The No Cry Nap Solution (5 page)

Stage 2

ate sleep

å First REM

Dreaming

9 to 30 minutes

Transfers short-term memory to long-term

stage**

Secures new learning

Enhances brain connections

Sharpens visual and perceptual skills

Processes emotions and relieves stress

Inspires creativity and boosts energy

Reduces homeostatic sleep pressure

5 to 15 minutes

Same as Stage 2 above

Important Facts Y

å Stage 2

Light to moder-

ate sleep

å Stage 3

Deep sleep

5 to 15 minutes

Same as Stage 3 above

å Stage 4

Deepest sleep

5 to 15 minutes

Same as Stage 4 above

ou Should Know About Sleep

å Stage 3

Deep sleep

5 to 15 minutes

Same as Stage 3 above

å Stage 2

Light to moder-

5 to 15 minutes

Same as Stage 2 above

ate sleep

å Second REM Dreaming

20 to 60 minutes

Same as REM stage above

stage**

*Add the minutes of each stage together for total naptime. The timing of each stage of sleep is unique to each nap, so times shown are approximations. In addition, sleep deprivation, medications, health issues, timing of the previous sleep session, and other factors can alter the cycle pattern. Infants have shorter sleep cycles than shown.

**The time spent in REM sleep increases with additional cycles. Infants spend more time in REM sleep than older babies and children, who have more REM sleep than adults.

Note: The same sequence applies to night sleep, resulting in fi ve or more cycles per night and bringing that well-rested morning feeling.

The No-Cry Nap Solution © Better Beginnings, Inc.

1

3

14 Nap Magic

Why the Timing of Naps Is

Vitally Important

From the moment your child wakes in the morning, he is slowly

using up the benefi ts of the previous night’s sleep. He wakes up

refreshed, but as the hours pass, little by little the benefi ts of his

sleep time are used up, and an urge to return to sleep begins to

build. When we catch a child at in-between stages and provide

naps, we build up his reservoir of sleep-related benefi ts, allowing

him a “fresh start” after each sleep period.

As shown on the sleep chart on page 8, as children age, the

length of time that they can stay happily awake increases. A new-

born can be awake only one or two hours before tiredness sets in,

whereas a two-year-old can last fi ve to seven hours before craving

some downtime. When children are pushed beyond the time span

that is ideal, biologically speaking, for them to be awake without

a rest break, that’s when they become fatigued and unhappy. As

the day progresses and the sleep pressure builds, a child becomes

fussier, whinier, and less fl exible. He has more crying spells, more

tantrums, and less patience. He loses concentration and the abil-

ity to learn new information. The scientifi c term for this process

is “homeostatic sleep pressure” or “homeostatic sleep drive.” I call

it “the Volcano Effect.” We’ve all seen the effects of this on a baby

or child, as it is often as clear as watching a volcano erupt; nearly

everyone has observed a fussy child and thought or said, “Some-

one needs a nap!”

As a child progresses through his day, his biology demands a nap

so he can regroup. Without a nap break, the homeostatic pressure

continues building until the end of the day, growing in intensity,

so that a child becomes overtired, wired, and unable to stop the

explosion. The result is an intense bedtime battle with a cranky,

overtired child who won’t fall asleep no matter how tired he is.

Even more, a child who misses naps day after day builds a sleep

deprivation that launches her into the volcano stage much easier

Important Facts You Should Know About Sleep
15

and quicker. If she is missing naps
and
lacking the appropriate

nighttime sleep . . . watch out!

This concept brings to light one more important point: quality

naps can make up for lost night sleep—but extra nighttime sleep

does
not
make up for missed naps, as made clear by the homeo-

static sleep pressure concept. Therefore, no matter how your child

sleeps at night—great sleeper or poor sleeper—his daily naps are

critically important to release the rising sleep pressure.

Infants have a much shorter span in which their sleep pressure

builds. They rapidly reach the peak of their volcano in one to

three hours. This is why newborns sleep throughout the day and

why young babies require multiple naps. Over time as a baby’s sleep

cycle matures, he will be able to go longer periods between sleeps.

It is not until age four or fi ve that a child is able to go through the

entire day without a nap, and research suggests that even through

adulthood, a midday rest break is benefi cial in reducing the pres-

sure. The following charts represent the building and outcome of

the Volcano Effect.

The Volcano Effect for a Child Without a Nap

14

•

12

10

e

ssur

8

re P 6

4

Sleep

2

0

•

00

00

00

00

00

00

00

00

0

00

00

7:

:00

:00

:00

8:

9:

7:

10

11

1:

2:

3:

4:

5:

6:0

8:

12

AM

PM

Time of Day

16 Nap Magic

The Volcano Effect for a Child with a Midday Nap

14

12

10

e

ssur

8

re P 6

4

Sleep

2

0

•

•

•

•

00

00

00

00

00

00

00

00

0

00

00

7:

:00

:00

:00

8:

9:

7:

10

11

1:

2:

3:

4:

5:

6:0

8:

12

AM

PM

Time of Day

The Volcano Effect for a Child with Two Naps

14

12

10

e

ssur

8

re P 6

4

Sleep

2

0

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

00

00

00

00

00

00

00

00

0

00

00

7:

:00

:00

:00

8:

9:

7:

10

11

1:

2:

3:

4:

5:

6:0

8:

12

AM

PM

Time of Day

Is Anyone Else in the Family Affected by

Homeostatic Sleep Pressure?

