Why is My Baby Sleeping A Lot During the Day?

A baby is constantly adjusting to the world around him, so he can become exhausted easily. With new stimuli explored every day and the challenges of connecting to the world around him, a baby needs to sleep often in order to consolidate energy and be focused and content. Napping during the day provides this much needed rest.

  1. Creating Good Sleeping Habits

    • Parents who help babies to nap effectively during the day ensure that the child will create solid sleeping habits. According to Heidi Murkoff, Arlene Eisenberg and Sandee Hathaway, B.S.N, authors of "What to Expect the First Year," parents can teach good sleeping habits. These include putting the baby down in a comfortable, dark place after she's been fed and changed, creating a bedtime routine that is meticulously followed and perhaps giving her a gentle massage.

    Processing Information

    • According to BabyCenter.com, babies dream more than twice as much as adults. When a baby dreams, she is processing and filing away all the information she has learned during the day. The more information she learns, the more she needs to "file away all these experiences," says BabyCenter.com. As she grows, she will require less sleep, partly because there will be less new stimuli to process.

    Sleep Creates Happy Babies

    • A baby who naps during the day is apt to be happier and more relaxed. Just as an adult who hasn't slept at night can be cranky, overtired and unproductive, so can a baby. According to the authors of "What to Expect the First Year," babies who sleep during the day will be happier, more cooperative, will go to bed at night with less difficulty and may even sleep better through the night.

    Napping Helps with Feeding

    • A baby who doesn't sleep enough during the day may have trouble concentrating on getting an adequate feeding, says The Better Health Channel, an Australian organization. Additionally, a baby who doesn't sleep in the afternoon may be too tired to even begin the evening meal. However, as the baby grows and learns a napping routine, it is important not to have him nap too close to the evening, as that could disrupt his nighttime sleep.

    Expert Insight

    • According to Kidshealth.org, babies who are 3 months old average at least five hours of sleep during the day and 10 hours of sleep at night. Some babies at this age still wake up during the night for feedings, so the nighttime sleep can be interrupted. BabyCenter.com explains that when a baby is 12 months old, he may sleep from 12 to 14 hours a day total, with one nap, but during his second year that nap may be dropped.

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