Sleeping disorder during pregnancy

When a woman is pregnant, she undergoes numerous physical and emotional changes. Also, her hormonal levels and activity changes significantly during every trimester of the pregnancy. Therefore, various changes take place once a woman gets pregnant and she might experience many irregularities in her life, sleeping disorders being one of them.

Pregnancy and Sleeping Disorders

During the first trimester of the pregnancy, a woman may have to visit the bathroom often and this might keep her up every once in a while, disrupting her sleep. Also, the stress involved with the new experience and the very notion that a new life is being carried in her body may be overwhelming for a woman, keeping her up at night. Finally, sleeping more during the day, which is a common scenario for pregnant women, may result in sleeplessness during the night.

As the second trimester comes, urination during the night is less common and, thus, the sleeping patterns normalize a little bit. Nevertheless, the pregnancy itself is getting closer to its peak, making the future mother anxious and prone to staying up at night.

Ultimately, once the third trimester is reached, the big belly may lead to discomfort during sleeping, leading to frequent waking up. Also, heartburn, leg cramps and sinus congestion come to the picture, making sleeping a whole lot harder. Finally, the baby presses on the bladder once again and the frequent urination returns, affecting sleep negatively.

Tips for Sleeping Tight during Pregnancy

First of all, if your sleeping gets disrupted during your pregnancy, you need to tell your doctor about it. Yet, some of the following steps may help too.

Try to support your belly and back with additional pillows and place one between your legs, so that you may move from side to side easier.

Next, concentrate on improving your nutrition. Drink a glass of milk before going to bed, or have a snack rich in carbohydrates and proteins. This routine will prevent bad dreams, will make you more relaxed and will grant you a sound, serene sleep.

Additionally, you can benefit from learning how to relax through yoga, meditation and various other techniques. Just make sure you exercise at least 4 hours before going to bed.

If all else fails, you may use some sleeping medications. Just make sure that these are safe for you and your baby.

If your medical tests prove that you are suffering from a sleeping disorder called sleep apnea, try losing weight, avoiding alcohol and sleeping pills as well as smoking. Also, try to sleep on your side rather than on your back.

If these steps seem incapable of helping you, you may need to undergo a continuous positive airway pressure therapy or a surgical procedure for treating sleep apnea.