Is there such a thing as too much Sleep?
Is there such a thing as too much sleep? Despite the common phrase, “don’t wake the baby!” there are times when this is necessary.
Capping sleep for a baby means limiting how long they sleep during a nap or overnight to help regulate their overall sleep schedule and circadian rhythm. Whether or not you should cap sleep depends on your baby’s age, total daily sleep needs, and your goals (like improving night sleep or fitting in more feedings). Yes! There are times when waking your baby is necessary! Here’s a general guide:
Newborns (0–3 months)
Babies this age often sleep 14–18 hours in 24 hours, waking frequently every 2-3 hours around the clock to feed. That is a lot of sleep!
If your baby sleeps longer than 3–4 hours overnight, wake them to feed (as advised by your doctor and your baby's growth curve).
During the day, cap any 1 nap at 2 hours to ensure baby is experiencing wake windows, exposed to daylight and keeping feeds on track! This will help eliminate day night confusion.
4–6 months
Total sleep: ~15-16 hours, 12h at night/3-4h during the day
Nap lengths are becoming more predictable taking 3-4 naps per day
Cap naps to ensure:
They don’t exceed 2 hours, which can interfere with night sleep.
There’s enough wake time between naps and before bedtime, which helps produce enough sleep pressure to eliminate short nap cycles and consolidated sleep overnight.
Wake from late naps (example: if napping past 5:00–5:30 PM) to protect bedtime 7/7:30pm. Anything past 8pm is not conducive to their circadian rhythm.
6–12 months
Total sleep: ~14-15 hours
Taking 2–3 naps per day.
Cap naps to:
Avoid too much daytime sleep (over ~3–3.5 hours total).
Maintain consistent bedtime- cap last nap to ensure a 2.5-3.5h wake window before 7/7:30pm.
Transition from 3 to 2 naps usually around 7–9 months.
Morning naps may be capped at 1-1.5h to preserve good afternoon sleep
12–18 months
Down to 1–2 naps.
If taking 1 nap, cap at 2.5-3 hours to avoid pushing bedtime too late and wake by 3pm.
When transitioning to 1 nap, do not lay down any earlier than 12pm or it will make for an extremely long afternoon!
General Reasons to Cap Sleep
Bedtime is getting too late- anything past 8pm
Baby is waking early in the morning- anything before 6am!
Night wakings are increasing.
You’re trying to maintain a nap transition.
Key Rule of Thumb
Total daily sleep matters more than individual nap lengths. Short naps are common and to be expected, especially with younger babies or on the go naps! Any nap 1h+ is considered a restorative nap because baby connected sleep cycles.
Share your baby’s age and current sleep pattern, I would love to give more specific advice.
