Maggie Evans 
Any pregnant woman can tell you sleeping while pregnant is a hassle let alone doing everyday tasks. Because of the exhaustion, the shift of hormones, weight gain among other new changes happening to their bodies. Sleep quality is affected and it gets challenging as you head towards your third trimester. All you have to do is figure out what helps pregnant mothers sleep better. Plus, consult with your doctor regarding what to expect every month and how it affects your sleep. Getting this information will help you plan your sleep routine and get more quality sleep. There are a few tips that can help you sleep better while you are expecting as discussed below. Also if you are expecting and still don't know the due date, I suggest you check this handy tool.
Check what you eat before bed
Do you always experience heartburns once you lay in bed to sleep? These heartburn triggers are caused by eating right before bed or eating foods that could trigger it. It is common among pregnant women to wind up with heartburn. Due to how slow the digestive system works while pregnant due to the shifting hormones. Some of the food that can cause heartburns are spicy meals, fatty foods, citrus fruits among others. Hence it is best to avoid these meals closer to your bedtime or follow how your body is behaving while you eat certain meals at certain times. This is best solved by shifting meal times and having a sleep routine with less or no meals before bedtime.
If you’re plagued by the munchies before bed, picking light, nutritious, and easy-to-digest foods can help lull you to restful sleep. Here are some examples of healthy evening snacks you can try:
- Whole grain cereals with milk: Complex carbohydrates and protein help promote better sleep. Choose cereal options that contain less than 10 grams of sugar.
- Cottage cheese with berries: Lean protein sources such as low-fat cottage cheese contains tryptophan. This amino acid makes you drowsy. Berries, on the other hand, are not only sweet, but are also a natural source of melatonin, a sleep-promoting hormone.
- Peanut butter toast with bananas: This complex carb-protein evening snack helps induce sleep, especially when adding banana slices, another good fruit source for melatonin.
- Warm milk infused with cinnamon: Improve sleep during pregnancy by drinking a glass of warm milk. The melatonin and tryptophan content of milk and the sweet note of cinnamon make up a healthy evening snack.
Know how to position your pillows
Leg and feet swelling or edema is a common occurrence during pregnancy, and pillows play a vital role in helping reduce pregnancy-related edema. Using high-quality pillows, like handmade designer buckwheat pillows, bring more comfort than ordinary ones.
Know how to position your pillows
Once you lay on the bed to nap or sleep. Put one or two pillows between your bent knees according to how you feel comfortable. This is a comfortable position that helps you stabilize and prevents you from rolling over on to your back. Ensure your beddings are comfortable to keep you aligned in bed for the pillow to help you with back pain. This pillow trick also helps to alleviate pressure on your spine, surrounding nerves and hip area. Also, it helps with any pain management you could experience. Since the muscles, especially at the back, are straining due to the enlarged uterus that is pushing you forward. Other pregnant mothers prefer pillows that are made for pregnancy and a good type of mattress warehouse. For they work more effectively to ordinary ones.
Have an exercise routine
Expectant mothers that were exercising constantly before pregnancy. Do not find it difficult to exercise during their pregnancy, but of course pregnancy based exercises. However, to those unfamiliar in this field should try to exercise regularly. Even when exercise seems like work to most fatigued pregnant women. Getting a few minutes of aerobic exercise, a walk or swim will help you feel worn out to sleep deeply. These simple exercise routines are great for your back as they help relieve the pain you experience. For through the stretches, your muscles strengthen and they get more flexible over time which is a good thing.
Change sleeping position
As your pregnancy progress, you will have to adjust your sleeping position. Sleeping on your stomach will not work for you. Neither will sleep on your backside help either. Sleeping on your back while pregnant causes breathing issues, low blood pressure, and backaches. This affects your comfort and quality of sleep at night. Hence sleeping on your side is recommended by many doctors and it is the best way to ease any back discomfort. Practice side sleeping from earlier on in your pregnancy to get familiar with it. So that your body adjusts to the new sleep position as your pregnancy progresses, you will have to adjust your sleeping position.
Pee before bed
If you are expecting and heading to your second trimester. By now you have noticed that you are peeing frequently than usual. For the first time expectant women, it is not that there is something wrong with your system but it is normal. As you progress further along in your pregnancy. Your body has to deal with a ton of pressure and hence the need to feel like peeing almost every time. Since this need happens either during the day or at night. To make sure you sleep at least halfway through the sleep. Get to pee at the last minute before bedtime and trick your mind that once you do that every night it helps to wake up less. This works for some women but some still have to wake up again at night. Since disrupting their sleep more leads to poor sleep.
Adjust the positioning of your bed
By propping up the head of your bed. You can sleep better especially to those that experience heartburn and toss a lot at night. This positioning is a good sleep solution remedy and some find it better by using pillows to prop you up under your shoulders. While in bed you can try some relaxing habits. For instance, light reading, listening to soothing music or meditation that has proven to work for many people to help induce deep sleep. Ensure your sleep environment is comfortable and your room is dark for it signals your brain it is time to sleep. Others find adjusting the room temperature or getting the beddings not too warm working for them.
Stretch your legs
Do you get leg cramps a lot at night? This is a sign of a lack of magnesium or calcium in your system. Talking to your doctor about these cramps will ensure that you get the right supplements that will aid with relaxing your leg muscles. These leg cramps are painful and since you have to wake up every time you experience them. Your sleep is disrupted often and hence you get poor quality sleep and uncomfortable sleep too. Sometimes if you suffer from restless leg syndrome your sleep gets less comfortable too. Some remedies for this are getting your folic acid on time and ensure you are well hydrated. Ensure you do some stretching exercise before going to bed. Especially your calves to prevent the leg cramps from occurring.
Sleeping when expecting can be difficult but by following these tips you might be able to get a good night's sleep. Different challenges may occur when the baby is born and they might be related to breastfeeding, lack of sleep, hormonal imbalance, etc.
