Becoming a parent is a beautiful, life-changing experience, but it can also be overwhelming. If you’re like most new parents, you may find yourself running on little sleep, constantly juggling responsibilities, and wondering how to fit in a few minutes for yourself. You’re not alone. Research shows that parents of newborns lose hundreds of hours of sleep in the first year alone, and 50 to 70 percent report clinical levels of insomnia symptoms. This lack of rest takes a toll on mental and physical health, relationships, and overall wellbeing.
Despite these challenges, parents strive every day to show up as the best version of themselves –energized and present– while running on little sleep with a never-ending list of to-dos. If only there were an easy way to access support proven to improve sleep, reduce worry and stress, and help regulate the nervous system during those precious moments when your child is peacefully resting.
Nanit x Headspace
To celebrate the launch of Nanit’s newest feature, NextNap, Nanit is partnering with Headspace, the leading mental health companion for everyday support, to give parents the tools and resources to recharge while your baby rests. Together, we’re helping you turn nap windows into opportunities for calm, clarity, and restoration.
Headspace is the most science-backed mental health app, with more than 70 peer-reviewed studies demonstrating improvements in stress, anxiety, depression, wellbeing, and perhaps most importantly, sleep. The app offers a wide range of sleep solutions, including sleep music, soundscapes, sleepcasts, and sleep meditations. Research shows these tools can improve sleep quality, efficiency, duration, and latency, and overall sleep problems.
Beyond these resources, Headspace has developed Finding Your Best Sleep, a three-week self-guided program that blends gold-standard cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) techniques with mindfulness and meditation. In a recently published randomized controlled trial, the program significantly improved both sleep and mental health outcomes. And because it requires only 5–10 minutes per day and Headspace is right on your phone, it’s an accessible option for even the busiest new parents.
To better understand how these solutions can support families, the Nanit and Headspace research teams are launching a joint randomized controlled trial. In this study, Nanit members who are new parents will be randomly assigned to either use the Finding Your Best Sleep program or join a waitlist control. The goal of this study is to learn more about how short, science-backed practices can improve sleep, mental health, and daily functioning for parents during this demanding stage of life.
Every parent deserves the chance to rest, recharge, and feel their best. With Nanit supporting your baby’s sleep and Headspace guiding your moments of calm, you don’t have to choose between caring for your child and caring for yourself. To create more of these moments, we curated a collection of Headspace tools designed specifically for nap-time moments. Listen to a preview of the collection here.
Even a few minutes with one of these practices can reset your nervous system, lift your mood, and help you feel more present when your baby wakes. Because the moment your baby naps can be your moment, too.
