Many women feel tired during pregnancy, mainly in the first trimester and they need more sleep. Pregnant women try to keep themselves comfortable before falling asleep. About 78% women experience more disturbed sleep during pregnancy. Women who have sleeping problems are 20% more likely to undergo caesarean or experience longer labor duration. Good and plentiful sleep is proven to reduce the risk of birth complications. Let us look into the causes of bad sleep and few tips to solve the bad sleep during pregnancy.
Causes of Bad Sleep during pregnancy
There might be a number of reasons which causes discomfort while sleeping, below discussed are the few causes which you may face during the different trimester.
1st Trimester (1-3 Months)
- You may feel extreme fatigue throughout the day. This may lead to oversleeping during daytime and resulting in restlessness at night.
- Breast and general body tenderness for high production of progesterone hormones
frequent urination might cause disturb sleep at night. - Morning sickness despite its name might occur anytime.
- Emotional turbulence anxiety and over excitement may also cause during the first
2nd Trimester (4-6 Months)
- 30-50% of pregnant women experience consistent heartburn, also known as gastroesophageal reflux disease.
- Nasal congestion usually troubles women during pregnancy and their sleep.
- Vivid dreams and nightmares might haunt the nights in this trimester.
3rd Trimester (7-9 Months)
- Up to 15 % of women develop restless legs syndrome during their third trimester of pregnancy.
- More trips to the bathroom due to the kidneys filtering extra blood created internally.
- The body will also create more pressure on the bladder.
- Strain on hips, shoulder, and back due to the growing belly.
- Pains around the pelvis area is common, caused by hormones that loosen the
- Ligament around the area for delivery preparation.
Other Causes Include
- 80% of women experience some form of back pain during pregnancy.
- Shortness of breath due to more pressure on the diaphragm squeezing your lungs.
- Your heart rate increases during pregnancy to pump more blood.
- 30% of pregnant women snore because of increased swelling in their nasal passages, partially obstructing the airways.
Sleep Tips during Pregnancy
- Avoid caffeine and sugar that includes tea, coffee, and chocolate.
- Get enough fluids, but decrease them during night
- Have a light snack before bed like, cheese, whole grain muffin, warm milk is recommended.
- Treat yourself to a warm bath before bed.
- Set the bedroom to a temperature cooler than what you have normally, to combat your high body temperature.
- If you are in the mood, make love to your partner, this proven to aid better sleep for both of you.
- Kindly ask for a massage from your partner
- Do some relaxation exercises such as deep breathing and mild stretches to help your body cool down and relax.
- Stick to regular sleep routine.
- Do exercises which are safe during pregnancy.
- Channel your emotions into art, such as journaling, painting, drawing and music
- Do not take a long nap during the day time.
Avoid having spicy food and heavy meals, which can lead to heartburn.