It might be challenging to get a decent night’s sleep while pregnant, and you might be wondering why there is difficulty sleeping during pregnancy? It becomes more difficult to find a comfortable sleeping posture as you gain weight. In the middle of the night, you might need to urinate. As well as waking you up from heartburn.
Leg cramps and backaches are common in women, especially when they start to carry more and more weight. Many pregnant women’s dreams become more vivid than usual, and some even have nightmares.
How Much Sleep Should a Pregnant Woman Get?
Getting enough sleep is even more vital when pregnant!
How much sleep is advised for a pregnant woman? Eight to ten hours a night are generally advised by doctors.
However, as any mother who has experienced pregnancy will attest, that isn’t always achievable. Numerous issues could disrupt your sleep, making it impossible for you to get the nine or ten hours you need.
In light of this, try your best to get as much sleep as you can by staying in bed for at least eight hours. Don’t get disheartened if you only get seven hours of sleep per night; this just causes you to have more sleepless nights.
To come up with your own special response to the issue, “How many hours should a pregnant woman sleep?” try some of the suggestions we cover later in this article.
Everything will be alright if you do what feels right for your body and your unborn child.
Sleep by Trimesters
First Trimester
Your body goes through a lot of changes throughout the first trimester, both mentally and physically.
Your body is still under a lot of stress, even if you are less active during the day.
Without making up for this strain, you’ll become tired quickly.
The same way that first-time mothers should organize their day, they should also plan their sleep.
If you think you could use a nap, schedule one.
Additionally, go to bed every night at the same time, even if you don’t immediately fall asleep, to help your body adjust to the new schedule.
Second Trimester
Your sleep may actually get better during the second trimester of your pregnancy than it did during the first.
You might feel more energized now that your body has adjusted to the alterations that began in the first three months. Don’t let this fresh energy interfere with your regular sleep patterns!
Don’t give in to the urge to fill your day with activities just because you feel better. And by all means, keep getting as much rest as you can.
Third Trimester
When it comes to the issue of how many hours a pregnant woman should sleep each night, the third trimester is the hardest of the three.
The past three months have been filled with issues that will prevent you from getting the eight to ten hours of sleep you require to feel your best, including back pain, trouble getting comfortable, and your baby kicking at unusual hours.
If your schedule allows, take a nap if you find that you are becoming sleepy in the middle of the day due to inadequate sleep the previous night.
Additionally, as we have indicated, try not to worry about how much sleep you’re getting at this time. You already have enough to worry about! Just try to get as much rest as you can.
Tip For A Good Night’s Sleep
Go to Bed When You Are Sleepy
When you are pregnant, your body goes through a lot of changes. The quantity of sleep you require is one of those adjustments.
Don’t worry if you find yourself falling asleep earlier than normal. During pregnancy, it’s normal to feel sleepy early in the evening. When you’re pregnant, it’s crucial to pay attention to your body, so change your bedtime based on how you feel.
If your body demands it, there is nothing odd or improper about retiring to bed at 7:00 or 8:00 p.m.
Avoid Caffeine After Lunch
As a stimulant, caffeine may harm your sleep patterns in a number of ways.
The first is that it might keep you up well beyond your usual bedtime. Second, even if you do eventually fall asleep, you can wake up frequently throughout the night. Third, even a little coffee can keep your infant alert and active well into the early morning hours.
Your sleep’s quality and length can be significantly impacted by any one of these outcomes.
The best course of action is to fully cut out caffeine from your diet, but we understand that sometimes you just need a little boost.
We advise staying away from coffee after lunch because of this. Caffeine should only be consumed in the morning to give your body time to eliminate the stimulant.
Related: Should I Avoid Caffeine In Pregnancy?
Get Some Sun During The Day
To keep your body’s internal clock running well, you need to be exposed to sunshine during the day. Melatonin secretion—the chemical that tells your body to go to sleep—can be disturbed if you don’t get enough sun.
How much sun is required to maintain equilibrium? Twenty to thirty minutes per day are what we advise.
Consider going for a run or a walk as part of your daily sun exposure. Try reading a book outside or sitting by a window if you prefer a less strenuous choice.
Don’t forget to protect yourself while obtaining your vitamin D! We suggest sunscreen lotion with SPF 50 for the best skin defense from the sun’s damaging UV rays.
Create As Much Darkness As Possible In Your Room
During the day, you require light; at night, not so much. Make your room as dark as you can to aid your body in falling asleep deeply.
Remove all lights from your room and drape thick curtains over the windows. Any digital clocks or glowing devices should be turned off. Even a nightlight’s light can stop melatonin from being secreted.
You can get to sleep thanks to this melatonin. You may stay up much beyond your usual bedtime because of the absence of it. Even if you do fall asleep, you won’t get the deep sleep you require since your brain will detect the slight quantity of light passing through your eyelids.
Reduce Your Nighttime Exposure to Blue Light
Your body’s capacity to fall asleep at night can be significantly impacted by blue light, which is the light emitted by electronics with screens.
