Healthytalk8 Insomnia during pregnancy
Contents
Insomnia and sleep deficiency during pregnancy is very common, and women reported sleep disturbance during pregnancy.
Insomnia is a common sleep disorder, like sleep apnea where a person faces difficulty in falling asleep.
Pregnancy comes with changes in hormones, physical, mood, and emotions, which may influence sleep (1)
Evidence shows that during the 1st, sleep increases (7.4 to 8.2 h), and by the 3rd trimester, it decreased (6.6 to 7.8 h) (2).
Insomnia during pregnancy normally affects about 80% of pregnant women (3).
Sleep deficiency during pregnancy and non-pregnant affect the quality of life and also increase the risk of accident and mood-related issues.
Poor sleep quality may be a risk factor for developing depression symptoms during pregnancy (4) (5)
During pregnancy, there are many reasons which may play a vital role in sleep disturbance including:
- Growing belly discomfort
- frequent urination
- pain
- hormonal changes – progesterone, and estrogen (a big factor during pregnancy)
- discomfort during roll
- hot flashes
- breasts might feel sore and tender during pregnancy
- weird dreams
- nausea and vomiting
- stress, and anxiety about future delivery, not getting sleep, etc
- heartburn
Check Out – Insomnia In Women: Reasons, Common, And Management
Natural remedies for insomnia during pregnancy
A complete medical history including risk factors is pivotal for diagnosis and treatment and early interaction is recommended (6).
Research tells those sleep problems during pregnancy can be kicked out if women adopt a healthy lifestyle during this time.
Check Out – The ABCs of Insomnia: What You Need to Know
So there are top 8 natural remedies for insomnia during pregnancy that promote sleep including:
Exercises
Research indicated that exercise has a positive impact on the sleep quality of pregnant women.
Despite this, there are other studies that do not find evidence that exercise may also improve insomnia in pregnant women.
It is recommended that exercise for 30 minutes every day, but 4 to 6 hours before bedtime (7)
Exercise makes you tired by sucking your muscle energy, the central nervous system also loses its ability to keep moving your muscles
This results in, muscle fatigue, which makes you feel tired (8)
Moderate exercise or these exercises are usually safe during pregnancy include:
- walking
- swimming and water workouts
- riding a stationary bike
- yoga (butterfly pose, cow pose, etc)
- weight training, but don’t go hard, and under the vision of a specialist
In addition, exercise during pregnancy becomes more complicated so precautions should be taken including:
- Avoid being over-heated, or dehydrated
- Wear good supporting clothing during light running, swimming, and lifting weight.
- Make sure don’t go with hard steps – means – don’t lift heavy weight, or overdo.
Herbal Tea
Herbal tea is most commonly primarily used during pregnancy due to its reducing pain effect on labor (9) (10).
Commonly used herbal teas are known to be – fennel, peppermint, ginger, thyme, chamomile, sage, and green tea (11)
Drinking chamomile tea is help with sleep, also rich in antioxidants, and anti-inflammatory properties.
A study where college students showed that drinking chamomile tea is effective in relieving painful menstrual pain.
Other studies have shown that chamomile as hot tea or essential could produce better results for improving sleep.
Check Out – Popular Herbal Tea And Their Health Benefits
Consume melatonin-rich foods
Melatonin is a hormone that produces by the brain (from a pea-sized gland) in response to darkness, primarily known for sleep.
There is also certain food that naturally contains serotonin which includes:
In addition, many people find that melatonin supplements help relieves periodic insomnia.
A meta-analysis reported that (MT) was beneficial for treating most primary sleep disorders over the short-term (4 weeks or less).
Several studies have shown that (MT) supplement is safe in the short term but there is no clear confirmation for the long term.
Check Out – Is Melatonin The Sleep Aid You’ve Been Searching For?
Make sleepy environment
It is one of the most important factors that play about 60 to 70% role in falling asleep. so what does that mean?
Making a sleepy environment or habit or sleep education – means that for example:
- Take a warm or luke water bath which is the best step toward increasing quality sleep.
- rooms light should be dim, bright light may interfere with melatonin production
- the bedroom should be cool, dark, and free of devices (the best temperature has been found to be between 15.5 to 20 degrees)
- trying to go to bed at the same time every night
- avoid watching Tv, mobiles, or laptop because their blue light can interfere with sleep
- sleep lying on the left side, and use a pillow to support the belly, and prevent back pain
Some things that you keep in mind include:
- Avoid spicy, heavy, and oily food can leads to discomfort
- drink enough water throughout the day but decreased before 2 to 3 hours before sleep
- avoid caffeine, nicotine, and excessive alcohol
- take a daytime nap, instead for the evening
If you experience rest legs syndrome then prescription medicine is beneficial for you.
Essential oil
Some essential oils may provide therapeutic benefits that can reduce common issues during pregnancy like anxiety, and improve sleep.
A study where Korean students are included showed that the lavender fragrance had a beneficial effect on insomnia.
Also relieves period pain, because it contains varieties of properties like antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, etc, even used in cramp medicines.
Try pillow support
During pregnancy sleep position can be difficult due to pain, discomfort, and pressure.
Pillow or cushions are the best way to reduce pregnancy discomfort like back pain, Growing belly discomfort, etc.
Sleep on your left side or if you are a back sleeper use pillow or cushion to prop yourself up instead of lying flat for periods.
Elevate your head and trunk with pillows, also placing pillows under your knees can relieve pressure in your low back.
In addition, a heating pad on the back may reduce pain and improve sleep (13).
Check – Best Sleeping Position During Pregnancy
Massage
Well, popular articles have shown that massage may be associated with improved sleep quality during pregnancy.
Massage therapy is the most commonly recommended for pregnant women with back pain (a common issue that makes sleep hard)
Make sure massage is only done with professionals because a little mistake makes a big impact on pregnant women (14).
But the question is, insomnia is a daily problem so going daily professional may not be a budget-friendly.
So your partner can do massage on you at home, but with precautions – means – avoid this area during the massage include:
- Your belly, which we know why
- legs, but not too hard, make sure your partner does not use too much effort or pressure on leg tissue.
So massage your partner’s head and legs with light and (a wonder therapy for the best mom sleep)
Check Out – Facial Acupuncture: How Does It Work? Benefits, Adverse Effects
Meditation
Women who have never done meditation and start during pregnancy, then there may be problems focusing on starting.
Meditation helps bring down the heart rate by lighting the parasympathetic nervous system and empowering slow breathing.
In this way, meditation expands the possibility of a quality night’s sleep.
A 2015 study in the journal Obstetric Medicine results in shown that meditation may help with insomnia during pregnancy.
Meditation also has several health benefits including:
- Reduce mental issues like depression, anxiety, stress
- improve focus, attention, and memory
- help In Pain Tolerance
- decrease high Blood pressure
- improve sleep
- prevent the brain from negative feelings or thoughts
If all these above-given ways are not enough to get you to sleep, then you should consult your doctor.
BOTTOM LINE
Sleep during pregnancy can change during every trimester, where sleep decreases about 6.6 to 7.8 h in the 3rd trimester.
Many natural ways to promote sleep during pregnancy or kick off insomnia include – relaxation, certain foods, sleep environment, etc.
