When they’re first born, babies’ sleep patterns are completely different from those of adults, as they haven’t yet developed a set day-night rhythm and they can only sleep for a few hours at a time. As babies get older, the time they spend sleeping moves later and later into the day until the child can stay awake for almost the whole day and sleep through the night.
But at what point is it advisable for children to skip their nap? Can the lack of a nap have a negative effect on their development or can children get through the day even without one? In this article, we’ll give parents and parents-to-be tips on the topic of naps for young children.
Why is sleep important for children's development?
Sleep is just as important for your baby’s cognitive development as it is for their physical growth. There is a direct connection between learning processes and sleep, because while the body seems to rest while we sleep, the brain never shuts off.
Sleep primarily helps us to process new information and move it from our short-term to our long-term memory. Important facts are separated from nonessential ones, thereby creating new connections in the brain. At the same time, unimportant information is sorted out so that it can be replaced by more important things the next day. This is why some scientists recommend reviewing recently-learned material with your child in the evening before bedtime.
In addition, the body produces growth hormone at night, which only occurs during the deep sleep phase. This is the reason this phase is considered the most important of the five sleep phases we go through during the night. In addition, children's immune systems are strengthened at night, which helps prevent them from falling ill so often.
The brain repairs itself at night
American researchers found in a study that the brain not only grows and develops, but repairs itself during the night. This process begins before toddlers reach the age of two and a half. Going without sleep for too long is damaging for both children and adults, as it has a negative impact on our neurological development. While the brain’s chief task during our first five years of life is growth, it starts to repair itself by the time we’re two and a half.
At what age can your toddler go without a nap?
Every child develops at a different pace, so it’s hard to give a general answer to this question. As children get older, the amount of sleep they need decreases and they can forgo a nap once they’ve reached a certain age.
At the age of three, the majority of children still take a nap at least once a day, and even among four-year-olds, more than half still do. When they reach the age of five and six, the nap becomes dispensable for many and they manage without sleep during the day. Major changes in the daily life of the little ones, such as starting school, can lead to children suddenly sleeping more often during the day again. This is due to the fact that they have to absorb and process a lot of information and is by no means a cause for alarm.
Why should you let your toddler stop taking a nap?
To determine whether or not your child still needs a nap, you should pay attention to how your child behaves during the day. For many children, the nap will naturally fall away over time. If you are not sure, you should ask yourself the following questions:
Is my child active all day and can't fall asleep at noon?
If your child can spend the whole day full of energy without difficulty, it is probably time to skip the nap. Children usually have trouble falling asleep at midday at this time and would rather do other activities instead.
If your child behaves restlessly and often whines without a nap, you should try to change the time of the nap. For the baby's natural rhythm, it is best if the nap takes place from 12 to 2 pm. In addition, the length of the nap should also be adjusted. Two-year-olds should sleep for about one to two hours, while kindergarten-age children should sleep for half an hour to an hour.
Can my child fall asleep quickly at night?
Since the deep sleep phase is the most important for children, it is essential to make sure that toddlers get enough sleep at night. If the little ones have difficulties falling asleep at night, it is better to shorten the time of the nap instead of postponing the nightly rest.
If sleep is shifted backwards, sleep time is shortened and so is deep sleep. If your child does not want to fall asleep at night, you should reconsider the time of the nap, because this can make it more difficult to fall asleep.
Does my child wake up very early in the morning?
If children sleep a lot during the day, they usually wake up before their usual time of rising in the morning. This may be an indication that nap time should be omitted. If you feel that your child is too restless without a nap, you can first gradually shorten the time until the child no longer needs any sleep at all at noon.
What is the best way for my child to get used to not taking a nap?
An abrupt change from nap to no nap can be difficult for young children because they need routine in their daily routine. Instead of dropping the nap from one day to the next, you can replace it with a rest period. During this time, children are given the choice of having a short nap or preferring quiet activities.
A set place and time is best for quiet time. A quiet activity might be reading a book, doing a puzzle or painting. Quiet time is important so that energy reserves are not completely depleted and what has been learned can still be stored. Exciting activities push the children too much and they will have difficulties finding sleep in the evening.
How can I create a good sleeping environment for my child?
For naps, no special measures need to be taken to ensure that children get a good night's sleep. At night, however, things are a little different because nighttime sleep is so important for development. To create a good sleeping environment, the baby's cot should be as simple as possible. Babies don't need a pillow or blanket, an appropriate sleeping bag is perfectly adequate.
The room temperature should be between 16 and 18 degrees and they should not be dressed too thickly, otherwise the baby will be constantly awake at night. You can tell if your baby is sweating by the dampness of the neck. Cold hands and feet are not a sure sign that your baby is cold, because the blood circulation of the little ones does not work so well yet.
Products from Zizzz for better baby sleep
Children should be dressed appropriately at night to get a good night's sleep. So that they neither get too cold nor too not while they sleep, pyjamas made from natural materials are the best choice. We carry pyjamas made from GOTS-certified organic cotton that are produced without the use of any chemicals in six children's sizes and 3 adult women's sizes. In addition, we also have onesies for babies in white, blue stripes and lucky star.
Conclusion
Sleep is essential for babies and children, as it is during sleep that short-term memories are moved to long-term memory and the body produces growth hormones. Lack of sleep has a negative effect on mental and physical development and prevents newly-learned information from being anchored in our long-term memory.
Whether to stop your toddler's naptime depends on how your little one behaves during the day and how well they do without a nap. Pay attention to your child's needs and gradually replace the nap with rest periods.