Lots of parents think that the more time their little one is awake, and the more tired they get, the easier they’ll find it to go to sleep. Sometimes they will keep them up until 7pm in the hope of the Holy Grail of 7pm-7am sleep or they believe their little one just doesn’t need that much sleep.
In reality, little ones have a very fine line between being tired enough and being over tired, and they’ll have a much more difficult time falling asleep and staying asleep when that’s the case. Being over tired can also cause those early morning wake ups too. Naps can be tricky because they are just based upon sleep pressure (tiredness, basically) so, if your little one does not have enough sleep pressure they are likely to have short naps but too much sleep pressure means they become overtired.
How long should your little one should be awake for between naps?
Here, at Little Dreams we get so many questions about awake windows (how long little ones should be awake between naps and naps and bedtime). Awake windows are important because this is the typical amount of time that a little one can be awake before they start getting overtired and therefore find it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep. The right amount of sleep pressure will also help your little one nap for longer – no more 40 minute naps!
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