How to Cope with Pregnancy Insomnia

Losing sleep is one of the major downsides to pregnancy. Over 78% of women experience some sort of insomnia during pregnancy. It can be very different from one woman to another, with some women being unable to get a good night’s sleep for months and others simply having a harder time drifting off.

Regardless of the level of your insomnia, there are some tricks that you can try in order to regain a quality sleep pattern. Whether you have trouble falling asleep at night or even if you find yourself constantly waking up during the night for no good reason, we’re going to provide you with some tips you can try in order to enhance your sleep.

Get Ready for Bedtime

Preparing yourself both physically and mentally for bedtime is a great way to reduce insomnia. There are many things you can do in order to prepare yourself for bed such as taking a nice warm bath to relax yourself. You can also try to relax by sipping a nice chamomile tea and reading a book.

Keep Your Bed for Sleep Only

It’s become very common for people to have televisions in their bedrooms. While it’s always nice to enjoy a quiet movie in bed, this can actually be bad for people with insomnia. You should never associate your bed with anything other than sleep. If you want to read a book, find a quiet space in your house and read it there, same for TV – keep it to the living room. Keeping your bedroom for sleep only will help you fall asleep much easier at night.

Eat or Drink Something

If you’re unable to fall asleep, you may just be hungry. If you’ve tried falling asleep and couldn’t get it to work, get up and go grab a small snack. We don’t recommend eating anything too big before bed, but a small healthy snack might be just what you needed to get to sleep. You may also find a glass of water or milk to be helpful as well.

Exercise During the Day

One of the main reasons for pregnancy insomnia is due to lack of physical activity during the day. You don’t have to go weight lifting for hours at a time, but there are many ways pregnant women can get rid of some extra energy during the day. Go for walks, do some yoga, do the dishes by hand instead of using the dishwasher. Getting rid of built-up energy during the day will help you sleep better at night.

Try Different Positions

Sometimes insomnia is caused by simple things like your sleeping position. If you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, try sleeping in different positions. If you normally sleep on your side, try sleeping on your back and vice versa. Do this until you find a comfortable position that feels natural. You may want to look up sleeping positions for pregnant women online for more ideas.