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Wake windows in babies and toddlers
What are wake windows?
Wake windows are blocks of time spent awake between naps. Please bear in mind that sleep needs can vary a fair bit- some babies are very alert and awake from a young age and can go for hours without needing a nap, while others have frequent cat naps even at 6 months. The below table is a rough guide only.
AGE | WAKE WINDOW | NUMBER OF NAPS |
0-6 weeks | 30-60 minutes | Several naps |
6-12 weeks | 60-80 minutes | Several naps |
3-4 months | 80-100 minutes | 4-6 naps |
4-5 months | 90 minutes-2 hours15 minutes | 4 naps |
5-6 months | 90 minutes- 2 hours 30 minutes | 3-4 naps |
6-7 months | 2 hours- 2 hours 45 minutes | 3 naps |
7-8 months | 2 hours 15 minutes-3 hours | 3 naps |
8-9 months | 2 hours 30 minutes- 3 hours 15 minutes | 2-3 naps |
9-10 months | 2 hours 30 minutes -3 hours 30 minutes | 2 naps |
10-12 months | 3-4 hours | 2 naps |
12-18 months | 3.5-4.5 hours | 1-2 naps |
18-24 months | 4-6 hours | 1-2 naps |
2-3 years | 5-7 hours | 1 nap |
3-5 years | 7-13 hours | 1 nap ( or none) |
You might find that your child needs naps more or less frequently than this guide suggests. That is all fine, being different from average does not mean abnormal.
Try to learn your baby’s sleep cues, and put them down for a nap as soon as possible, before they become overtired/dysregulated. If you are in the lucky group, your baby will show clear signs of tiredness- red eyebrows, eye-rubbing, gazing, yawning. Unfortunately, not all babies give such clear cues, however, and it might take you a while to tune in with your baby and catch the right moment to put them down for a nap.
Babies under the age of 3 months rarely have predictable nap patterns as their circadian rhythm is not developed. Their naps become less erratic by around 3-4 months of age.
The number of naps decreases with the child’s age, and by around 20 months children only nap once. There is a large cultural variance in terms of dropping this last nap. In some countries, where children start school at a later age, and they stay in nursery or kindergarten until they are 6 or 7, it is common to have an afternoon nap. And of course, there are countries where an afternoon siesta taken by not just children but adults is the norm. In my 15 years of nannying, I have worked mostly with London-based families, and dropping the last nap between the ages of 3 and 4 seems to be the norm.
How can a sleep consultant help?
Common nap-related issues I can provide help with are: optimising the timing and the length of naps, deciding when to drop them and how to reorganise the remaining naps, sleep hygiene, and more.
Please check out my website for more information.
Julia Máté Baby and Child Sleep Cowake windiwsnsultant
