The No Cry Nap Solution (4 page)

Naps also fuel the dramatic developmental surges that occur when

children learn to master major physical and mental milestones.

• Children’s naps give caregivers a needed break.
No mat-

ter how much they love and adore them, adults sometimes need

their little ones to nap just as much as their children need the

nap. During naptime, caregivers can reenergize, do a few things

for themselves, or handle tasks that cannot be done when tend-

ing to children. A nap break relieves adult stress and assures that

caregivers can enjoy their little nappers more when they wake up.

• Naps are benefi cial for people of all ages.
There is no

time when your child must—or should—give up naps. Naps are

healthy for all human beings. Even fervent nonnappers can learn

Researchers at the University of Michigan found that third grad-

ers need a minimum of nine hours and forty-fi ve minutes of

sleep each night to lower their risk of obesity. Sleeping more

than this minimum amount lowered their risk even more—by

up to 40 percent. “The less sleep they got, the more likely the

children were to be obese in sixth grade, no matter what the

child’s weight was in third grade,” said Dr. Julie Lumeng, who

led the research.

Naps:The Key to a Happy, Healthy Child
7

to embrace the idea of naps and enjoy the many physical, emo-

tional, and social benefi ts that they bring.

How Much Naptime Does Your

Child Need?

The actual number of hours that your child sleeps is an incredibly

important factor for his health and well-being. A sleep study com-

pleted by Dr. Avi Sadeh at Tel Aviv University demonstrated that

even a
one-hour
shortage in appropriate sleep time will compro-

mise a child’s alertness and brain functioning and increase fatigue.

Dr. William C. Dement, known as the world’s leading authority

on sleep, takes that one step further and says, “. . . the effects of

delaying bedtime by even
half an hour
can be subtle and perni-

cious [very destructive].” These are amazing fi ndings and call for

us to look very closely at the total number of hours our children

are sleeping. Every child is unique and has his own “personal best”

amount of sleep. Your child’s behavior, mood, and health can give

you an indication if he is getting the right amount of sleep. If you

suspect that your child may not be sleeping enough and if your

child is not getting
close to
the amount of sleep on the follow-

ing chart, he may be “chronically overtired,” and this will directly

affect his behavior, moods, health, learning, and growth.

As you will learn in the next section, the length of time that

your child is awake from one sleep period to the next will also

have a powerful impact on his temperament and behavior, so it is

one more important consideration and earns a prominent place

on the chart. You’ll see that the span of awake time is very,
very

short for a newborn baby and this gradually increases over time.

This sleep chart is an important guide to your child’s sleep

hours. All children are different, and a few truly do need less (or

more) sleep than shown here, but the vast majority of children

have sleep needs that fall within the range shown on this chart.

8

Sleep Chart: Average Hours of Daytime and Nighttime Sleep

N

Number

Total Hours of

Endurable Awake Hours

Total Hours of

Total Hours of Nap

ap Ma

Age

of Naps

Naptime Sleep

Between Sleep Periods

Nighttime Sleep*

and Night Sleep**

Newborn***

1–2

gic

1 month

3–4

6–7

1–3

8½–10

15–16

3 months

3–4

5–6

2–3

10–11

15

6 months

2–3

3–4

2–3

10–11

14–15

9 months

2

2½–4

2–4

11–12

14

12 months

1–2

2–3

3–4

11½–12

13½–14

18 months

1–2

2–3

4–6

11¼–12

13–14

2 years

1

1½–3

5–6½

11–12

13–13½

3 years

1

1–2

6–8

11–11½

12–13

4 years

0–1

0–2

6–12

11–11½

11½–12½

5 years

0–1

0–2

6–12

11

11–12

6 years

0–1

0–2

6–13

10½–11

10–11

10 years

0–1

0–2****

8–14

10

10

17 years

0–1

0–3****

8–16

8½–10

8½–10

Adult

0–1

0–1½****

8–16

7–9

7–9

* These are averages and do not necessarily represent unbroken stretches of sleep, since brief awaking between sleep cycles is normal.

**The hours shown don’t always add up, because when children take longer naps, they may sleep fewer hours at night and vice versa.

***Newborns sleep fi fteen to eighteen hours, distributed over four to seven sleep periods. Premature or sick babies may sleep more hours divided into more sleep periods.

****Older children, teenagers, and adults often nap to catch up on a shortage of nighttime hours.

The No-Cry Nap Solution © Better Beginnings, Inc.

