Do babies need dark rooms for naps?

In case you don’t want to read this, I will cut to the chase. Do babies need dark rooms for naps? No they don’t. Read on below if you want to find out why.

There seems to be confusion as to whether dark rooms are necessary for naps or not. There is a LOT of noise out there and most people say that if you are “doing naps properly” you will have them in a pitch-black room. Incoming (my blunt opinion).

From what I can tell, this is a myth that has risen from people not understanding the basics of how sleep works. There is an incorrect thought pattern that dark rooms will help babies nap because it helps with their melatonin production for naps. But guess what? Naps have NOTHING to do with melatonin production. Crazy right? I know.

Naps are purely under the control of something we call wake-sleep homeostasis (sleep pressure). The main driver of this is a hormone called adenosine. As a brain is used while awake, adenosine builds up as a byproduct of using the brain while we are awake, once it builds up to a point, the brain becomes tired and sleep is needed to allow levels to drop down again. Simple right? So what does this have to do with pitch-black rooms for naps? Stay with me.

The other major biological driver for sleep is the circadian rhythm (the internal body clock), and guess what, ideally it needs as much daylight as possible through the day so your brain can keep the circadian rhythm well established. Younger babies are in a process of developing a circadian rhythm, so exposing them to daylight when it is daylight (even when they are napping) helps them learn day from night, and we all know that is what every parent wants right?

So, babies don’t need pitch-black rooms for naps, and newborns ideally would be sleeping in daylight to help establish their circadian rhythm.

I am not saying you should get your baby sleeping in direct sunlight for naps. What I am trying to say is that stressing about pitch-black rooms doesn’t make sense, and I have been there, I had the black-out curtains, I did all the things, I know what it is like. But you know what, I wish I had known this when my son was younger, it would have reduced so much stress. Please don’t stress about having to have your child in a dark room for their naps. My goal is to educate parents so they can have freedom around how to do sleep in a unique way that works for them and their baby, rather than having blanket rules that all babies should be doing in order to “do sleep correctly”.

I will also mention that safe sleep guidelines suggest babies sleep in the same room as a caregiver to help lower SIDS risk. This suggestion stands for day and night (not just overnight), so it is ideal if younger babies are sleeping in the same room as a caregiver during the day, and night, sometimes that means it is easier to have them sleeping in the living area of the house while a caregiver moves around.

One caveat is that depending on the age, stage and temperament of your baby they may find a dim room helps decrease their sensory input which helps them calm down and get to sleep, especially if they are a busy baby. Some babies do well if you help them fall asleep in a dim room and then open the curtains a fraction after they fall asleep and let that daylight into the room which allows some daylight onto their closed eyelids so the BRAIN KNOWS IT IS DAYTIME. Other babies need more dim for their entire nap.

All of this makes sense right? Sleep does make sense when you understand it!

Busting 1 myth at a time, let me know what sleep myth you want busted next?!