Pregnant & Can’t Sleep? Here’s What’s Likely Causing It & How To Help
How well do you sleep at night? Perhaps the better question is, how well do you think you sleep at night? In truth, we humans aren’t the most accurate when it comes to self-reporting the quality of our sleep. We tend to overestimate just how many hours we sleep each night, even when we wake up feeling tired. On top of that, it’s become almost a badge of strength to need fewer hours of sleep (spoiler alert: it’s not). The answer is we need sleep. Not in a nice-to-have way, but in a ‘must-have’ way when it comes to long-term health and wellbeing.
Most sleep experts agree that for adults of all ages, a minimum of 7 hours of sleep each night is key to healthy functioning. But it’s not just about the number of hours spent sleeping, it’s also about the quality of the sleep you’re getting. Those nights when you’re tossing, turning, and oscillating between being asleep and being somewhat awake might feel like you’re mostly sleeping through the night, but in reality, those fragmented cycles aren’t as restful as they could be.
There are times in life when your sleep will be more prone to disruption (newborn phase, we’re looking at you). Pregnancy also comes with a lot of side effects that can interrupt nighttime sleep. It’s actually a bit of a paradox: it’s a time when your body is believed to need more sleep, however, the impact of hormones and associated symptoms often end in getting poorer sleep overall. The good news is there are things you can do to improve the quality of your sleep and set yourself up for a better night’s rest at this time.
We asked our community what they struggle with most when it comes to getting good sleep during pregnancy, and although we got hundreds of answers, it all boiled down to 5 main reasons. We’re listing those below along with our top tips for managing each one and supporting healthier sleep in general.
Most common sleep struggles in pregnancy & how to cope with them
Nausea and/or heartburn worsens when lying down
The combination of a growing baby pressing up on your stomach and relaxin loosening the tissues that close your stomach off from your esophagus can lead to a buildup of acids that contribute to heartburn and nausea. When you lie down at night that pressure can increase and worsen the symptoms.
Sleep tip: Be mindful of what you eat for dinner and when you eat it
It’s best to give your body 2-3 hours after dinner to digest before lying down. This will give your digestive system time to break down a large majority of the food you’ve eaten, which can reduce stomach acid buildup that contributes to heartburn. Also, pay attention to the foods that your body reacts negatively to. In general, fatty foods, spicy foods, and foods high in fermentable fiber (such as onions or beans) can worsen the production of acid reflux and gas that can make these symptoms worse and make your nights less restful.
Needing to pee several times during the night
Once again, hormones and the added pressure that your baby places on your bladder contribute to this pregnancy symptom. Increased urination is also a byproduct of the fact that your body fluids increase by around 50% in pregnancy, meaning your kidneys have to work harder to flush out all toxins, resulting in more trips to the bathroom during the day… and night.
Sleep tip: Watch your caffeine intake
If you’re pregnant you’re probably watching your caffeine intake already, but even small amounts of caffeine can disrupt your body’s natural sleep-wake cycles since it acts as a stimulant. But caffeine also acts as a diuretic, meaning it increases your need to urinate and can increase those nightly trips to the loo. Remember that caffeine isn’t just in your morning coffee! Here are a few surprising caffeine culprits to be aware of.
Difficulty getting comfortable
Pregnancy… hurts sometimes. Especially as you progress into your later stages, everything starts to ache and the idea of getting comfortable makes you want to laugh and cry all at the same time. Discomfort is a big enemy of restful sleep, so whatever you can do to support comfort at night is the goal.
Sleep tip: Invest in a good body pillow
We know it sounds simple, but a quality pregnancy body pillow is a gal’s best friend when it comes to more comfortable sleep. If you have a partner, tell them to make room because there’s a new #1 snuggle buddy in your bed. Enough said.
Your mind races at bedtime and you have more anxious thoughts
Once the noise of the external world quiets down, the noise of our internal thought process gets a lot louder. Racing thoughts is one of the most common complaints of individuals struggling to sleep or dealing with insomnia.
Sleep tip: Do a downloading session
A downloading session is a chance for you to let your mind actively recognize your thoughts and feelings from that day. We love an unstructured journal session right before bed, where you can write down what happened that day and your feelings about it. Sometimes we don’t realize all of the thoughts we’re holding, but putting them out into the world and on paper can allow us to better process those thoughts and move past them.
You can’t fall asleep or you wake up in the middle of the night for no reason
Hello again, hormones. Due to your heightened levels of progesterone, which are needed to sustain a pregnancy, you’re likely experiencing two things: increased daytime sleepiness and fragmented sleep cycles at night. The result? Serious fatigue. If you’re noticing that you’re really struggling to fall asleep or stay asleep at night, it may be your very delicate balance of hormones that is throwing things off.
If your sleep is significantly disrupted to the point that it is impacting your daytime activities, please talk to your doctor as pregnancy insomnia is common and there may be safe treatments available to you. Alternatively, there are additional things you can do to naturally create a healthier sleep environment. We’ll leave you with our 5 top sleep hygiene tips that should support better sleep whether you’re pregnant or not.
5 Ways To Clean Up Your Sleep
Maintain a routine. One thing all new parents learn is that successful sleep for babies is built on routines. The secret is, we all sleep better when we have a routine. Sticking to a regular bedtime and wake time — during the week and on the weekends — can make a huge difference to your sleep health.
Take care of your circadian rhythm. The hormones that control our sleep and wake cycles are intricately tied to daylight hours. It’s a pretty cool system we naturally have, but modern-day lifestyles and technology have managed to derail these internal clocks. Making sure to get sunlight exposure during the day and reducing blue-light exposure (aka screens) at night can help restore a more natural circadian rhythm.
Reduce bedroom stimuli. We’re all used to a lot of noise and activity. In fact, there is a structure in our brain that is responsible for monitoring all of the stimuli around us and filter out what is important and what’s not. That part of your brain stays active at night, so when we have a lot of stimuli around us while we sleep, it can be hard for your body (and brain) to get the rest it needs. Keeping your bedroom as dark as possible at night and reducing external noises can help you get more restful sleep.
Get the temperature right. Your body temperature plays a key role in helping you fall asleep, as a decrease in temp is needed to fall and stay asleep. Lower room temperatures can help support that process. The ideal temperature for sleep is actually right around 18˚C (or 65˚F).
Use the power of your breath. While it’s still an area that needs more research, scientists have been looking at breathwork as a treatment for insomnia. Researchers have suggested that insomniacs are more likely to have an autonomic dysfunction that leads to activation of their sympathetic nervous system (our natural activation response). Small-scale studies have suggested that this can be effectively treated with slow, paced breathing techniques that activate the vagus nerve and trigger the parasympathetic nervous system (our natural calming response). We have bedtime breathing exercises available in the Baby2Body app so you can tap into this any time you need.
If you’re a parent of a newborn (or are soon to be), the number one reason your sleep is disrupted is likely due to the fact that babies have a very different sleep schedule from adults. We’re planning an upcoming post all around newborn (and new parent) sleep — so please leave any questions on that topic in the comments below!
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