The Volcano Effect is not something reserved for children! This

biological process affects adults as well. Understanding this can

Important Facts You Should Know About Sleep
17

help you interpret what is really going on in your home at the end

of a long day when children are fussy and parents are grumpy—

resulting in a whole mountain range of volcanoes. What’s more,

each person’s moodiness feeds off the others’, causing contagious

crankiness. You’ll fi nd yourself losing patience and saying to your

child, “I’m sorry, honey. Mommy’s just tired right now.” (This is a

very telling explanation we don’t often stop to analyze.)

Homeostatic sleep pressure can tell us much about the time of

day that is often referred to by names such as the “fussy hour,”

the “witching hour,” or the more desperate (and, amusingly, most

common) nickname, defi ned for us by Dictionary.com:

arsenic hour
(AR.suh.nik owur)
n
. the time of day when both

children and parents have come home but dinner has not

yet been served, seen as being diffi cult due to everyone being

tired and hungry

When a daily nap routine is established, you may be delighted

to fi nd that you can avoid this daily meltdown and your evenings

will become a more relaxed and pleasant time for all.

Avoiding Late-Day Naps

You can’t force a child to be sleepy just because the clock says it

is naptime. We all know what it’s like to put a bright-eyed, wide-

awake child in bed—there’s no sleep to be had for anyone! How-

ever, it makes sense that the longer your child has been awake, the

more tired he becomes. Sleepiness must build up to an ample level

in order for your child to feel tired and fall asleep again. Therefore,

you must allow enough time between sleep sessions to build up

this pressure. This explains why a child resists a nap too soon after

waking up in the morning and why a late nap too close to bedtime

brings a bedtime battle.

Keep in mind that sleep pressure is not the only biological pro-

cess affecting your child. The “magic gifts” are being given out all

18 Nap Magic

Studies completed at NASA of military pilots and astronauts

found that naps improved working memory, performance, and

alertness and offered a boost in mental sharpness. In general,

they found that longer naps were better naps.

night long or all through a nap. If your child’s sleep period has not

been long enough, he won’t wake up fully refreshed, at the bot-

tom of his volcano. He will wake up somewhere in the middle or

even toward the top. This explains the early-waking baby or short-

napping child who is grumpy and fussy right from the moment

he awakes. He hasn’t received his full allotment of gifts—and he

knows it!

The Biological Reason for the Second Wind

What happens if your child falls asleep, perhaps in the car or in

your arms, for only fi ve to fi fteen minutes? He’ll likely wake up

appearing refreshed and full of energy and be unable to fall back

to sleep. If you’ll refer back to the “magic gifts” (sleep benefi ts)

chart on page 12, you will see that the very fi rst stage of sleep

reduces feelings of sleepiness. Therefore this brief micro-nap has

eliminated tiredness for the moment but has not allowed a child

to gather his gifts from all the other sleep stages. One of those

benefi ts is reducing his building sleep pressure, so the pressure is

still there, just masked for a short time by the reduced feelings of

fatigue. But as the day goes on, the mask is lifted to reveal a child

more prone to frustration, fussing, crying, and temper tantrums.

What happens when you miss your child’s tired signs entirely

and ignore his building sleep pressure? Your child may end up fall-

ing asleep on his own in a soothing environment, such as while

Important Facts You Should Know About Sleep
19

riding in the car, sitting in a swing, or lounging in front of the

television, and catch his fi ve or ten minutes, or he might take a

long, late nap that interferes with bedtime. Or your child might

pass over his tired spell and catch a second wind—without any

sleep at all. Suddenly, he’s fi lled with energy and action, as if he’s

had a double cappuccino! How can this be?

This no-sleep second wind occurs because your child has yet

another system affecting his feelings of tiredness and alertness: his

circadian rhythm
, commonly called his
biological clock
. All human

beings have this internal clock that regulates wakefulness and

sleep. When it’s working properly, we feel awake and alert during

the day and sleepy at bedtime. Our clock easily resets itself each

day based on our sleep habits, the timing of our meals, and our

exposure to light and dark.

The biological clock functions separately from homeostatic

sleep pressure, so even if sleep pressure is building, the timing

of meals and the effects of activity and light can bring a child a

whoosh of alertness even if he hasn’t slowed down for a nap. How-

ever, sleep pressure is still there, hiding beneath the surface, and it

continues to build. Later in the day—likely after dinner or during

your prebedtime routine—your child will have a sudden drastic

increase in fatigue, which causes battles with an exhausted child

who, ironically, cannot fall asleep easily.

Some children have internal clocks that set easily; others have

a fi nicky system that can be upset by a disruption in the nap

schedule or any kind of external cue, such as lights or noises after

they fall asleep or too early in the morning. Haphazard nap and

bedtimes, irregular mealtimes, or too much activity before bed-

time can skew a child’s biological clock as well, disturbing his state

of biochemical equilibrium and causing an inability to fall asleep,

poor-quality sleep, an inability to nap, or too-early waking in the

morning.

The human biological clock needs winding every day, and set-