Can you fight pregnancy insomnia?

Once your baby bump starts growing, your nights keep getting shorter, or so it seems! Insomnia is a common problem in pregnancy. Sleepless nights can be caused by a wide variety of factors when you are pregnant heartburn, frequent urination, and back pain are some of them. But perhaps the most common reason for insomnia in pregnancy is simply not being able to get comfortable with that growing body. To some extent, pregnancy insomnia is even useful, and prepares you for having a newborn, who wakes up throughout the night. But of course, getting a whole night's sleep is something everyone would prefer. Is there anything you can do to fight pregnancy insomnia?

Everyone with trouble sleeping is advised to create a "before bed ritual" that helps them wind down from the day's events. For some, this means reading a book, or watching some television. For others, having a nice bath with essential oils does the trick (be careful, not all essential oils are safe for pregnant women). Others like to go for a short walk around the block. Find out what works for you, and do your best to relax before going to bed. Making sure that you are able to get comfortable in bed with the help of additional pillows or a whole-body maternity pillow can work wonders.

Of course, you should also aim to make your bed room as comfortable and sleep-inducing as possible. Going to sleep in a dark room with a comfortable temperature (not too hot or too cold) and with no distractions like a computer or TV also helps. Finally, if you are suffering from heartburn, making sure that you don't eat for a few hours before going to be can really make a difference. This varies from person to person, so identifying what your personal heartburn triggers are is something you might need to work on.