One of the most difficult part of pregnancy is lack of sleep. Whether you’re in your first trimester or third, getting adequate rest is difficult for most pregnant women. In this post, you’ll learn 9 key sleep hacks for when you’re pregnant and can’t sleep at night so you can finally get some rest!
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Sleep Hacks for Pregnancy
Getting enough sleep while pregnant is so important in order to survive and thrive in your pregnancy.
You would think that feeling totally exhausted would mean you can sleep anytime and anywhere. But most pregnant women have trouble sleeping!
How ironic is it that pregnancy is possibly the last time you could be getting a good sleep before that screaming baby is waking you up every two hours, but you just can’t sleep?
During both my pregnancies, I had difficulty sleeping for different reasons in different trimesters. From heartburn to nausea to visiting the bathroom five times a night, so many different problems can arise that prevent you from getting a good night’s sleep.
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I’ve rounded up my favorite tips for when you’re pregnant and can’t sleep and broken them down by trimester. I hope these tips will help you get more sleep while you’re pregnant!
Basic Sleep Tips
Don’t forget these basic sleep tips that are helpful no matter if you’re pregnant or not:
- no screens at least 1 hour before bed.
- do some mild-moderate exercise during the day (not right before bed).
- try meditating.
- experiment with aromatherapy (try a diffuser).
- turn lights down and block out natural light while sleeping (cheap and effective blackout blinds here).
- use white noise (try this one with the highest rating on Amazon).
Pregnant and Can’t Sleep in the First Trimester
Sleep Whenever You Can
You’ll probably never be as tired as you are when you’re pregnant (well, except when you have a cluster feeding newborn). In the first trimester, you’ll be fighting extreme exhaustion while growing the pacenta (read my tips on how to deal with fatigue in early pregnancy). By the end of your third trimester, you’ll be exhausted from simply having to move yourself around.
As a result, you’ll need to rest whenever you can. Don’t feel you need to limit your sleep to nighttime only. Catch a few zzz’s whenever you can. Take a nap after work or while your other kids are napping. Put the housework and extracurriculars on hold for a while. This is survival time. Don’t feel guilty about it!
If you’re someone who has difficulty napping during the day, make your goal resting instead of sleeping. Putting pressure on yourself to sleep never helps. Instead, lay down in a dark room (no screens) with only the intention of getting some rest. If you do fall asleep, great, but if you don’t, you’ll still feel restored.
Don’t Drink Water Before Bed
One of the most common problems that interrupts sleep while you’re pregnant is midnight trips to the bathroom. While you’re probably not going to be able to eliminate all bathroom visits, you can definitely cut down on them.
Obviously the fluids you’re drinking can cause you to go to the bathroom more. But it is so important to stay hydrated while pregant. You should be basically drinking water all day long.
Don’t cut down on your fluid intake. But you can stop drinking a few hours before bed so you won’t be waking up to pee.
Double Void
Continuing on with reducing bathroom trips, double voiding will also help you wake up needing to pee less.
To double void, you simply pee, then try to pee again, getting just a little more urine out. This will help you completely empty your bladder and should help you go longer between bathroom wake-ups.
Bedtime Worries
It’s very normal to lose sleep after discovering you’re pregnant due to worrying and anxiety. Even if you’ve been hoping for a baby for a while, the transition to new mom is a huge one and anxiety is a very normal part of pregnancy.
You may have questions floating around your head, worries about how you’ll cope, or even a mental to-do list that just won’t let you sleep.
Keep a notebook beside your bed and record any concerns, questions or tasks you have. This way you can take them on in the morning, instead and tossing and turning all night.
For me, the key to alieviating anxiety long-term is to be prepared. Taking a prenatal course can be a load off your mind and make you feel extra prepared for what’s to come.
There may be courses offered in your community. But if you’re like me, you’d prepare to stay at home and learn while curled up on your couch. Luckily there are online options as well! I love this one, that is designed for couples, so your partner can be onboard and ready to support you! Click here to sign up!
Pregnant and Can’t Sleep in the Second Trimester
Use Caution When Rolling Over
If you are pregnant, you will quickly learn that jerky movements are a big no-no, whether you are in bed or awake. This is due to round ligament pain. Your body, and particularly your lower abdominal muscles are stretching to accomodate baby. As a result, you will probably experience some sharp muscle pains in your lower abdomen if you make any quick movements.
Round ligament pain can be a big issue while you’re trying to sleep, especially for those of us who toss and turn in our sleep. It’s super hard to stay asleep with those sharp, jarring pains!
So how can you handle round ligament pain at bedtime? Use a lot of caution while rolling over! Bring your knees up to your chest when rolling over. This will help you stablize the muscles in your core to avoid those sharp pains.
Soon you’ll learn to move a little more cautiously and round ligament pain won’t be keeping you up all night.
Pillow Between Legs
Later in on pregnancy, you may experience pelvic pain as your body begins to prepare for delivery. Sleeping with a pillow between your knees can help lessen this pain and make you more comfortable while you sleep.
Snoogle
I cannot recommend the Snoogle enough. If you’re someone who sleeps with quite a few pillows, this is a game changer. This pillow is designed just for pregnant women and makes sleep so much better.
I actually borrowed one from my sister for my last pregnancy and still haven’t returned it, ten months later. It’s that comfortable! I’m dreading the day she asks for it back.
Do yourself a favor and get one of these pillows ASAP. You will thank yourself.
A Good Bedtime Routine
It’s important to help yourself wind down for the night. Turning off screens, taking a bath, or doing some light stretching can help you feel relaxed.
Here’s a great prenatal yoga video for bedtime:
Which Side to Sleep On?
You probably know you shouldn’t be sleeping on your back after you’ve passed the halfway point of pregnancy (you could block your vena cava). Around this point it also becomes more difficult to sleep on your tummy. So you’re left with sleeping on your side. But which side is better?
Try to sleep on your left side while pregnant. This will increase the amount of blood and nutrients to your placenta and baby. It also helps with kidney function, which will in turn help with swelling (i.e. no giant swollen feet).
Pregnant and Can’t Sleep in the Third Trimester
Use Your Baby’s Sleep Aids Early
You’re probably planning on enhacing your baby’s sleep any way possible. You probably have a white noise machine on your baby registry (this one has so many cool functions) and you might be planning on putting up black out shades (try these inexpensive but super effective ones) when baby comes. If you’re not sure about newborn sleep aids, read this post on how to optimize your newborn’s sleep.
Well, if you’re having trouble sleeping while pregnant, why not bust out these sleep aids early? White noise and blackout blinds are recommended as part of good sleep hygeine for everyone. If you’re going to buy these items anyway, why not purchase them right away and put them to use for your own sleep?
Prop Up With Pillows for Heartburn
Heartburn can be another sleep killer. I struggled with heartburn for both my pregnancies (actually it was so bad that during active labour I complained more about heartburn than contractions).
Propping yourself up with several pillows will help with heartburn at night. You can also talk to your doctor about medication that will help with heartburn if you are suffering greatly.
Well, there you have my top tips and hacks for sleeping while pregnant. If you’re pregnant and can’t sleep at night, these tips will help you get more rest. Good luck and sleep tight, mamas!
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