Inside: Feeling frustrated because you can’t sleep? These 5 pregnancy sleep tips will help you get more rest.
Sleeping well when you’re pregnant is like a unicorn…
It’s a rare and beautiful thing, that doesn’t exist!
It’s so crazy that somewhere along the evolutionary line there wasn’t some adaptation we developed that helps us naturally get rest while we’re busy growing a human!
Lack of sleep is hard enough when you’re not pregnant, but now your body is putting in a lot of extra work to nourish a baby so you’d just think there would be some kind of easy button…
But spoiler alert…there’s not
The lack of sleep leaves you cranky, exhausted, lethargic, and you’re unable to concentrate on certain tasks.
So what can you do to fix it?
Try These Pregnancy Sleep Tips To Get More Sleep
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1. Do this to avoid getting up overnight to pee
Drinking water is necessary while pregnant so this can seem like getting up overnight to use the bathroom is something you can’t get around.
But if you drink more water during the day, then you can drink less in the evening before you go to sleep.
This’ll help eliminate how many times you have to get up at night to pee.
Once I was further along in my first pregnancy, I don’t think there was a night that went by that I didn’t get up to pee overnight, (usually more than once) and it drove me NUTS!
So when I was pregnant the second time, I drank more water during the day, and the last couple hours before bed I really limited what I drank and it helped!
There were actually nights that I didn’t have to get up to pee!
2. Get a pregnancy pillow for sleep
If you’re uncomfortable when you sleep, (which happens a lot as your belly gets bigger and your sleeping positions are limited) try getting a pregnancy pillow.
I always slept on my stomach before I was pregnant so it was a huge adjustment for me to start sleeping on my side, but a body pillow helped immensely!
I used to not sleep on my side because I loathe the feeling of my knees touching. It’s horribly uncomfortable for me.
When I had to start sleeping on my side, I knew I needed to do something to avoid my knees touching.
I tried stuffing a normal pillow between my knees which worked…until it shifted during the night.
Then once feeling the pillow was gone, I’d wake up to grab it from the depths of the several covers and blankets, to put it back between my knees.
While comfortable when I first fell asleep, I ended up waking up throughout the night anyway because the pillow always moved.
So if a normal pillow doesn’t work for you either, try a body pillow.
These don’t shift like a regular pillow does, it helps with overall comfort, and you don’t have to wake up in the middle of the night to reposition it.
Find out what other pregnancy essentials you need to stay comfortable!
3. Get rid of heartburn
Heartburn is essentially stomach acid that comes up to your esophagus, and it feels like a burning sensation in your chest.
If you’re prone to heartburn, or you have heartburn now that you’re pregnant, try to avoid eating heavy meals too close to bedtime. (Heartburn is often worse when you’re laying down).
You’ll also want to avoid eating foods like tomato sauce, hot/spicy foods, or fried foods.
You can also try sleeping on 2 pillows stacked on top of each other to get more of a reclined position, so the acid can’t come up to your esophagus as easily.
4. Exercise regularly
As long as your healthcare provider approves this, you’ll want to fit in regular exercise, (you should be shooting for 30 minutes a day).
Exercising during pregnancy improves circulation, reduces leg cramps, and helps you fall asleep better at night.
You can also try these exercises for an easy labor and delivery!
5. Take naps
Naps help a lot if you aren’t getting enough sleep at night. They saved me!
During my first pregnancy, I almost always went home after work and passed out on the couch for a little bit. I usually napped for about 30 minutes and when I woke up, I felt better.
Just make sure your naps aren’t really long because then you may not be tired at bedtime, which would then interfere with your sleep at night.
Final thoughts
Although good sleep can disappear as your pregnancy progresses, (much like the view to your feet as your bump gets bigger) these pregnancy sleep tips can help restore comfort to promote better sleep!
And who knows, maybe one day evolution will give us that adaptation for easy pregnancy sleep…
Related Reading
How To Beat Morning Sickness With These 10 Effective Tips
How To Write A Birth Plan and Why You Want One
The 12 Best Books About Pregnancy and Childbirth
These are great tips! I definitely would not have survived pregnancy without my pregnancy pillow.