If you find it difficult to sleep during pregnancy, it’s totally normal as most pregnant women experience this. Maybe you’re worried or anxious about your baby and your mind keeps turning at night rather than sleeping.
Maybe you are several months gone in your pregnancy that you aren’t comfortable enough physically to sleep due to an aching back or tender breasts. Perhaps, you have raging hormones that you just feel bothered. Or perhaps your baby is quiet throughout the day and then begins to do karate moves around the time you want to go to bed.
Whatever the case may be, sleeping problem, otherwise known as insomnia, is a common problem among pregnant women. While you might have considered taking a sleeping pill or sedative when you were not pregnant, you can’t do that now as it can affect your baby’s health negatively.
You want to sleep but you also don’t want to do anything that will jeopardize your baby’s health. So what can you do?
Home Remedies for Sleep During Pregnancy
Below are some natural remedies for women who have sleeping problems during pregnancy.
Nutrition
If you aren’t finding sleep easy to come by during pregnancy, eating foods rich in carbohydrates like crackers or bread can help you sleep better.
Also, drinking a cup of warm milk can promote sleep. Additionally, a snack rich in protein is capable of keeping blood sugar levels up and could help in preventing headaches, hot flashes, and even bad dreams. Avoid coffee during this time.
Reduce Your Naps
A few things will sound better than taking a nap when you are pregnant. However, if you are dealing with insomnia, frequent naps can further worsen your issue by throwing the circadian rhythm that controls your sleep off. The first couple of days without taking naps will surely be miserable but rest assured that it will get better after a few days.
Relax
Anxiety, discomfort, worry, and stress can all lead to sleepless nights during pregnancy. Being able to physically and mentally relax is a crucial factor in fighting against insomnia whilst your body is getting your baby ready for the outside world. You can consider relaxation techniques such as yoga or light stretching, breathing exercises, mindfulness, and meditation, to boost sleep during your pregnancy.
Go Tech-Free
The brain usually gets stimulated by blue light, so you should turn it off two hours at least before going to bed. This includes smartphones, laptops, tablets, and televisions. Keeping any of these gadgets on works exactly like sunlight, giving your brain signals that it’s time to be awake.
In fact, the orange night settings will stimulate your brain in some way. Instead of using all those gadgets, turn on a lamp and read from an out-of-date book. Then, this will inform your brain that it is time to create melatonin, which is a calming hormone that bolsters healthy sleep.
Limit Beverages
While you need to take a lot of fluids while pregnant, try taking them early in the day. Visiting the bathroom frequently at night can disrupt your sleep. In the early months, you will have very high levels of progesterone and a developing uterus that prompt you to visit the bathroom frequently.
In the later months, your child is pushing your bladder as he drops down into your pelvis. So if you can abstain from taking drinks, this should help you sleep better at night.
Exercise Regularly
Except you have been warned against it by your doctor, you should exercise on a regular basis during pregnancy: maybe light 30-minute workouts daily. Working out in the morning, afternoon, and evening can help improve your sleep at night. However, keep away from exercising late in the evening because such exertion could result in insomnia.
Sleep Positions
Since getting comfortable may be the most difficult part of sleeping during pregnancy, you can effectively fight insomnia by finding a nice sleep position. You will need to figure out a safe pregnancy sleep position, meaning sleeping on your back in the last three months of pregnancy is likely out. While sleeping on your side is ideal, it can be difficult for the hips. You need a cervical pillow to cushion your head, back, arm, and legs to allow for more comfort.
When a new life is growing inside your body, it is vital that you get a lot of sleep. Although insomnia sets in and makes your life unbearable sometimes, there are natural solutions to make it better. If you are battling with sleeplessness during pregnancy, try the 7 natural remedies we have discussed above.