Sleepless nights are most commonly associated with newborn babies, not pregnancy, but in reality if you aren’t careful, you could end up losing out on valuable sleep while pregnant, which in turn could harm your health and well-being as well as your unborn child’s.
Even if you’ve never previously suffered from sleeping problems, statistics have revealed that around 80% of all pregnant women suffer from sleep deprivation when pregnant. This could results in feelings of fatigue and exhaustion, as well as being placed in a bad mood as a result. Here are some simple tips to sleeping well during pregnancy period:
1. Avoid taking naps
While being pregnant, especially during the first few months of pregnancy, your hormones will be all over the place and you will often find yourself feeling tired and fatigued, even during the day and if you have nothing else to do, you may very well be tempted to take a nap. To ensure you sleep during the night however, you must have to skip the naps as they will make it harder for you to sleep at night. If you’re hungry and you’re planning on going out for a meal in the evening, but snack on food throughout the day, when you do go out, you won’t be as hungry due to all of the snacking. The same applies to napping and sleeping at night time.
2. Avoid late night eating
Of course you’re technically eating for two, but even so, if you want to maximise your chances of a good night’s sleep, you may want to avoid late night snacking at least two hours before bed. Eating late at night can cause heart burn, indigestion, and acid reflux, especially amongst pregnant women. Obviously any of things will feel extremely uncomfortable and will keep you up most of the night. Here are the top foods to avoid during pregnancy
3. Sleep on your side
You should ideally sleep on your side while pregnant as it reduces pressure on the uterus and can improve breathing quality but as well as that, it can help to reduce back pain and discomfort. Studies have revealed that sleeping on your left side is actually the most beneficial as it can help to improve circulation which means more oxygen and nutrients for you and your child. Find out the best sleeping positions during pregnancy
4. Turn off electrical devices well in advance
If you’re planning on going to sleep at a certain time, make sure you turn any electrical devices off at least 40 minutes before going to bed. Watching TV, listening to loud music, or playing games will all stimulate your brain, and if your brain is stimulated and working overtime, you simply cannot relax as a result.
5. Listen to relaxing music
Whereas loud music could stimulate your brain and leave you wide awake, calming and relaxing music actually does the opposite and so is absolutely fine. There is plenty of calming music out there to help you relax and unwind and listening to it to before you go to bed, or during even, is a great way of helping you to drop off.