Catnapping

TITLE: Fixing Catnapping

Catnapping, or short naps, can be a frustrating challenge for many parents, but it's largely within your control to fix. Unlike unpredictable factors like teething or illness, adjusting your child's sleep habits can significantly impact catnapping. Here are three key strategies to address this issue:

1. Adjust Wake Windows

• Understanding Wake Windows: The optimal wake time between naps varies among babies, much like sleep needs differ between adults. While general guidelines exist, your child might need a slightly longer or shorter wake window than what's typical for their age. Adjusting this window can help build enough sleep pressure (or sleep drive) for longer naps.
• Action Step: If your child is catnapping, experiment with extending their wake window slightly to increase sleep pressure, encouraging them to sleep longer during nap times.

2. Optimize Previous Sleep Durations

• The Impact of Prior Sleep: Sometimes, the issue isn't the wake window but the length of previous naps. A long morning nap, for instance, can lead to shorter subsequent naps.
• Action Step: Evaluate and adjust the duration of earlier naps. This may involve shortening a prior nap or tweaking wake windows to ensure your child has enough sleep pressure to take a longer nap later in the day.

3. Consider the Overall Sleep Budget

• Balancing Night and Day Sleep: Your child has a total sleep "budget" that needs to be distributed between nighttime sleep and daytime naps. Excessive night sleep might leave too little for daytime, resulting in catnapping.
• Action Step: If naps are consistently short, review your child's total sleep hours. It might be necessary to slightly reduce nighttime sleep to allow for longer naps, ensuring a balanced sleep distribution over 24 hours.

Summary

Catnapping is manageable by fine-tuning wake windows, adjusting the length of previous naps, and balancing the overall sleep budget. These adjustments help build the right amount of sleep pressure for longer, more restorative naps. Remember, each child's sleep needs are unique, and finding the right balance may require some experimentation.

Get Your Child to Sleep Through the Night Quickly and Easily Without Fuss, Tears, or Frustration

(From You or Your Child!) 

Sleeping On Purpose

By: Ruth Tai