How to sleep well through your pregnancy

If you are pregnant and tossing and turning in bed all night – you are most certainly not alone. It is difficult to slumber fitfully when one is pregnant – and 78% pregnant women suffer from sleeplessness. If you really want to blame your sleeplessness on something – you can begin by blaming the hormone Progesterone. Progesterone keeps your pregnancy going. It also makes you sleepy. But it makes you sleepy during the day and that then keeps you awake at night.

Then there is discomfort of every sort. No matter which trimester you are in – it is difficult to be comfortable. At first it is nausea, vomiting and vivid dreams that keep you awake and later it is your bulging belly, the rising gastric acid and the innumerable trips that you need to make to the bathroom that keep you awake.

As a tossing and turning expectant mom in bed at night – it may be reassuring to know that you have company in other tossing and turning moms-to-be the world over – but it is still very annoying to wait for sleep to envelope you when everyone else around you is fast asleep.

So do the following to sleep better.

• Get some moderate exercise during the day.
• If you are stressed – find someone you can offload to – before you go to bed
• Eat a balanced diet. Focus on having a light dinner that gives you enough complex carbohydrates and proteins, and eat this at least two hours before you go to bed
• Nibble on some dry fruit and/or drink a glass of warm milk just before you fall asleep
• Finish drinking your quota of water before 8 pm so that your trips to the toilet don’t keep you awake
• Minimize your caffeine intake
• Also minimize your chocolate intake – the combination of caffeine and sugar in chocolate can pep you up when you are dying to sleep
• Read something unexciting or listen to some slow music at bedtime
• Use pillows to make yourself comfortable
• When sleep eludes you – don’t keep lying in bed. Get up and do something until you feel sleepy again

Sleeplessness is just one of those things you will have to deal with if you are pregnant and tackle with natural measures. It is not advisable to resort to medication to catch up on shut eye. If at all you do take something for sleeplessness – always take it only after you consult with your doctor.

Napping during the day is a good way of catching up on sleep. Instead of counting the hours you slept at night – overcome your fatigue by taking a few short daytime naps. However, remember that if you sleep during the day you may not be able to sleep long hours at night. Concentrate on dealing with fatigue rather than counting the hours of sleep while you are pregnant.

Author Bio

Dr Debmita Dutta (MBBS, MD) is a Parenting and Wellness Consultant. She belives Parenting – is an Art that is deeply rooted in Science – Medical Science. It is impossible to Parent right without an understanding of how your child’s growing Brain and Body function – because his / her Brain and Body are what make him the person he is.