# How does Livia know when the next nap is likely?

> Livia estimates the next nap and bedtime as a range, from typical awake times for your baby's age moved by your baby's own last week, and from the bedtime your family actually keeps. Here is exactly how the estimate works, what it rests on, and what it will never tell you.

Sleep · Published 2026-10-11 · Updated 2026-10-19 · https://livia.baby/blog/how-livia-knows-when-the-next-nap-is-likely

In short:

- Home shows a range, “around 2:10–2:40 PM”, never a deadline.
- It starts from typical awake time for the age and moves it by your baby's last week.
- Bedtime is the one your family keeps, set or learned; the day moves it half an hour at most.

Livia's home screen shows how long your baby has been awake and when the
next nap is likely, as a range, "around 2:10–2:40 PM", never as a deadline.
It starts from typical awake times for your baby's age, moves them by how
your baby's last week actually went, and takes bedtime from the one your
family keeps. It says what each part rests on. It is a routine estimate,
not a medical reading, and it is free in [Livia](/#download) rather than
part of a paid plan.

## What does the next-nap estimate look like?

On Home, under the sleep card:

> A 13-month-old on two naps, mid-morning: Sleep · Awake for 1h 40m · Nap in 35m, around 2:10–2:40 PM · Typical awake time before nap 2 (13 months · 2 naps): 3–4 h

**Awake for** counts from the last time you logged a wake-up. **Nap in** is
a countdown, with the range under it; after the last nap of the day it reads
**Bedtime in**. The line underneath says what the estimate rests on: the
typical awake time for the age, or "Mia usually goes down around 7:15 PM".

Tap the ⓘ and Livia says what the estimate rests on, with a link to each
source. The words are always "likely", "usually", "around". You will not see
"overtired", "overdue" or "should".

## How does it work for a newborn?

In the first six weeks Livia shows how long your baby has been awake and
the typical range for their age, and nothing else. Newborn naps are too
many and too irregular to predict a time for, so Livia does not pretend to.

## How is the next nap worked out?

One formula, from about six weeks on, with three inputs:

1. **The typical awake time for the age** (the table below). It is the
   starting point, and the range you see until Livia knows your baby.
2. **Your baby's own last week.** Once there are at least three awake
   stretches to go on, Livia looks at how far your baby usually runs from
   the middle of that typical window, and moves the window by that much,
   up to about a third of it. Only the last week counts, because babies
   change fast: a dropped nap rewrites it within days. The range then is as
   wide as your baby's own recent stretches spread, from ±15 to ±45
   minutes. When it's wide, the line under it says your baby's days have
   varied a lot lately, so the range is wide.
3. **Your usual bedtime**, for the last stretch of the day (below).

We tested this against real families' logs before settling on it. The aim
isn't a minute-exact time: it's a range the next sleep lands inside about
seven times in ten.

## How does it work for an older baby?

From about six months, Livia plans the day as a set number of naps, then
bedtime, with its own typical awake time before each. The stretch before
the first nap is usually shorter than the one before bed, so each slot is
estimated separately.

- **The nap count** is yours to set in Naps a day. If you don't, Livia uses
  what the last week's daytime naps show, and until it knows, the usual
  count for the age: three naps until about nine months, two until about 15
  months, then one.
- **A catnap under 30 minutes doesn't count as the nap**, so a ten-minute
  car doze doesn't reset the whole afternoon.
- **A nap that no longer fits is dropped for today.** If the next nap
  would push bedtime more than an hour past the usual one, Livia plans the
  rest of the day with a nap fewer and says so; tap the full count under
  Naps a day to keep it for today.

## How does Livia decide bedtime?

From the bedtime your family keeps. Set it in More → Nighttime hours →
Usual bedtime, or let Livia use the median of the last week's logged
bedtimes. That time *is* the estimate; the day only moves it, by half an
hour at most, when the last nap ended early or late. If you haven't set one
and the last week's bedtimes are an hour or more apart, the card asks you
once a day. Your nighttime hours decide what counts as a night; they never
set bedtime themselves.

## What happens if I forget to log a nap?

If your baby has been "awake" for more than twice the longest window that
applies, a nap probably went unlogged. Livia stops guessing: instead of a
next-nap time it shows the typical window, so the gap reads as "about two
naps", and the sleep row asks "Missed a nap? Tap to add it." The same
question appears in History for that day, and once you add the nap or say
"that's right", the estimate picks up again. In the evening a long awake
stretch is not treated as a missed nap, because your baby is simply not in
bed yet.

## What are the typical awake times Livia starts from?

These are the ranges Livia uses until your baby's own log replaces them.
They are the rule of thumb sleep consultants use; no pediatric body
publishes one, and the app says so.

| Age | Typical time awake between sleeps |
| --- | --- |
| 0–4 weeks | 35–60 minutes |
| 1–3 months | 1–1.5 hours |
| 3–5 months | 1.25–2 hours |
| 5–7 months | 2–3 hours |
| 7–10 months | 2.5–3.5 hours |
| 10–14 months | 3–4 hours |
| 14–24 months | 4–6 hours |
| 2 years and up | 5–7 hours |

If you use adjusted age for a baby born early, every one of these follows
the adjusted age.

## What does the estimate rest on, and what doesn't it?

Two things come from named sources, and the app links to them:

- **How many hours of sleep a day babies usually get**, naps included: the
  [American Academy of Sleep Medicine's recommendations](https://aasm.org/advocacy/position-statements/child-sleep-duration-health-advisory/),
  endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
- **That naps get fewer with age, and that a steady schedule helps**:
  the AAP's [sleep guidance on HealthyChildren.org](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/sleep/Pages/getting-your-baby-to-sleep.aspx).

The awake-time ranges themselves are not from a study, and Livia doesn't
dress them up as one. They are a starting point your baby's week moves,
never a target. When a figure has no source, Livia doesn't invent an
adjustment for it either: a "shorter naps mean earlier bedtime" rule was
tried and dropped because nobody publishes one. So were two ideas that
tested worse on real logs: letting the baby's own average replace the
table (it drifted with the family's routine) and nudging toward bedtime by
a fixed half hour.

## Can Livia remind me before the nap?

Yes, if you turn it on. In More → Reminders, one switch sends a quiet
notification 30 minutes before the likely nap or bedtime. It is scheduled
on your phone, not on a server, and it is off by default.

> **Is this medical advice?** No. Livia tracks routines. The next-nap
> estimate is about when your baby tends to get sleepy, nothing more. If
> you're worried about how your baby sleeps, talk to your pediatrician.

Huckleberry sells a similar estimate as SweetSpot in its paid plans; see
[how the two compare](/blog/livia-vs-huckleberry). In Livia it's on the home
screen of the free app. [Get early access](/#download).