Apparently many women struggle with getting to, or staying asleep during pregnancy, this can be caused by any number of factors; Backache or breast pain, anxiety or worry about pregnancy, birth, family matters or even money! Your baby is more likely to be pretty active between 10pm and 1am as well, all of these things coupled with a bladder the size of a cashew nut add up to a poor nights sleep. You can also expect to be having weird and vivid dreams caused by (what else) building hormones, my personal favorite was the dream about walking talking crocodiles wearing synthetic blonde stripper wigs, chasing myself and Hiro from Heroes through an adventure training compound... Nail biting stuff let me tell you!
But you already know that you cant sleep, what you want to know is how to beat it and get some much needed z's, so how to do it? well here are some ideas:
Try not to go to bed too tired; as ridiculous as that may sound, if your body is over tired your brain may struggle to turn off at bed time. You can combat this by trying to sneak in a nap during the day, if you have small children try get your feet up while they nap. If you work a day job try sneak off to a quiet place during your lunch break for a quick forty winks. Another option is to try and arrange one day a week where you can work from home so as to give your body and mind a rest away from work.
Try get some exercise during the day; studies have shown that taking some gentle exercise on a daily basis helps you sleep at night, think about going for a walk outside but don't overdo it. If you can get the blood flowing nicely without tiring yourself out to the point of exhaustion then you should find yourself nodding off by bedtime.
Have a warm bath before you go to bed; Not to hot of course but throw in some luxurious bubble bath, maybe light a candle or two and have a relaxing bath. Once you've lounged for a while and towelled off with a fluffy towel, you will almost certainly be looking forward to sliding into your comfy bed for a good nights sleep. You can use some aromatherapy oils but you have to be careful what you use as some are unsafe during certain stages of pregnancy, check out the link for which ones to use. Lavender's a goodie for sleeplessness though!
Warm drink before bed; This is a tried and tested method for anyone suffering from trouble sleeping, whether its warm milk, chamomile tea, or hot chocolate, a nice warm drink taken while your lying in bed can help your body get itself ready for sleep. Stay away from heavily caffeinated drinks for obvious reasons...
Pre-bedtime meditation; Even if your not an advocate of meditation there is no denying that taking some time to lie down and clear your mind and relax you body helps you to relax, so if you do it in bed before you sleep it stands to reason it should help you drift off. You may find in fact that you fall asleep during the process!
Lie down on your bed, I would suggest getting under the covers just in case you do fall asleep. Once your comfortable imagine a ball of light above your head, make it any colour you like, something soothing and comfortable. Imagine that light passing through the top of your head, filling your head with that warm soothing colour, slowly the light passes downwards, filling your body with warm soothing light. The light clears away your worries and troubles as it passes through leaving you peaceful and calm, concentrate on this soothing, warming, cleansing light passing through your body until it has passed through your entire body and out of your feet. If your still awake at this point slowly bring your awareness back into yourself and settle down to go to sleep, it can be lovely at this point to concentrate on your baby inside you, especially if there is movement at the time.
Good luck moms! I hope this helps a little, as always please feel free to comment as everyones advice and experiences can help someone else, and thats the aim of this blog. Here's hoping that you all have sweet, uninterrupted dreams. (preferably without the talking crocodiles!)
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