Blue-wavelength light increases attention, reaction time, and mood, which is why it is so disruptive. Your body is essentially tricked into believing it is still daylight by the blue light.
Turning off all electronic devices at least an hour before bed will help reduce the negative effects blue light has on your body at night. Your body has time to unwind and calm down as a result, making it easier for you to fall asleep.
Be Active During the Day to Improve Pregnancy Sleep
The best strategy to get more rest when pregnant is to work out during the day. Pregnancy workouts that are safe are widely available.
To keep your body active and fit, we advise low-impact sports like yoga, walking, and swimming. To give your body enough time to relax before night, try to finish your physical activity at least three hours before going to sleep.
Eat Lightly Before Bed
You may have trouble sleeping if you eat a lot right before going to bed. It raises body temperature and forces the stomach to digest when it wants to slow down.
On the other hand, not eating enough can cause you to experience nighttime awakenings due to hunger. For better control over desires, eat a nutritious dinner.
Eat a light snack, such as a piece of fruit or a handful of nuts, if necessary, two or three hours before going to bed. While still giving your body with enough calories to last you through the night, this provides your body time to digest.
Choose The Right Mattress
Your mattress of choice can have a significant impact on how well you sleep. You will have pressure points in your hips and shoulders if your mattress is excessively hard. Your neck and back won’t get enough support from a mattress that is excessively soft.
If your existing mattress isn’t working for you, buy a new one. To select the mattress that is best for you, make sure to test it out before making a purchase.
Breathe Deeply Before Bed
You probably anticipate that after a long, difficult day, you will quickly fall asleep and remain sleeping the entire night.
But far too frequently, the pressure of the present moment and the anticipation of tomorrow keep your body on edge and your mind racing. That keeps you from falling asleep once you turn out the lights, even how worn out you are.
The situation is further complicated by the fact that staying up later than you intended to sleep because you can’t fall asleep when you know you should simply make you more anxious.
By concentrating on a deep breathing technique to lower stress before bed, you can break this vicious cycle.
How To Do It Is As Follows:
- The point where the gums and the back of your front teeth meet should be touched with the tip of your tongue. While you practice breathing, keep your tongue in that spot.
- Exhale through your mouth while making a whooshing sound.
- For a count of four, quietly inhale through your nose while closing your mouth.
- For seven counts, hold your breath.
- Make an eight-count whooshing sound as you exhale through your mouth.
It’s been one cycle. For a total of four cycles, repeat steps 3-5 at least three times further.
There are Three Advantages to Using This Method:
- Your brain has something to focus on other than the important job project when you take a few deep breaths for the allotted period of time.
- Your heart rate will slow as you breathe deeply.
- Deep breathing allows you to release toxic carbon dioxide that can accumulate in your body and increases the amount of oxygen in your bloodstream.
Do not be concerned if you cannot hold your breath for a count of seven or cannot exhale for a count of eight (that defeats the purpose of the whole exercise).
Your lung capacity will increase as you practice more, allowing you to consistently hit those levels.
Use Aromatherapy To Sleep Better
Add some aromatherapy to your deep breathing exercises before bed to get a better night’s sleep and more restful sleep overall. Which fragrance should you apply? Lavender!
According to studies, inhaling the aroma of lavender before bed actually enhances sleep patterns by:
- Growing amounts of slow-wave sleep (SWS)
- Stages 2 (light) of sleep are increased
- Slowing down the quick eye movement (REM)
- Decreasing morning grogginess
Use fresh lavender or lavender essential oil to scent the space.
For clean, fragrant sheets, pillowcases, and blankets, use a dryer ball with lavender smell.
Keep a bottle of lavender oil near your bed, and spend two minutes inhaling the fragrance.
Aromatherapy and the deep breathing exercise from the previous stage are two excellent ways to unwind at the end of the day and hasten the process of falling asleep.
Keep Your Room Cool
For a restful night’s sleep, a room should be between 60 and 67 degrees Fahrenheit (with 65 degrees the number mentioned most often).
This range of ambient room temperature enables your body to cool off while you sleep. This therefore enables your body to divert the energy it expends to keep your body at a comfortable temperature (of about 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit) to other activities like repair and regeneration.
It is more difficult to fall asleep, causes restlessness throughout the night, and lowers the quality of the sleep you do get when the temperature is between 60 and 67 degrees.
Even though you may have the thermostat set to the 70s during the day, lower it before going to bed to ensure that it will be in the proper range when you switch off the lights.
Related: Best Sleeping Positions for Pregnant Women
Conclusion
We want you to enjoy your pregnancy, and we are aware of the importance of restful sleep for both you and your unborn child’s well-being.
Include these suggestions in your morning and evening routines if you have difficulties falling asleep or staying asleep all night.
We advise choosing one or two of the concepts that most intrigue you and experimenting with them for a few nights. Choose one or two more and include them into your normal routine after you are comfortable with those.
With patience and diligence, you can get a good night’s sleep every night for the nine months of your pregnancy.
Related: Pregnancy Insomnia
