Pregnant and having trouble sleeping? You’re not alone – difficulty sleeping is one of the universal struggles of pregnancy.
We’ve all been there. There’s nothing more frustrating than not being able to sleep, especially when you really, really need it. Inadequate sleep can be tough on the body and mind, particularly when you are growing a tiny human and also working full time.
Even though many moms work right up until their due date, the lack of sleep can make it hard to go through the day without feeling like a zombie. Why is sleep so hard to come by during pregnancy?
Causes Of Disrupted Sleep During Pregnancy
Why is it so hard to sleep during pregnancy? Significant changes in your body’s physical processes and hormone levels can contribute to back and hip pain, issues with sleep positioning, heartburn, congestion, swelling, vivid dreams, and leg cramps, all of which make sleeping a struggle.
Back, hip, and pelvic pain
Pain in the low back and hips is common during pregnancy, as the added weight of the baby and extra fluid in the uterus puts increased pressure on the joints and muscles. If you have been active and working for most of the day, that pain can really hit hard at night. Pregnancy hormones also cause the ligaments in the back and pelvis to become looser, which can further contribute to instability and discomfort.
Heartburn
They say when you have a lot of heartburn, your baby has a lot of hair. Although there’s no scientific evidence to prove this, it was absolutely true for me! Heartburn was by far my worst and most frequent pregnancy symptom, and a big reason why I couldn’t sleep well at night. So what actually causes heartburn during pregnancy? It’s probably not because of a head full of hair, but rather due to changes in the way your digestive system processes food, the effects of hormones, and the baby pushing on your stomach.
Side sleeping when you’re not used to it
If you’re not a natural side sleeper, it may be uncomfortable when you have to make that position change in the later phases of pregnancy. Doctors typically recommend side sleeping once you are in your third trimester to encourage good circulation. Side sleeping may also put increased pressure on your hips, which can lead to side-butt soreness.
Swelling
During pregnancy, the volume of fluid in your body increases drastically to support your growing baby. Along with all that fluid, there are changes in your blood vessels and circulation, which leads to swelling in the hands and feet. Swelling is usually at its worst in the evening after you’ve been active throughout the day, and it can lead to muscle soreness, discomfort, and even nerve pain from tissue compression. As we were swapping pregnancy stories, I remember hearing from a colleague of mine about how her carpal tunnel syndrome – likely caused by swelling in the hands – caused a lot of difficulty sleeping at night.
Needing to pee more often
When your baby isn’t bouncing on your bladder, your kidneys are working overtime to process all the increased fluid in your body – which basically means you need to pee all the time, including in the middle of the night.
Congestion, sneezing, and stuffy nose
Increased dilation of blood vessels in the nose along with inflammation of the nasal passages during pregnancy can lead to congestion, runny nose, itchy eyes, and sneezing, also called pregnancy rhinitis. I experienced this pretty badly in my third trimester, and it seemed to just get worse at night. It wasn’t particularly painful or uncomfortable, but the constant congestion made it hard to breathe and sleep comfortably.
Leg cramps
There’s nothing like being woken out of a peaceful, hard-earned sleep with sudden and severe leg cramps. It happens often in the later stages of pregnancy – you’ve finally found a comfortable position and you’re drifting off to sleep… then boom – cramp in the calf. It’s not like you can just drift back off to sleep either – they are often so severe that you have to get out of bed and stretch to get some relief. Estimates suggest more than half of all pregnant women get leg cramps. While there’s no one definitive cause, it could be due to dehydration, muscle overuse, dietary factors, circulation changes, or compression of the nerves supplying the legs. Regardless of the cause, it can significantly affect your sleep.
Stress
It’s important not to underestimate the potential for pregnancy-related stress to disrupt our sleep. We may lay awake at night worrying about work, finances, childbirth, relationships, our bodies, and other anticipated post-baby changes. These feelings may be amplified for first-time moms who aren’t quite sure what to expect.
