A nap at noon
How long do children need an afternoon nap?
Toddler is in bed with father
© NadyaSabeva / Thinkstock
Do you still need the afternoon nap? And how long should it last: 20 minutes or two hours? Questions on a hotly debated topic – and what experts answer.
Afternoon nap – is it really important?
In sleep, what has been learned is repeated until it is firmly anchored
Yes, because it acts like an elixir of life. Small children recover from the many new impressions they are exposed to every day during their sleep breaks. And: sleep helps to process the impressions. “During sleep, what has been learned is repeated until it is firmly anchored,” says sleep researcher Professor Jürgen Zulley from the University of Regensburg. When we are asleep, the same neural connections are activated as when we are awake. Sleep allows children’s brains to mature and also helps them grow: because the body releases a growth hormone when it is on standby.
Always lie down at the same time?
It would be better. The sleep researchers agree: a regular daily routine is good for small children. And ultimately regulates the night’s sleep, making it more and more reliable. “You should only postpone your child’s nap in exceptional cases, for example if you have an important appointment,” recommends Dr. Bernhard Hoch, pediatrician and sleep expert at the Josefinum in Augsburg. Our biorhythm (and also that of babies) prefers the time between 12 and 2 p.m. for the little snooze. After lunch, when the body needs its energy for digestion, children, like adults, are a bit flabby and tired – the best prerequisite for lying down.
Are multiple sleep breaks okay?
Very interested, lively children are more likely to need several sleep breaks
Why not? Sleep is something very individual. It depends on the type, on the temperament. Very interested, lively children tend to need several sleep breaks because they need to recover from their many impressions in between. “But basically it doesn’t matter how you get there – whether it’s one hour and a half in the afternoon or two 45-minute naps,” says Dr. High. So if your child is always fidgety and fussy in the afternoon, a second short sleep break might do them good. Of course not too late, otherwise your child will not be able to fall asleep in the evening.
Is there the right place for the afternoon nap?
Clearly: the bed. Preferably your own. Even if there is nothing wrong with occasionally taking a nap in the pram because the weather lures you to the city park. However, as children grow older, they become more and more prone to disruption. Street noise, department store noise and passers-by can then develop into uninvited alarm clocks. Babies, on the other hand, are not easily disturbed: “Up to six months they actually sleep anywhere,” says Professor Zulley.
Should the room be as quiet and dark as possible?
Not necessary! “Daily conditions” are perfectly fine. It is therefore sufficient to only partially darken the room and to turn down noises a little, but not completely switch them off. The signal “quiet” is sufficient. “The child should also learn that the time of day is different from that of night,” explains Dr. High. Also: The daytime sleep shouldn’t be as deep as the nighttime sleep, after all it shouldn’t last so long that the child falls asleep in the evening. As in the evening, you can also put your child in their usual sleeping bag for their nap so that they know: Now it’s bedtime.
What do I do if my child does not want to fall asleep?
If you can’t or don’t want to sleep, you can do something quiet or read
If they haven’t dozed off after 15 to 20 minutes, get them out of bed. Sleep compulsion does nothing, says Jürgen Zulley: “If you force a child to sleep, exactly the opposite happens – it certainly won’t fall asleep. The pressure creates tension, and if you’re tense, you can’t sleep. Are therefore negatively occupied.” So try again half an hour later. From the age of two, children can at least have an afternoon nap instead of an afternoon nap – i.e. lie quietly but awake in bed. That’s better than no relaxation at all. By the way, that’s how most kindergartens handle it these days: if you can’t or don’t want to sleep, you can read or do something quiet. Basically, the nap works best if a child has had enough time to let off steam in the morning. And got a good dose of fresh air.
How long should the nap last?
Depends on the child. And old age. A Swiss study with almost 500 children between infancy and 16 years showed that there are enormous individual differences. For example, some one-year-olds slept four hours a day, others only half an hour. The average values: around three and a half hours for a six-month-old child. Two and a half hours for a one-year-old. Two hours at the age of one and a half. But as I said: Deviations of up to two hours are normal. It is important that the daytime sleep goes well with the nighttime sleep. If you find that your child sleeps less well at night, i.e. has difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, or is already fit at five in the morning, the nap may be taking too long. If you are unsure: Keep a sleep diary for a week in which you record all phases of sleep. “If you find that your child is sleeping in late at noon, wake them up regularly after a certain time,” advises Professor Zulley. “It’ll get used to the new rhythm pretty quickly.”
Up to what age do children need a nap at all?
As a rule, the fourth year of life is over, as surveys show. Some no longer need a nap at the age of two, others are still grateful at kindergarten age. In general, the following applies: “The more consistently the rest phases are integrated into a daily routine, the longer children will understand this as a normal daily cycle,” says Dr. High. How do you recognize that your sweetheart no longer needs his nap? For example, if he can no longer fall asleep at the usual time for a longer period of time, only tosses and turns and would prefer to do completely different things. Or if there are increasing problems falling asleep and staying asleep in the evening.
