How to Sleep Better When Pregnant

There’s simply no getting around it – when it comes to sleeping during pregnancy, you’re more almost certainly going to find yourself unsettled and readjusting at all times of night as you attempt to locate that comfy position.

There are a number of different explanations that can be used to explain why you’re going through this pregnancy-related discomfort. Worry not though, because thanks to so many women having previously gone through it all before, and the added benefit of more recent research, there are a host of ways that you can adopt to help you sleep better when pregnant.

Pregnancy brings some ‘interesting’ changes for you to deal with. It’s these temporary alterations that are typically at the foot of your unsettled slumber.

You’ll usually come across and encounter a range of renowned discomforts that inhibit sleep, such as; back pain, heartburn, insomnia, enlarged abdomen and shortness of breath.

Some women also experience obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) during pregnancy, and many cases go undiagnosed. If you’re having breathing problems during sleep, it’s best to see your doctor immediately to determine whether you have OSA. Sleep apnea requires oxygen therapy using a prescription oral appliance, such as an automatic positive airway pressure (APAP) machine, to alleviate breathing problems and promote better sleep.

So, now you are aware of a handful of the reasons that can throw your sleep into disarray, we’re going to offer some insight into the sleeping positions that can help you to find some sound nights of sleep before you know it!

The “SOS” Position

For those who are new to pregnancy, the most successful position for pregnant women which has been tried and tested is to sleep on your side. It’s affectionately known as “SOS”.

What’s more, it’s advised that can further ensure comfort by positioning yourself to sleep on your left-hand side. the reason for this is because lying on your left-hand side gives you a boost in the volume of blood and essential nutrients to the placenta and, of course, the bun in your oven.

Use Pillows

Whether you’re 3 months pregnant or at another stage, one of the best ways to bring improved sleep back into your life is to add in a pillow.

You are probably using pillows to provide yourself with support to your head during sleep, but they’re very effective for adding much-needed support to lower areas of the body when placed between your legs.

Ideally, you should be remembering to keep your knees bent, because this natural fetal-style position will help you find the highest level of relief from discomfort which will lead to more quality sleep.

More from Pillows…

The role that pillows play in supporting sleep goes beyond what we have just touched on, so we’re going to look at some other ways that they can help you to overcome the problems that we referred to earlier in the article.

Back Pain: When you’re coming to terms with back issues around bedtime, then the best thing to do is to adopt the SOS position, but tweak it by taking your pillow and placing it under your abdomen too. You can use two pillows if you’d prefer.

Heartburn: A rather uncomfortable ‘side-effect’ associated with pregnancy is heartburn. If you’re dealing with cases of this in the middle of the night then shift your pillows around and give propping up your upper body with them a whirl. Hopefully, you’ll be relieved soon and you can get back to enjoying your rest.

Shortness of Breath: when you reach the latter stages of your pregnancy, you may encounter times in the night when you become short of breath. The key here is to not feel worked up and anxious.

To alleviate this ailment, you can try lying on your side, or lie in a propped-up position with some pillows. Essentially, it’s about finding what works best for you here.

You may well find that certain positions work well for you compared to the ones we’ve advised, so it’s always worth giving them a go to discover your prime sleep position. After all, there’s nothing worse than enduring low-quality sleep and suffering ill health and poor quality of life as a result.

Things to Avoid

It’s important to touch on what to avoid as well.

Sleeping on Your Back: Due to the fact that pregnant women sleeping on their backs causes the abdomen to rest on your major blood vessels and intestines, you can often find breathing, back, and digestive issues arise.

To compound the problem, you can also experience hemorrhoids, low blood pressure and a lowering of the circulation to not only your heart but your baby too.

Sleeping on Your Stomach: in the latter stages of your pregnancy, sleeping on your stomach is definitely one to avoid. What you’ll find is that your abdomen goes through physical changes at this stage, therefore, being able to lay on your stomach isn’t comfortable or and is obviously going to disrupt your rest.

We hope these tips will assist you to sleep better when pregnant so you can get the rest you need.