Awake Windows
Awake windows have become more popular and talked about since sleep training has become more mainstream these last few years. We are always learning more about Paediatric sleep, and awake windows are a really good (and helpful) thing to follow with your child as they get older.
An awake window is the time in between rest periods for your child. If your child naps twice a day, they will have 3 awake periods. If you child naps once a day, they will only have 2 awake periods. As your child gets older, generally their awake periods increase in length because their sleep needs change.
Newborn Sleep Needs
A newborn baby will have many awake periods during the day, but they should only last between 45-60 minutes in length. This is because their little bodies require SO much rest to grow and develop, that they spend a lot of their time sleeping. If your baby is awake longer than that 45-minute mark, then it’s common for them to reach overtired-ness which can result in the “witching hour” or increase bouts of fussiness – commonly at nighttime.
3-5 Month Sleep Needs
Once your baby reaches the 3-5-month mark, their awake time increases. A good awake time period for this age range is 1.5-2.25 hours. Generally, the shortest awake window happens at the beginning of the day, with the longest happening at the end.
At this age, I also encourage you to start watching for your child’s tired cues as well. Getting red-rimmed eyes, yawning, rubbing their eyes, the 7-mile stare, etc.
We want to use a combination of watching your child’s tired cues, and respecting their awake windows in order to put them down for a nap at the right time.
I worked with a client once who would put her son down for a nap as soon as he showed any signs of self-soothing. He was a thumb-sucker and would occasionally just pop his thumb into his mouth during play-time and she would scoop him up and put him down for a nap. This resulted in SO MANY SHORT NAPS. The thing is, sometimes we self-soothe or even yawn throughout the day, but it doesn’t mean we’re ready to sleep right then. This is why using a combination of watching their tired cues and following their awake windows will feel like magic.
6-8 Month Sleep Needs
Around the 6-month mark, things really change for babies. Your baby is likely dropping down to 2 naps, they can start sleeping through the night, and their awake time is stretched! A good awake time range for the 6-8-month mark is 2.5-3.25 hours. By 8 months old, your child should definitely be able to tolerate the 3.25 hours of awake time at the end of the day.
9-12 Month Sleep Needs
In between 9-12 months, you’ll start getting a much longer stretch of awake time as your child is really starting to consolidate their sleep schedule and as they take 2 solid naps per day. Closer to 12 months, some babies are getting ready to transition down to 1 nap a day. A good range of awake time for the 9-12 month mark is 3-3.75 hours. Some babies really can’t tolerate a lot of awake time at the end of the day, but some can. One sign to watch for would be to notice how long it takes your child to fall asleep in bed at night. If it’s longer than 20 minutes, you’ll likely need to make some adjustments to their schedule to ensure they have some more awake time at the end of the day. It’s ideal to have your child fall asleep within 15-20 minutes at night.
12-18 Month Sleep Needs
In between 12-18 months, your child is going to make some huge changes within their sleep and they’re going to transition down to 1 nap during the day. This is a glorious time for parents as their daytime schedule is normalized and planning activities around naps is MUCH easier. The awake time range from this age is anywhere from 3.75-5 hours of awake time. Once your child is on 1 nap a day, we will want to see 5 hours of awake time on each end of the nap.
18 Month - 3 Year Old Sleep Needs
Between 18 months and 3 years, we are going to start shortening the nap because it’s likely starting to affect their nighttime sleep. A good range for this age is anywhere between 5-6 hours.
If you start to notice that your child is struggling to fall asleep at bedtime, then it might be time to start shortening the nap, or push bedtime later – making their night shorter than 12 hours (which is okay!)
One of the reasons that following awake times is SO important, is that it will help your child maximize their nap time and it’ll help them consolidate sleep quicker.
Following awake times has been a lifesaver for me with my 2 kids. I can’t imagine just relying on their tired cues without any other guidance - that would be chaos!
