Sleeping During Pregnancy Tips: Prevent the Development of a Sleep Disorder
It is not unusual to have problems with sleep during pregnancy: falling asleep, staying asleep, and restful sleep. Not surprisingly, sleep disruptions from pregnancy also result from your shifting, growing body, which can make it a real challenge to get relaxed.
Hormonal changes, stress, and a host of normal physical discomforts like acid reflux, rib pain, or a squirmy baby are common causes of pregnancy sleep woes. Additionally, if your preferred sleep position is on your back, some women have difficulty drifting off, which becomes off-limits in later pregnancy to ensure that your expanding uterus does not inhibit proper blood flow.
Sleep can be challenging when you’re pregnant, even when you need it. When you are pregnant, here are the best sleeping positions, common problems and solutions, and other tips for getting the rest you want.
- Maintain a periodic pattern of sleep/wake.
Sleep prioritization is a secret to getting sleep. Making sure you go to bed and wake up at the same time every day goes a long way to becoming more awake and alert during the day (including weekends).
- Regularly exercise.
Unless otherwise instructed by the doctor, daily exercise should be performed for at least 30 minutes a day. It will increase circulation, boost mood, and help you fall asleep easier at night by taking out any pent-up energy through exercise. No intense exercise, however, should be carried out too close to bedtime. Few light workouts, such as yoga, are recommended if you choose to workout later in the day.
- Get out of bed while you are having trouble sleeping.
If you are alluding to sleep, don’t lie in bed ready for it to come. Get out of bed and do another relaxing thing before going to bed, such as reading, writing, taking a warm bath, or some other relaxing activity.
- Keep moving
During pregnancy, daily exercise is vital to keep you safe, fit, and mobile, and working out promotes better sleep. In reality, a wealth of studies show a positive correlation between sleep and exercise. Exercise also has the added advantage of improving circulation, which can minimize leg cramps at night.
- Get within a routine
You will probably be able to relax and drift off to sleep with more ease if you develop a regular, calming, and comforting evening routine. Try a few relaxing habits as bedtime approaches, such as drinking a cup of caffeine-free tea or hot milk, reading a chapter of a nice novel, taking a warm shower using fragrant shower gel, having a shoulder massage, or gently brushing your hair.
- Drink more water
You need more water than the average person while you are pregnant to make amniotic fluid, generate extra blood, develop new tissue, bring nutrients, increase the digestion, and flush out waste and toxins.
- Support your body with a pillow
A maternity or pregnancy pillow is a pillow designed specifically to accommodate and embrace the changing contours and curves of the body during pregnancy and to provide support for different sleeping positions. They are meant to provide the whole body with support and are thus much longer than the normal pillows.
- Nap During Daytime
Try taking a nap during the day to help alleviate exhaustion if you don’t get enough rest at night. Find a quiet place and relax, even if only for a nap for half an hour. Daytime naps provide a decent way to make up for missed hours of rest, as many pregnant women still experience fragmented sleep due to frequent nighttime wakes.
- Sleeping position
Taking these tips into consideration. Like, tend to favor your side of things. You can stop sleeping on your back, which may place the weight of your uterus on the muscles of the spine and back. But if you wake up on your back, don’t worry. As I have mentioned on the fourth tip is to support your body using pillows. Pillows that are strategically positioned will help you get comfortable. Try putting a pillow under your belly or between your bent knees.
- Prior to bedtime, avoid spicy foods and heavy meals.
Before bedtime, consuming spicy foods will increase the chances and intensity of nighttime heartburn. Eating heavy meals before bedtime makes the body work harder to absorb the food during sleep, preventing it from focusing on the repairs that your body needs for the activities of the next day. Try eating a light snack, such as a banana, crackers, and cheese, or a small bowl of cereal, if you feel hungry close to bedtime.
