Waking up too early from naps

[likessleep]

My just turned 1 DS keeps waking 40 minutes after start of his nap (both for his morning and afternoon nap). He wakes distressed and has a bit of a 'meltdown', where he is just so tired.
I have tried leaving him to get back to sleep, which he sometimes does, but some times he just works himself into an overtired crying frenzy, so I get him up. He then is ratty and irritable until his next nap. He sleeps really well at night, 12 hours.
Any tips or ideas please?

he is over tired

a baby sleep cycle is around 45 mins so waking just before this can indicate over tiredness

try putting him to bed earlier and see if that helps

a few mins can make all the difference

I have used 'wake to sleep' to stop repeated waking during naps and it works (but my DS is only 9 weeks so don't know if it works with an older child). I just go in and partially wake him 15 minutes before the usual early waking time, 3 days in a row.

He goes to bed at half six in evening (he is zonked out then) and wakes at half six, sometimes later in morning (in a lovely happy mood and sits chatting to himself in his cot for a while). So I think he is getting enough at night. I'll try putting him down at 6pm, do you think?
His daytime naps have always been rubbish tbh.

Thanks so much for responding. I might try that partial waking, but he is such a light sleeper, I think he'll just wake up.
I'll try that too - thanks so much.
I am glad his nightime sleep is OK, that at least is some relief that he is getting some sleep!
I am hoping one day he'll suddenly turn into a 3 hour post lunch napper and my house will be immaculate with all of this extra time!

Have you tried patting or rubbing his back or stroking his head, face, arm before he is waking up so your already soothing him to sleep before he is too awake?

Try to not do a morning nap, move lunch forward to 11.30 or so and settling him after this so bed 12 ish and see how it goes for a week?

If he can't go without a morning nap, try a sofa snuggle together for a cat nap - 30 minutes then an outing and lunch then bed for longer nap.

It can take 7 days + for some children to settle into a new sleep pattern.

If he isn't settling in the day then try settling him 10 minutes earlier in the evening, if he goes to sleep ok and wakes at normal time, then do that for 4 days and then try another 10 minutes earlier but go back a step if he starts waking earlier.

Thanks Matnan, I am tempted to see what will happen if I cut out morning nap. That has happened a couple of times when he wouldn't settle in morning or we had more of a disturbed morning. He then slept for an hour and a half in the afternoon, so maybe he is getting to the stage of needing just one nap.
Thanks for posting.

Sounds like it LS, some do drop to one longer sleep about 12-15m

I would try it early afternoon so he is still tired enough to fall asleep quickly in the evening.