Adequate sleep is fundamental to getting through pregnancy in a relaxed and comfortable manner. Sleep should be undisturbed if possible, in a darkened room, and on a supportive mattress, away from technologies, telephones, intrusive noises and electromagnetic fields (especially electric blankets or water beds).
Here are some helpful hints for dealing with this situation.
- Don’t drink too much too late in the evening. We encourage you to drink lots of fresh, purified water, but if you need to get up too often in the night, try to do most of your hydrating earlier in the day.
- Don’t eat too fast or too late. Indigestion is a common complaint in pregnancy, and can certainly keep you awake. Eat slowly, chew your food well, and have your dinner at least 4 hours before bedtime. This is good practice for family life and also good advice for non-pregnant people, as digestion is very inefficient once you are in bed. You might consider making lunch your main meal. It is, however, quite helpful to have a small snack of some light protein (e.g. almonds, other nuts, whole grains, seeds) last thing at night to keep your blood sugar levels stable. If they fluctuate too much, you will feel fatigued but restless, and are more likely to suffer nausea.
- Avoid watching disturbing shows on TV which can get your emotions churned up and your mind racing.
- Use relaxation techniques to get off to sleep (or back to sleep). You could try plain old counting sheep, which is really just a form of mantra meditation, or a favourite relaxation or music tape. Sometimes focusing on your own regular breathing pattern is sufficient.
- Have a warm (not hot) bath before bed, with some relaxing essential oils. These can also be used in a burner in your room, or sprinkled on your pillow. It’s actually quite dangerous to let your body temperature rise above 38.9°C for sustained periods during pregnancy, so spas and saunas are not recommended as aids to relaxation at this time.
- Flower essences or homoeopathic remedies can be taken to help your mind stop spinning and assist relaxation, and some herbs are helpful too. Herb teas can be drunk cold as well as hot, so can be left by the bed for use in the middle of the night, and there are herbal pillows which you can take to bed with you.
- Calming nutrients such as calcium and magnesium can be absorbed really quickly if taken as celloid/tissue salts just before retiring. These work even better if combined with sedative herbal remedies.
- The acupressure points we recommend later on can be used at night to relax you and help get you off to sleep.
- Make sure you’re comfortable. There are two issues here—size and heat. Try placing extra pillows under your tummy (you’ll be better off on your side) and between your knees, and say a quick bedtime prayer of thanks that you’re not this size all the time! You are also quite a bit hotter than usual during pregnancy (all that progesterone), so make sure you have plenty of cool fresh air in your bedroom.