A healthy and fulfilling sleep, without a doubt, is of great importance for any person. And if we are talking about a pregnant woman, then for her, sleep is needed doubly, since an inferior rest at night affects a woman's condition the whole next day. If the future mother does not sleep at night, then the next morning she will feel tired and irritable, which can not be considered useful. In addition, the body of a pregnant woman with a lack of sleep starts to work on wear and tear, and worst of all - the fetus experiences the same emotions and sensations as the mother. That is why, so that insomnia does not affect the health of mom and her baby, it is necessary to fight this condition.
It should be noted that sleep disorders can occur already in the first weeks of pregnancy. According to some experts, this condition, however, like the state of drowsiness, is an early sign of pregnancy and the reason for this is hormonal changes. However, most often insomnia begins to torment women in the third trimester of pregnancy. As the statistics show, about 78 percent of pregnant women have difficulty in sleeping during pregnancy, while at least 97 percent of women suffer from insomnia in the third trimester.
Causes of insomnia during pregnancy
The causes of this condition can be both psychological and physiological.
Psychological reasons:
- Nightmares
- Mental overstrain during the day
- Excitement due to forthcoming births
Physiological causes:
- Night cramps
- Heartburn or heaviness in the stomach
- The stuffiness in the bedroom
- Frequent urination in the toilet
- Back pain
- Inconvenient position
How can you cope with insomnia during pregnancy?
The first thing to do is set the mode. It is necessary to go to bed and wake up at about the same time. This way you can adjust your biological clock. Rapid falling asleep can help warm milk. It is better to drink an incomplete glass of milk, so as not to get up at night to the toilet, otherwise you will again have to struggle with insomnia again.
A pregnant woman should monitor her diet. A woman needs to reduce beverages and foods containing caffeine, especially six hours before bedtime. Caffeine is found in products such as coffee, energy drinks, tea (including green), chocolate, cola.
Before going to bed, you should not eat spicy and fatty foods, otherwise at night, you may experience heartburn or indigestion. Although a pregnant woman should monitor the use of water to avoid dehydration, but in the evenings it's better to minimize drinks, then night trips to the toilet are unlikely to torment a woman.
Another important point is relaxation. You can try to take a warm bath. Relaxation will also be facilitated by massage, listening to calm and quiet music, yoga.
Help to build a sleep sometimes helps and study the techniques of relaxation in childbirth. In addition, such exercises, if carried out continuously, will prepare a woman for childbirth.
Do not forget about the surrounding atmosphere. In the bedroom there should be no TV, computer or telephone. The bedroom should be a place to sleep or have sex.
Before going to bed, it is worth to understand - whether the temperature is comfortable in the bedroom. Maybe the bedroom is not quiet enough or too light? If noise prevents, then you can use ear plugs, and from excess light, you can save the curtains and mask.
For a good sleep, it is also worthwhile to remove the clock from the bedroom, since the arrival of sleep will interfere with the ticking hands of the clock.
If a good sleep prevents the awkward position of the body, then you can use pillows. Pillows can be put so that to support the stomach and back. It is better to sleep on the left side, for better supply of blood and nutrients to the baby.
And the main thing is to worry because of insomnia, it will only exacerbate the situation. If you do not get to sleep for 30 minutes, you can walk around the room, listen to music or read a book until you begin to sleep.
And, of course, during pregnancy you do not need to take sleeping pills. To solve the problem it is better to consult a doctor.
It is worth noting that sometimes insomnia is one of the many signs of depression.