Although when we think of pregnancy we always associate it with a woman sleeping soundly all day, the truth is that in pregnancy it is common for the mother to complain of sleep problems. It is estimated that two out of three pregnant women have a feeling of insomnia in pregnancy.
This lack of sleep can lead to certain problems in pregnancy and there are different studies that even relate lack of sleep with longer labor and even with a higher risk of Caesarean section.
We are going to try to clarify why insomnia appears and how to try to solve it.
Changes in sleep rhythm
Much of these sleep disturbances are due to hormonal changes typical of pregnancy, but also to the physical and psychological changes that our body undergoes during pregnancy. Depending on the time of pregnancy, the changes occur for one reason or another.
First trimester.
In the first trimester we already notice important changes in our sleep pattern.
On the one hand, progesterone, a pregnancy hormone causes a feeling of drowsiness during the day, but at night it causes less sound sleep, with frequent awakenings.
On the other hand, an increase in blood volume is necessary, so our body retains fluid. This increase in the volume of circulating blood, together with the action of certain hormones, makes the kidney is also strained, thus increasing the production of urine and the need to eliminate it. That is why we have to get up several times during the night to urinate and on many occasions it is difficult to fall asleep afterwards ...
Second trimester
Generally, it is usually the best in every way. Sleep disturbances will not be fully resolved, but you will find yourself much better.
You have to keep in mind that the action of the hormone Progesterone is the same, so that, although it will decrease the feeling of drowsiness during the day, at night the sleep will be shallow and you will wake up several times.
Almost certainly you will fall asleep 3 or 4 hours at the beginning of the night and then you will have the feeling of not having been able to fall asleep from that awakening. You really have slept fitfully, but with a shallow sleep.
It is the moment when nightmares can appear. Many moms complain of strange pregnancy, baby, or delivery nightmares that appear during the second trimester and can last until the end. They are because our brain expresses the fear of the unknown that we all feel, but that during wakefulness the deepest areas of our consciousness remain and are manifested during sleep.
Third trimester
By now the baby is heavy and moving a lot. So it does not stop moving and wakes us up continuously. You will have to "come to terms" with him on sleeping postures.
You may be comfortable in a position, but if the baby is not well like that, he will not stop moving until you change...
Their sleep rhythm is different from ours, they don't sleep many hours at a stretch.
EIn the womb, babies take short naps, so you will almost never have the feeling that they are not still.
You will feel the need to urinate very frequently. The bladder is compressed by the weight of the baby and its greatly diminished capacity.
You may start to snore. This is because the uterus presses on the diaphragm. Also the air flow will be reduced by the sensation of nasal congestion typical of pregnancy. Sometimes snoring is so loud that you will wake yourself up.
Snoring is a fairly common and normal situation in pregnancy. Even if sometimes, it can occur from certain real health problems.
Do not hesitate to consult your doctor if you have the sensation of apnea or shortness of breath during snoring. A feature of sleep apnea is loud snoring accompanied by gasping or choking during sleep.
If you have been diagnosed with high blood pressure in pregnancy, preeclampsia, diabetes or any other complication in pregnancy, you should consult with your doctor as soon as snoring appears, even if you do not feel apnea yet.
What can I do to control my insomnia?
During pregnancy it is not advisable to take medicines to get to sleep. Although under the prescription of your doctor there are certain medicines or natural remedies that are accepted as a lesser evil.
Never take anything without consulting a specialist. Although some acquaintance or family member has been in treatment and the particular conditions of each pregnant woman did well, it can never be generalized.
Most moms manage to control pregnancy insomnia by improving what is known as sleep hygiene.
It is best to keep a few very simple rules to help us fall asleep and make it more restful:
- Good nutrition. La eating it is a key piece in these cases. Avoid copious, highly spicy or very fatty foods. Never skip dinner early and light dinner including all nutrient groups.
- If you eat at home and you feel very tired you can take a little nap of 10 or 15 minutes. Afterwards you will feel totally relieved and with charged batteries.
- You must maintain good hydration, drinking plenty of fluids throughout the day. But a few hours before going to bed decrease the amount of liquid you drink.
- Urinate before going to bed. The need to empty the bladder will appear later and you will sleep longer at the beginning of the night.
- Don't have exciting drinks after noon. Caffeinated drinks, coffee or tea are exciting and diuretic. They will make it difficult for you to fall asleep and maintain it.
- Get some exercise every day, but never in the hours before you go to bed. Exercising in the middle of the afternoon will do you very well.
- Get bored before you go to bed. Doing a lot of activities before sleeping causes some excitement that makes it difficult to sleep. The same happens with electronic devices, such as computers, tablets or smartphones. Better to read a book and reduce activity as much as possible in the hours before sleep.
- Go to bed as soon as you start to feel drowsy. If you wait, you may overcome that first feeling of sleep and clear yourself.
- Have a glass of warm milk before going to sleep. It is the "grandmother's remedy", although grandmothers add honey or sugar. Whether or not you can add it depends on weight gain or the appearance of gestational diabetes.
- Make sure the room is cool. When it is very hot it is more difficult for us to fall asleep.
- Get into a comfortable posture. Although if you are in the third trimester you will have to adapt to what is comfortable for the baby as well ...
- Demand not making to-do lists or thinking about the next day's activities. The best thing is to forget the worries of the day to day.
- Use some relaxation technique. Your midwife can teach you several and it is a matter of practicing them and seeing which is the most suitable for you.
If, even so, the insomnia does not improve or it worsens, consult your doctor, he will assess the treatment possibilities.
Remember that the insomnia of pregnancy disappears as soon as our child is born.