Why I sleep train naps and nights separately
Are you planning on starting some sleep training soon? It can be overwhelming and challenging, especially if you’re trying to train them for both naps and nights at the same time. However, I’ve found it’s actually easier to train naps and nights separately. In this post, we’ll explore the benefits of splitting up the sleep training process and share some tips for successful sleep training for both nights and naps.
If you start sleep training for both naps and night sleep, you may find things become challenging when sleep training at the beginning of the night. As everything is new, the chances are your child wouldn’t have napped well; they’re cranky and overtired come evening time. You’re then trying to help an overtired, overstimulated, and cranky to sleep and manage all those wake-ups! No, thank you!
Naps are always more challenging when sleep training. There are a few reasons for this. Firstly, our nap routine is shorter than our night routine, and your child doesn’t have as long to relax before falling asleep. Secondly, they don’t produce as much melatonin during the day. Melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone that induces sleep.
I like to begin sleep training at night, and when nights are in a good spot (they don’t have to be perfect), we get started with naps. When your child has learned the skills to get to sleep at night and back to sleep when they naturally wake at night, it is much easier for them to begin using those skills at naptime. We do not need to teach them anything new; they already have the skills. We’re just nudging them in the right direction.
When you start sleep training at night, you’ll want to ensure your child has had the best naps possible during the day. It’s okay to help them as needed. When you begin sleep training, your child is not overtired (an overtired child struggles to fall asleep and remain asleep). Work on your nights for at least a week before you begin working on naps. Most families I work with will wait two weeks. That way, we’re getting some really consistent night’s sleep before we begin making changes during the day.
When working with families, I often split sleep training up even more! Rather than beginning with nights and then moving onto naps, we’ll begin with just the beginning of the night, then move on to during the night wake-ups, and finally work on naps. This staggering works well for children with a very intense sleep personality (you can take my sleep personality quiz HERE) or those who are sleep deprived.
There is no right or wrong when it comes to nap and night sleep training. You know your child better than anyone and know how much energy you have to put into sleep training. Work at a pace that you’re comfortable with.
