Before having a baby, I had no idea I should be monitoring my baby’s awake time. I thought that newborns slept all day, and that my child would have these beautiful long naps without any intervention. Boy, was I wrong! Unless you have a unicorn baby (a mystical creature that only wakes up to eat then falls back to sleep with little help), then it can take some work to figure out when to put your baby down for a nap or bedtime. If you’re here, then you must be asking “how much awake time is appropriate for my baby?”, and “how do I figure it out?”.
Why it’s important
Awake time is the amount of time your baby should be awake before needing a nap or going to bed, and is inclusive of feeding. Babies need enough sleep drive to fall asleep, and this occurs by time spent awake. If you don’t stay awake long enough and try to sleep, it is very difficult. Same goes for babies. They need to spend enough time awake to have the drive to fall asleep, but not so much that they are over tired. It’s a real balancing act, so watching your baby for cues and watching the clock is really important.
Preventing your child from becoming overtired is key! Once a child is overtired, it becomes difficult to get them to sleep due to increased stress hormone. Cortisol is secreted when the body is stressed, and affects sleep-wake patterns.
Sleepy Cues
Watching your baby for sleep cues is the best way to know when it’s time to put your child down for a nap or bedtime. Sleepy cues might look like:
- Red eyes
- Puffy eyes
- Yawning
- Rubbing their face into your shoulder
- Irritability
- Not wanting to play
- Zoning out
- Fussiness (late cute)
What’s Developmentally Appropriate
Knowing what is appropriate for their age range can be helpful for parents, as some children can be hard to read. As children get older, they can tolerate more and more awake time.
Newborns
Newborns can tolerate very little awake time. They tire easily, often only staying awake to feed and play for a short period of time before needing sleep again. Between birth and 8 weeks old, babies can tolerate 45 to 60 minutes of awake time. They can sleep up to 16 hours a day initially, and over the first two months
Four Months
Four month olds can tolerate around 1.5 to 2.5 hours of awake time before needing a nap or being ready for bedtime. At this age, babies have moved into a more mature sleep pattern, and are making their own melatonin. It’s very important to make sure your baby is getting sunlight exposure, and that lights are being dimmed in the evening to promote sleep at night.
Six to Eight Months
Between 6 and 8 months of age, parents become particularly happy because their children begin to have a more predictable schedule. Babies typically will have two naps per day, and can tolerate 1.5 to 3 hours of being awake.
One Year
Between 12 and 15 months of age, your child might start to show signs they are ready to move to a 1 nap schedule. This is a huge transition for them, often paired with parents returning to work. Wake windows for a one year old, depending on if they are doing one or two naps, will be around 2.5 to 4 hours. It’s important to continue to monitor them for tired cues. Some days they may need one nap, while others they may still need two.
It’s important to note that awake times are really a guide, and should be used in conjunction with sleep cues. Also, (and this will be covered in another blog) children have different sleep needs ranging from low to high. Finding that “sweet spot” for your child can take some trial and error, but once you know their sleep needs, sleep cues and ideal awake windows, you’re golden!
Interested in having a sleep assessment and custom Sleep Plan made for your child? Check out my Sleep Packages!
