The expectant mother knows that after the birth of her baby, it will be more difficult for her to get a good night's sleep. But many do not even suspect that even during pregnancy, especially in the third trimester, one can only dream of a restful sleep all night long.
In fact, it is possible to sleep more than usual during the first trimester of pregnancy. It is normal for a woman to feel tired as the body protects and supports the developing baby. The placenta, which nourishes the fetus before birth, is just being formed, so in the body of the expectant mother, the heartbeat quickens and more blood is produced in the body.
Typically, during pregnancy, after the first trimester, most women experience problems with deep and uninterrupted sleep.
Why pregnant women may have trouble sleeping
The first and most important cause of sleep problems during pregnancy is an increase in the size of the fetus. This makes it difficult to find a comfortable sleeping position.
If a woman has slept on her back or stomach, she may have trouble sleeping on her side, as doctors recommend. Additionally, changing sleep positions becomes more difficult as pregnancy progresses. Other common physical symptoms that may also interfere with sleep include:
- Frequent urge to urinate.
The kidneys work harder to filter the increased volume of blood passing through the body, and this process creates more urine. The second factor is that as the baby grows and the uterus becomes larger, the pressure on the bladder increases. Third, amniotic fluid is renewed every 2-3 hours, which cannot affect the pregnant woman’s diuresis day or night. Nocturnal urination at night also increases if the child is especially active at night. - Cardiopalmus.
The heart rate increases to ensure good blood flow to the uterus. Moreover, the more blood enters the uterus, the faster the heart works to send enough blood to the rest of the organs. - Difficulty and rapid breathing
. The increase in hormones during pregnancy causes you to breathe more deeply and may feel like you are short of breath. In the future, breathing may be difficult as the enlarged uterus takes up more space, which puts pressure on the diaphragm. - Lower back pain and leg cramps.
Extra weight during pregnancy affects leg and back pain. During pregnancy, the body also produces the hormone relaxin, which helps prepare for childbirth. One of the effects of relaxin is to loosen ligaments throughout the body, making pregnant women less stable and more susceptible to injury, especially in the back. - Heartburn and constipation.
Many pregnant women experience heartburn, which occurs when stomach contents back up into the esophagus. During pregnancy, the entire digestive system slows down and food stays in the stomach and intestines longer, which can cause heartburn or constipation. These sensations may worsen in the last trimester of pregnancy, when the growing uterus puts pressure on the stomach or colon.
Sleep problems can also arise for other reasons. Many pregnant women experience dreams that are more vivid than usual, and some even experience nightmares.
Stress also interferes with normal sleep. A pregnant woman may be worried about her baby's health or nervous about giving birth. All of these feelings are normal and can cause insomnia.
What is insomnia: types of asomnia
Doctors distinguish several types of asomnia, as insomnia is also called.
Coming. It manifests itself during strong emotional experiences: both positive and negative. In the first month of pregnancy, this type of insomnia is often caused by joy.
Short-term. The causes of this type of insomnia are physiological changes in the body. It will pass as soon as the expectant mother gets used to her pregnancy. As a rule, this takes from 1 to 3 weeks.
Chronic. If you suffered from insomnia before pregnancy, it will most likely continue to plague you during your new condition. The danger of this type of asomnia is that the woman cannot rest for many months, and therefore she approaches childbirth exhausted. Only a doctor can help you cope with this type of asomnia.
Finding a comfortable sleeping position
At the beginning of pregnancy, you need to get used to sleeping on your side. The most comfortable position during pregnancy is to sleep on your side with your knees bent. This position is easier on the heart because it keeps the baby's weight from putting pressure on the large vein (called the inferior vena cava), which carries blood back to the heart from the feet. Some doctors recommend that pregnant women sleep on their left side. Since the liver is on the right side of the abdomen, this helps protect it from the pressure of the uterus. Sleeping on your left side also improves blood circulation to the heart and ensures better blood flow to the fetus, uterus and kidneys.
No need to worry about rolling over on your back at night. Changing positions is a natural part of sleep that cannot be controlled. Most likely, in the third trimester of pregnancy, a woman will automatically choose a comfortable position for herself. You can try experimenting with sleeping pillows to find the most comfortable position. Some women say that placing a pillow under their stomach or between their legs helps them sleep. Additionally, using a folded pillow or rolled blanket under your lower back can help relieve pressure on your spine.
Early insomnia
Insomnia at the beginning of pregnancy can manifest itself both after missing the next period and before the delay. After ovulation, if during this period the egg meets the sperm, changes in hormonal levels immediately begin.
In the early stages (already in the first weeks), the corpus luteum, which always forms after the egg leaves the follicle, begins to produce progesterone. That is why the second half of the cycle, even for non-pregnant women, is often marked by various unpleasant phenomena (they are classified as PMS symptoms):
- swelling;
- increase in abdominal circumference;
- feeling tired and sleepy during the day and having difficulty falling asleep at night.
All this is the tricks of progesterone. If pregnancy has taken place, in the early stages there is increased production of progesterone, and the lack of normal night sleep and lethargy during the day are the first signs of hormonal changes in the body. Could insomnia be a sign of pregnancy? Of course, especially if it is accompanied by absent-mindedness and drowsiness during the day. The body seems to “confuse” the time of sleep and wakefulness. At the beginning of pregnancy, expectant mothers often cannot fall asleep for a long time in the evening, and in the morning they simply cannot get out of bed. The opposite phenomenon may also occur: you really want to sleep during the day or in the evening, after returning from work.
