies get older. It is determined by two things: the nap length and awake times.

⭐️An awake time is the amount of time your baby is awake for between the end of one nap and the beginning of the next (or between last nap and bedtime). If an awake time is too short = under tiredness; if too long = over-tiredness

⭐️Although it may seem slightly mean to wake a sleeping baby (especially when it may have taken a long time to get your baby to nap in the first place), it is advisable to do so as too much day sleep will impact on your nights.

Creating Positive Sleep Associations for naps will lead to improvements in your little ones sleep. Positive Sleep Associations look like:

⭐️Pre-nap routine - Having a short (5 -10 minute) pre nap routine can be a great cue to your little one that sleep is coming. This will enable them to naturally wind down to sleep. Try replicating your bedtime routine so white noise, darkness and sleeping bag.

⭐️Predictable nap timings for infants 6 months plus

⭐️White noise- the key to using white noise is to ensure it is left on for the entire nap duration

⭐️Darkness- having a dark room will help your little one to settle to sleep. If light is creeping into the room try using a blackout suction blind Easyblinds or Tommee Tippee. For naps out & about, the SnoozeShade is amazing.

If you are struggling with naps this is where I can help. Please DM me for any advice.