5 Tips to Get a Restful Night’s Sleep During Pregnancy
Pregnancy is one of the most memorable and challenging periods of your life. It temporarily alters the way you do things from your food, to clothes and even sleep! Since there’s plenty of talk on how healthy your diet should be, let’s focus on the importance of your sleep instead. Mind you, it is just as important!
This article focuses on 5 tips to get a restful night’s sleep during pregnancy. Have a look and tick off each of them along the way.
1. Sleeping Position
If you’ve been sleeping on your back, or worse, on your stomach, it’s high time you switch your position. While sleeping on your back will lead to backpain, difficulties in breathing, indigestion and low blood pressure, sleeping on your stomach is definitely not in favor of your child.
The best sleeping position to switch to is the SOS position. SOS stands for Sleep On Side, with left being your approved side. The American Pregnancy Organization recommends this position to comfortably accommodate your growing belly. More importantly, it will improve the flow of blood and help nutrients reach the placenta and your baby. You can find out about the best pillows to support back, side and stomach sleepers here
2. Limit Your Caffeine Intake
If you’re a caffeine addict, limiting your caffeine intake is probably going to break your heart. But you will have to do it to save your baby’s heart. This is because caffeine is a stimulant that kicks up heart rate and blood pressure, two things that are so not good to your vulnerable baby.
Caffeine can also disturb your sleeping pattern either by keeping you awake or by keeping your baby awake. When your baby is awake, he’s going to be tossing and turning in your belly and jerking you awake throughout the night.
While it is best to go completely without coffee, you might crave a mug in the morning to start your day. If that is the case, NHS recommends only 200 milligrams of coffee per day, which will roughly fill up about 2 mugs. Make sure you take it before lunch so that your system will have enough time to kick the effects of caffeine before you hit the bed.
3. Pillows – The More the Merrier!
Your pregnant body needs more support than ever to make yourself comfortable in bed. This is when pillows come in handy. Use as many pillows as possible, even if it means kicking your partner to the sofa, to accommodate your changing body.
If you’re suffering from a backpain, then a pillow under your stomach would be ideal. If heat burns have started to appear, try placing a pillow to raise your upper body. If you’re seeking more comfort, try placing a pillow at the small of your back.
Pregnancy can also create a disturbing snoring habit, which can be tackled by using an anti-snoring pillow. There are pillows and beans specifically designed for pregnancy as well. Get one of them to support your arms, neck and shoulders.
4. Watch Your Dinner
Nausea is the commonest discomfort during pregnancy and it only gets worse when you decide to hit the sack - disrupting your much-needed sleep. Watching your dinner and ensuring proper digestion of food before bedtime will help you fight nausea to a greater extent.
Start off by settling for light meals or bland snacks such as crackers for dinner. An early dinner at least two hours before bed can also help you immensely with digestion. Avoid spicy and acidic food such as chili and tomatoes right before bed because they cause chest burns and indigestion.
5. Stick to a Sleep Schedule
You might know when it is time to sleep, but your body might not. That’s why it is very important to get into a regular sleep schedule, even on the weekends. Try to be consistent with your bedtime routine as well. If you take a shower or read before bed, continue doing it so that it becomes a habit that signals your body when it is time to sleep.
Avoid taking electronic devices to bed as well. The blue light emitted from the screens can keep your brain awake for hours – disrupting your sleep.
Following these tips have proven pregnant women get a good night’s sleep. However, if none of the above works, then you might as well consult your doctor for pregnancy insomnia.
