Tackling Sleeplessness When You Are Expecting

Sleeplessness occurs often during the last few months of pregnancy and sometimes in early pregnancy as well. You may find yourself deprived of sleep due to the growth in size of your stomach and the urge for frequent urination. If you find yourself deprived of sleep for a long time period or your level of sleeplessness increasing, contact your doctor immediately. Do not use medications for sleep without consulting your doctor.

Causes

Some underlying causes of sleeplessness during early pregnancy are:

• The hormone that induces fatigue during the day disrupts your sleeping pattern at night.
• You get up often to go the bathroom.

Some reasons that cause you to suffer from lack of sleep during the latter stages of pregnancy are:

• Increasing size of the abdomen prevents you from finding a comfortable position.
• You feel stressed and anxious about your labour.
• The baby starts kicking.
• You experience Braxton Hicks contractions.
• You experience restless leg syndrome which makes you move around in bed to calm your legs.

Some factors that may trigger sleeplessness at any point of time during your pregnancy are lower back pain,constipation,heartburns,hemorrhoids,breathlessness,leg cramps and nausea.

Prevention

Some ways to prevent sleeplessness are:

• Control your stress levels.
• Do not sleep on your back.
• Reduce small naps during different times of the day.
• Go to sleep when you feel tired even if this means earlier than usual.
• Cut down on your liquids intake at night to avoid bathroom visits. Compensate for this by drinking more liquids during the day.

Video on Dealing with Sleep Apnea During Pregnancy

Treatment

You can try to get yourself good sleep by trying out the following tips:

• Take a warm(not hot) water bath to put you in the mood for a good night's sleep.
• Relaxation exercises may help to cut down your levels of stress and anxiety.
• Massage your pelvic muscles. This places the uterus in a better position.
• Do not watch television in bed. Instead, you can play some soothing music that helps you fall asleep.
• Eat the last meal of the day around 3 to 4 hours before you go to bed. This reduces possibility of your waking up due to heartburns.
• Stretching your leg muscles before going to bed prevents leg cramps and minimises restless leg syndrome.
• Use pillows to support different parts of your body such as back, stomach and legs.
• Make sure the temperature in your bedroom is comfortable. Going to bed with the windows open to let in fresh air is a good choice.
• Take steps to minimise low back pain, constipation, heartburns, haemorrhoids, breathlessness, leg cramps and nausea.