Important Facts You Should

Know About Sleep

When we think of sleep, we visualize a quiet child at rest,

doing nothing. Actually, sleep is a complex process that is

far from passive. It provides your child with the mental, emotional,

and physical fuel needed to function each and every day. Sleep

is a dynamic activity—a complex series of phases, each of which

makes important contributions to health and well-being. The fol-

lowing chart shows the various stages of sleep and describes what

happens at each phase.

Stages of Sleep

Stage

Physical and Mental

of Sleep

Description

Depth of Sleep

States/Processes

Presleep

Drowsy

Depending on

Relaxed

conditions, can

move into Stage

1 or get a sec-

ond wind and

become wide

awake

Stage 1

Drifting off,

Falling asleep,

Floating sensation,

very light

easily awakened

relaxed muscles; slower

sleep

heart rate and breath-

ing; body may make a

sudden jerking motion

Stage 2

Light to mod-

Easily awakened

Regular, relaxed breath-

erate sleep

ing; preparing to enter

deep sleep

continued

9

10 Nap Magic

Stages of Sleep, continued

Stage

Physical and Mental

of Sleep

Description

Depth of Sleep

States/Processes

Stage 3

Deep sleep

Diffi cult to

Regular, relaxed breath-

awaken

ing; bed-wetting, night

terrors, sleepwalking, or

sleep talking may occur

Stage 4

Deepest

Very diffi cult to

Slow and regular

sleep

awaken; groggy

breathing; no muscle

or disoriented

activity; bed-wetting,

when awakened

night terrors, sleepwalk-

ing, or sleep talking may

occur

REM

Dreaming

May be easy

Large muscles immo-

stage

or diffi cult to

bile; small muscles

awaken

twitch; heart and

breathing rates

increase; eyes move

quickly (REM stands for

rapid eye movement)

Sleep

Awakening

The transition

May act groggy, dis-

inertia

between sleep

oriented, or confused;

and complete

reaction time and

wakefulness;

performance can be

may fall back to

hindered

sleep or wake

up fully

Note: Each of the fi rst four stages of sleep lasts from 5 to 15 minutes, and a complete cycle of the fi ve stages of sleep takes between 90 and 120 minutes. Stages 2 and 3 actually repeat backward before dreaming sleep is entered, so the sleep cycle actually looks like this: Drowsy, Stage 1, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, REM, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, REM—continuing by alternating between REM and non-REM sleep in a cyclical pattern. Infants can fall asleep directly into REM sleep. Infant sleep cycles last approximately 40 to 60 minutes.

Why Short Catnaps Are Not Good Enough

If your child’s naps are shorter than an hour and a half in length,

you might suspect that these catnaps aren’t meeting your child’s

sleep needs—and you would be right. A short nap takes the edge

off but doesn’t offer the physical and mental nourishment that a

Important Facts You Should Know About Sleep
11

Keiran, fourteen months old

longer nap provides. (If your child is a catnapper, you can fi nd

solutions in the chapter “Catnaps: Making Short Naps Longer.”)

As shown in the chart, it takes between 90 and 120 minutes

for your child to move through one sleep cycle. Each stage of sleep

brings a different benefi t to the sleeper. Imagine, if you will, magic

gifts that are awarded at each new stage of sleep. In order for your

child to receive all of these wonderful gifts, he must sleep long

enough to pass through each stage.

Newborn babies have unique cycles that mature over time.

A newborn sleep cycle is about forty to sixty minutes long, and

an infant enters dream sleep quickly, skipping several stages. By

the time a baby is six to eight months old, his sleep will have

become more organized into the cycle pattern. (Newborn sleep is

explained beginning on page 35.)

The following chart lists the benefi ts of a complete nap. It shows

the “magic gifts” to be had during each stage of the sleep cycle.

12

Benefi ts Derived at Each Stage of the Sleep Cycle

N

Stage of Sleep

Description

Approximate Length of Time*

Benefi ts of Stage

ap Ma

Presleep

Drowsy

Varies

gic

å Stage 1

Drifting off,

5 to 15 minutes

Prepares body for sleep

very light

Reduces feelings of sleepiness

sleep

å Stage 2

Light to moder-

5 to 15 minutes

Increases alertness

ate sleep

Improves motor skills

Stabilizes mood

Slightly reduces homeostatic sleep pressure

å Stage 3

Deep sleep

5 to 15 minutes

Strengthens memory and immune system

Releases growth hormone

Repairs bones, tissues, and muscles

Regulates appetite

Releases stress and restores energy

Reduces homeostatic sleep pressure

å Stage 4

Deepest sleep

5 to 15 minutes

Same benefi ts as Stage 3, but enhanced

å Return to

Deep sleep

3 to 10 minutes

Same as Stage 3 above

Stage 3

å Return to

Light to moder-

3 to 10 minutes

Same as Stage 2 above