Tips for Learning How to Sleep Pregnant
Do you need help to learn how to sleep pregnant? These 9 quick tips will get you back to sleep in no time!
Getting a good night of sleep when pregnant is no easy feat. There is the discomfort of a growing belly. The restless legs that do not want to quit moving. Even the baby kicks to the ribs that never end! Consequently, it may seem like decent sleep during pregnancy is a fantasy. Yet, that doesn’t have to be the case. Learning how to sleep pregnant is a skill that any woman can acquire if they want a restful night of sleep during each trimester.
Invest in a Quality Pregnancy Pillow
A pregnancy pillow is a special body pillow that cradles your changing body to allow for optimal rest. When you are figuring out how to sleep pregnant, your growing belly may need additional support. The hips, shoulders, and lower back may also start to ache during the second trimester. A pregnancy pillow offers the support that your belly demands by aligning your body into an ideal sleeping position. There are several styles of pregnancy pillows available, allowing you to pick the best fit for your expanding body. We have put together a pregnancy pillow comparison for our readers to help decide on what the best pregnancy pillow to buy is.
Train Yourself to Sleep on your Side
Many women enjoy sleeping on their backs or stomachs until the second trimester. But as your abdomen begins to expand to accommodate your growing uterus, it is best to switch to side sleeping. Why? Sleeping on your side, particularly your left side, reduces heartburn and increases blood flow to the extremities. When you are learning how to sleep pregnant, it is a great idea to get into the habit of side sleeping during the first trimester. When side sleeping is actually necessary due to a larger bump, you can already sleep through the night in this position.
Take a Magnesium Supplement, Lotion, or Oil
Magnesium is an excellent aid for sleep in both men and women. When you are teaching your body how to sleep pregnant, you may need extra magnesium in order to get a restful sleep. By getting adequate levels of magnesium in your body, your mineral levels may regulate. Pain and discomfort associated with restless legs may resolve. Magnesium is easy to find in pill form, but you may want to find a magnesium-based oil or lotion. Magnesium absorbs quickly through the skin, leading to faster relief.
Move More During the Day
Daily activity may help you get more sleep when pregnant. Exercise improves circulation, leading to less leg discomfort and swelling. Yoga, walking, and aerobics classes can all help to build up endurance and regulate your breathing. This is beneficial when learning how to sleep pregnant. Deep breathing can become more difficult during the second trimester. Organs begin to shift and the abdomen expands, leading to less lung capacity. By performing light exercise throughout your pregnancy, breathing may not be a problem for you.
Get Out of Bed
When you can’t sleep, don’t sit in bed. Instead, get up and take part in a passive activity that doesn’t involve bright lights or screens. Walk around the house, read a book standing up at the counter, or organize some baby clothes on the nursery floor. All these light activities can get your mind off of your inability to sleep, and also help tired you out. After half an hour, try again. Tossing and turning never leads to a restful night! Instead, get out of bed at the first sign of insomnia to make sleep more likely to come later in the night.
Keep Your Room Cooler Than Normal
Pregnant women are often hot. Your body is flooding with hormones, and blood volume increases by as much as 50%. When these physiological changes combine with a sensitive bladder and restless legs getting good sleep won’t be easy. Add in a warm room and you have a recipe for disaster as you are trying to sleep pregnant. Try setting your thermostat to a cool 60 degrees instead of the normal 68. While 8 degrees colder may not sound like much, it can make a world of difference in your sleep patterns.
Redecorate the Room you Sleep in
The beautiful gauzy curtains in your bedroom may look nice, but they aren’t keeping the light out of your face at night. And absolute silence may have worked for your sleep needs pre-pregnancy, but it is not ideal for training your body how to sleep pregnant. For deep and restful sleep, you will likely need to switch things up as you nurture your body and sort out how to sleep pregnant. Replace any curtains or blinds with blackout shades. The opaque fabric will keep out bright moonlight or annoying streetlights. That white noise machine that you thought would be great for your newborn? Get some use out of it now by installing it in your bedroom before baby is born. The white noise may help lull you into a deeper sleep, and the lack of light will help keep you there. The bonus to this situation is that your room will be ready for a newborn baby as well!
Keep Your Food Choices Mild
This tip is particularly crucial during the third trimester. The hormones that relax your uterus and pelvis in preparation for birth may also relax your stomach and esophageal muscles. This often leads to a tendency for heartburn to occur. Try to refrain from eating any foods that could upset your stomach or cause heartburn. Rich, fatty, and acidic foods can all lead to discomfort that might hinder your sleep efforts. Coffee, carbonated drinks, and sugary beverages can also cause burning. By avoiding these foods you may prevent a heartburn attack that could keep you up for hours, which can be a literal nightmare when you are still figuring out how to sleep pregnant.
Reduce Screen Time In the Evening
When you have been lying awake for hours trying to get some sleep, it can be tempting to scroll through your phone or work on a computer. Even so, this is a habit you should avoid! The harsh light from screens can mimic sunlight. This reduces the body’s ability to slow down and regulate for sleep. If you can avoid all screens for two hours prior to your desired sleep time, you will be doing your body a big favor. The lack of blue light might make it easier for your body and brain to relax into slumber.
In general, pregnancy is hard on a woman’s body. The physical and emotional changes can make everyday tasks seem nearly insurmountable. However, by learning how to sleep pregnant, you can overcome some of the aspects of the maternal period that make sleep hard to come by. What if you feel that you have tried everything, and you are still not sleeping well at night? At that point, you may want to speak to your doctor about other possible solutions. Everyone deserves a complete night of sleep, and pregnant women need sleep more than ever!
