Naps: Allies or enemies of nighttime sleep?

“Maybe my baby is sleeping too much during the day.”

It is one of the first things parents often wonder when nights become difficult.

Maybe your baby is taking long naps and then fighting bedtime. Or perhaps they barely sleep during the day and are waking constantly at night.

So… should you let your baby nap, or should you be limiting daytime sleep to protect nighttime sleep?

The short answer is: it depends.

Naps are not the enemy of nighttime sleep. For babies and young children, getting enough daytime sleep is an important part of getting the rest they need overall.

The key is understanding how much sleep your child needs, when they are sleeping, and how their naps are affecting the rest of their day and night.

Why do babies need naps?

Babies’ sleep needs are spread across both day and night.

Unlike adults, who usually get most of their sleep in one long period overnight, babies gradually develop the ability to consolidate their sleep as they grow. Naps give them an opportunity to rest during the day and avoid becoming overly tired.

When a baby doesn’t get enough daytime sleep, it can be tempting to think:

“Great! They will be exhausted tonight and hopefully sleep better.”

But being very tired doesn’t always make a baby sleep better. Sometimes, the opposite happens. An overtired baby may have a harder time settling to sleep, become more irritable and experience more difficulty connecting sleep cycles.

So removing a nap simply because nighttime sleep is difficult isn’t always the answer.

But can naps affect nighttime sleep?

Absolutely. Daytime sleep and nighttime sleep are connected.

If your baby has a very long or very late nap, they may simply not have built up enough sleep pressure by bedtime. You might notice:

Bedtime taking much longer than usual
Your baby seeming wide awake at bedtime
More resistance to going to sleep
A later bedtime than you would like
A nap gradually pushing the whole schedule later

But this doesn’t automatically mean that the nap needs to disappear. Sometimes the solution is simply adjusting the timing or length of the nap, depending on your child’s age and individual needs.

Sleep pressure: why timing matters

The longer we are awake, the more our need for sleep builds. During a nap, some of that sleep pressure is released.

So if a baby sleeps for two hours late in the afternoon, they may naturally have less sleep pressure at their usual bedtime. On the other hand, if they haven’t slept enough during the day, they may arrive at bedtime already exhausted.

The goal isn’t to keep sleep pressure as high as possible. The goal is to find a balance that works for your child.

How many naps does my baby need?

You will find charts telling you exactly how many naps your baby should have at 6, 9, 12 or 18 months. These can be useful as a general reference, but they aren’t a rulebook.

Sleep needs vary between children, and they also change as children develop. A baby may need three naps for a while, then gradually move towards two. Later, one of those naps may become shorter before disappearing altogether.

And transitions rarely happen overnight. You may have a period where some days your child manages with two naps and other days they clearly need three. That is okay. Your child’s sleep needs don’t necessarily change because they reached a particular birthday.

So… should I wake my baby from a nap?

Sometimes you might choose to. But I wouldn’t make this decision based only on the number of hours your baby has slept.

Instead, look at the bigger picture. Ask yourself:

How is my baby sleeping at night?
What time is the nap happening?
How long has my baby been awake before bedtime?
Is bedtime becoming increasingly difficult?
Does my baby seem rested after their nap?
What happens when we allow the nap to continue?

Looking at patterns over several days can tell you much more than one particularly long nap.

What if my baby barely naps?

This is just as important. If your baby is taking very short naps, it can be tempting to think: “At least they’ll sleep better tonight.”

But again, this isn’t always how sleep works. Short naps can sometimes leave a baby struggling to make it comfortably to bedtime.

If your child regularly takes 20–30 minute naps and becomes increasingly tired or irritable throughout the day, it may be worth looking at why those naps are so short:

Is the environment helping them sleep?
Are they getting enough opportunities to rest?
Are they being put down too early or too late?
Are they relying on a particular type of support to stay asleep?

Naps are not something we need to “fight”

A nap isn’t something that needs to be eliminated simply because you want your baby to sleep more at night. And nighttime sleep isn’t something that has to be sacrificed just because your baby needs good daytime rest. Both matter.

A shift in perspective

Instead of asking: “How can I make my baby sleep less during the day?”

Try asking: “How can we organise their daytime sleep so it supports the rest of their 24-hour sleep?”

That small change in perspective can make a big difference.

When is it time to change a nap?

Sometimes your child will show you that their current schedule isn’t working anymore. You might notice that:

They consistently resist one particular nap.
A nap is regularly pushing bedtime much later.
They take longer and longer to fall asleep at bedtime.
They naturally sleep less during one nap.
Their overall mood and energy suggest they are ready for a change.

These patterns may be signs that their sleep needs are changing. But there is no need to rush a transition simply because you have read that “babies this age should only have two naps.” Your child doesn’t need to follow someone else’s schedule perfectly.

The bigger picture

When we talk about sleep, it can be easy to focus on individual pieces: the nap, the bedtime, the wake-up, the schedule. But sleep is a 24-hour process.

A difficult night may have something to do with daytime sleep, but it may also be connected to development, routine, environment, illness, separation anxiety, sleep associations or simply a temporary change.

That’s why I always encourage families to look at the whole picture before changing one part of it.

Frequently asked questions about baby naps

Sometimes the timing or amount of daytime sleep can contribute to difficulties settling at night. However, night waking is influenced by many factors, so reducing naps isn’t automatically the solution.

Not necessarily. Babies need daytime sleep, and reducing naps too much can lead to overtiredness. If naps are affecting nighttime sleep, it may be more helpful to look at their timing, length and overall sleep needs.

There isn’t one ideal nap length for every baby. Some babies take longer naps, while others naturally sleep for shorter periods. What matters is looking at your child’s total sleep, development, mood and how their naps fit into the rest of their day.

Nap transitions happen at different times for different children. Consistent changes in how your child responds to a nap can be a sign that their sleep needs are evolving.

Daytime and nighttime sleep are connected, but they aren’t identical. A baby may sleep well during naps and still have frequent night waking for many different reasons. Looking at the whole 24-hour sleep pattern can help you understand what is happening.

So, are naps friends or enemies?

Neither. Naps are simply part of your child’s sleep needs.

Sometimes they need to be adjusted. Sometimes they need to be protected. And sometimes they are exactly what your baby needs to make it through the day without becoming completely exhausted.

There is no perfect nap schedule that works for every family. Instead of asking whether naps are helping or ruining nighttime sleep, let’s ask a better question:

“What is my child’s sleep telling us right now?”

Because when we understand the whole picture, we can make changes with intention rather than simply trying to make our baby more tired.

And sometimes, the best thing we can do for nighttime sleep… is let our baby sleep during the day.

Respectful Sleep Consultant

Not sure whether naps are helping or hurting your child’s nights? This free guide offers gentle, respectful first steps to help you find the balance that works for your family.