Vivid dreams
It’s not uncommon for pregnant women to experience vivid dreams or nightmares during sleep. We don’t know for sure why they happen, but they may be a reflection of our conscious daily experiences, fears, and anxieties. They’re generally not something to be too concerned about, but they do have the potential to interrupt our sleep.
Tips For Getting A Better Night’s Sleep While Pregnant
It can be super frustrating to miss out on sleep during pregnancy, especially when you are already fatigued from working. True, we might not be able to do much about our body’s hormones, but we can make some adjustments to our sleep environment and behaviors to promote a better night’s sleep.
Use a pillow between your knees at night
Often, the simplest solutions yield the biggest results. Putting a pillow between your knees when lying on your side can help align your spine into a neutral position, alleviating back and hip pain. Standard pillows are fine if you don’t want to buy a pregnancy pillow. That said, I have to admit that I loved mine. It was so soft and supportive that I almost didn’t mind that it took up half the bed.
Stretch in the evening
A 5-10 minute stretch in the evening can help to calm you down mentally and ease tension in the muscles of your back and hips after a long day’s work. If you have nerve or sciatic pain (pain radiating down into the legs), stretching can help to reduce the pain intensity and promote a more restful night’s sleep. Regular stretching throughout pregnancy also helps to loosen the muscles around your pelvis, preparing your body for childbirth.
Don’t eat or drink too close to bedtime
Small diet changes can be hugely helpful if you’re looking to avoid excessive bathroom trips at night. Try to limit eating or drinking too close to bedtime, and keep evening eating (and drinking) to small portions only. Too much liquid or large meals at night can exacerbate heartburn or cause you to have to wake up to pee many times in the middle of the night.
Try a humidifier in the bedroom
If congestion is keeping you up at night, consider getting a humidifier. Dry air dries out your nasal passages and can lead to even more congestion and uncomfortable breathing. Humidifiers put moisture back into the air, which is particularly helpful when the air is drier in the winter. I struggled with night congestion in my third trimester, but using a humidifier in my bedroom actually helped a lot with it. Just make sure that you are cleaning out the humidifier and its compartments regularly (I cleaned mine once a week) to avoid mold buildup.
Try an air purifier
Congestion can sometimes be exacerbated by dust and other airborne irritants, in which case an air purifier can help. Air purifiers work to remove dust particles from the air and may help you to breathe easier at night, encouraging better sleep. If you decide to buy one, consider if it’s appropriate for the square footage of your bedroom and check that it has a HEPA filter.
Use nasal strips
Nasal strips can be yet another solution to frustrating nighttime congestion. They physically open up your nasal passages to help you breathe better. I used these a lot during my pregnancy, and they worked quite well. The only problem I had was that the strip would lose its stickiness and come off halfway through the night, especially if I used a lot of nighttime face cream.
Elevate your head for heartburn relief
If you have nasty heartburn like I did during your pregnancy, you know how disruptive it can be to a good night’s rest. Using a small wedge or pillows to elevate your upper body into a slight incline helps to keep acids down in the stomach where they belong.
Practice good sleep hygiene
Sleep hygiene refers to behaviors and adjustments to your environment that support a good night’s sleep. Practicing good sleep hygiene means creating a calming, peaceful environment at night – not looking at your phone before bed, setting a comfortable temperature in the bedroom, eliminating noise and light – and practicing the same bedtime routine consistently at the same time every day. It might take some time to develop good sleep habits, but once you do, restful nights are more within reach.
Try stress reduction or mindfulness techniques before bed
It’s not easy to turn our brains off and just fall asleep, especially when we are struggling with daily anxieties and stress. Doing these types of techniques in the evening helps to calm our minds and our bodies, preparing us mentally and physically for rest. For example, practicing gratitude or mindfulness in the evenings can help us deal with stress and feel more relaxed when it’s time to sleep.
Unless you are incredibly blessed, sleeping during pregnancy can be a challenge. We can’t change the physical processes of pregnancy, but we can adjust our behaviors and environment to promote as restful a night as we can get. These tips and techniques may not have you sleeping as soundly as your growing baby, but they’ll give you a better chance of getting the sleep you need to support you both.
