Nap Training & Sleep Training: Should You Do Them at the Same Time?

Do all babies need nap training?

Some babies only struggle with nighttime sleep and do not need formal nap training. These babies fall asleep independently at nap time, they are comfortable sleeping in their crib, and they do not struggle with chronically short naps. If this sounds like your baby, then there is no need to change anything!

However, if your baby is dependent on contact napping, does not nap regularly in a crib, depends on you to fall asleep at nap time, or struggles with short naps, you should begin nap training when you begin sleep training.

This means following Night 1 of sleep training you will begin nap training. There are two reasons why it is important to nap train when you sleep train.

Why is it important to nap train and nighttime sleep train simultaneously?

REASON #1

One of the keys to successful sleep training is…CONSISTENCY!

This means if you expect your baby to learn how to fall asleep independently at night, they must also learn how to fall asleep independently for naps.

It’s going to be extremely confusing to your child if they are expected to fall asleep all on their own at night, but during the day you continue to rock or feed them to sleep!

A child who is getting mixed signals like this will take longer to learn how to sleep through the night and will likely fight bedtime harder if there isn’t consistency day and night.

Reason #2

Nap training will help your child learn how to extend those short naps and get the sleep they need to sleep well at night!

You want to set your child up for success when it comes to sleep training. And unfortunately, if your child isn’t getting sufficient daytime sleep they will become overtired, and an overtired child will have increased difficulty falling asleep, they will wake up more frequently throughout the night, and they will struggle to stay asleep in the early morning hours.

Nap Training Tips

• Depending on the sleep training method you use at night, you may find that using the same method for nap training is actually more stimulating for your child and makes it harder for them to fall asleep. If this is the case, you will skip any sort of check-in or parental involvement in the process and instead leave your child in the crib for a set amount of time (1-1.5 hours recommended) to give them the space necessary to fall asleep and/or extend their nap if they wake early.

• You must be patient with the process! Things may appear to get worse before they get better. This means that your baby may have easily napped 1-2 hours if you held them, but once you started nap training, they wake up after only 30 minutes. Keep being consistent and they will get the hang of it.

• If your child is having trouble getting enough sleep during the nap training process, it’s okay to offer shorter wake windows. It may help them fall asleep more easily.

• Similarly, if they are overtired by the end of the day during the process, plan for an earlier bedtime.

• If you find they are consistently fighting one nap during the process, it may be helpful to tweak wake windows to ensure your baby isn’t over- or under-tired. (Even too many long wake windows earlier in the day can end up affecting naps later in the day.)

How long will nap training take?

If you are consistent and implement nap training simultaneously with nighttime sleep training, you can expect to see consistently better naps after about 2-3 weeks.

Will my baby always have to nap in their crib?

After your baby has been consistently sleeping through the night and is taking good naps you can experiment with naps in other places, like a friend or family member’s house. Bring a pack ‘n play, a white noise machine, portable blackout curtains, their sleep sack and anything else you include in their pre-sleep routines. Go through your typical naptime routine and into the crib they go!

At this point you can also attempt naps-on-the-go from time to time, just be sure that your baby is still falling asleep in their crib for the majority of their naps to prevent any regression.

Your baby can do this!

I know it may seem overwhelming to begin both nap training and nighttime sleep training at the same time, but I can assure you that it is much better to do it all at once rather than draw the process out.

If your baby is in a state of active learning, it’s best to capitalize on that time and encourage them to learn the skill of independent sleep for both daytime and nighttime.

I promise that it will be harder for you than it is for them! Remind yourself that they are simply frustrated, and if you are consistent, they will learn. 

Good luck!