Tips for a good night's sleep
- It is necessary, as much as possible, to remove caffeinated drinks from the diet, such as cola, coffee and tea.
- It is recommended not to drink a lot of fluids or eat for several hours before going to bed. But it is important to make sure that your body gets plenty of nutrients and fluids throughout the day. It is beneficial to eat more for breakfast and lunch, rather than before bed. If nausea is a problem, try eating a few crackers before going to bed.
- It is important to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day.
- Avoid physical activity right before bed. Instead, you can read a book or drink a warm decaffeinated drink.
- The body must get enough calcium and magnesium to reduce nighttime leg cramps.
- Try yoga or other relaxation techniques that help you unwind after a stressful day.
Relaxation methods
Unconventional methods of relaxation will help restore your former mood and overcome fears in the late stages of pregnancy. Reducing muscle tone helps relieve mental stress.
When carrying out relaxing procedures, it is important to provide conditions: dim light, comfortable temperature, comfortable clothing, absence of noise and irritants. Used for home relaxation
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- Visualization
. Lie down and imagine pleasant images and pictures before going to bed, thus calming yourself. - Breathing exercises from yoga
. Even if a woman has not done yoga before, she can easily cope with breathing exercises. They will help not only normalize sleep, but also make the upcoming birth easier. - Massage
. Even a non-professional can handle the procedure. This could be one of your friends or relatives, who with soft stroking movements will calm the expectant mother and set her up to sleep. - Self-hypnosis
. This also includes a calm and confident conversation with yourself that everything is fine and that healthy sleep lies ahead. - Aromatherapy
. Again, calming herbs are used: lavender and mint.
If all attempts to return sleep are in vain, then maybe you shouldn’t dwell on it? We didn’t fall asleep at night - we slept during the day. The main thing is to avoid discomfort and fatigue.
Causes of insomnia during pregnancy, treatment of pregnant women for insomnia problems
A woman's pregnancy causes a global restructuring of the body. And the restructuring is not always useful and acceptable for the body of the expectant mother.
Pregnant women often suffer from the problem of insomnia - a condition that cannot be ignored or tried to be suppressed on their own with pills chosen at their own discretion. Of course, if sleep disturbance occurs once or twice, there is no need to sound the alarm. But if the problem of insomnia begins to worsen and affects the general condition of the pregnant woman’s body, you need to think about making an appointment with a doctor who treats insomnia, for a consultation at one of the Somnology Centers in Moscow or the Sleep Medicine Center.
Only a doctor who treats the problem of insomnia in his field of work - a somnologist - will be able to offer the correct approach to treating the problem of insomnia in a pregnant woman. After all, in this case, the responsibility of the somnologist lies double: for the state of the pregnant woman’s body and for the condition of the fetus. But a lot depends on the patient - the expectant mother - you should not delay a visit to a doctor treating insomnia. In the early stages of a sleep disorder problem, treatment for insomnia may not be as thorough. A somnologist at the Sleep Medicine Center in Moscow can offer a pregnant woman cognitive behavioral therapy and various non-drug treatments for insomnia. After all, treating the expectant mother with serious sleeping pills and drugs that cause a number of side effects is categorically not recommended. For this reason, somnologists at the Somnology Center in Moscow in Khamovniki were able to find a gentle approach to treating the problem of insomnia based on modern technologies, modern equipment and the experience of somnologists who have thousands of positive results in treating patients, including pregnant women, and thousands of positive reviews from grateful patients.
Sleep Medicine Center in Moscow on the basis of the Rehabilitation Clinic in Khamovniki
The somnology center in Moscow in Khamovniki (Efremova str., 12/2) has extensive experience in treating patients with problems of insomnia, snoring, and obstructive apnea. Modern treatment methods, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, polysomnography, CPAP therapy, meditation, used by doctors treating insomnia (somnologist) in Moscow, give excellent results and allow you to cope with the problem of insomnia in most cases once and for all.
The head of the Somnoligious Center in Moscow, in Khamovniki is Professor, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Honored Doctor of the Russian Federation - Roman Vyacheslavovich Buzunov .
Head of the clinic - BUZUNOV ROMAN VYACHESLAVOVICH - President of the Russian Society of Somnologists, Honored Doctor of the Russian Federation, Professor, Doctor of Medical Sciences, leading Russian expert on insomnia, snoring, sleep apnea and CPAP therapy, Professor of the Department of Regenerative Medicine and Medical Rehabilitation with courses in Pediatrics and Nursing , Clinical Psychology and Pedagogy FSBI DPO “Central State Medical Academy” UD of the President of the Russian Federation,
President of the All-Russian public organization "Russian Society of Somnologists",
Biography on Wikipedia
Information about outpatient consultations and examinations : www.buzunov.ru.
Make an appointment : +7 (495) 7-33-195, +7 (985) 77-33-195 The team of the Sleep Medicine Center based at the Rehabilitation Clinic in Khamovniki are top-level professionals who have focused their knowledge on the problems of sleep disorders. Somnologists in Khamovniki in Moscow have hundreds of patients leaving the clinic, overcoming the problem of insomnia (using the method of cognitive behavioral therapy), snoring, obstructive sleep apnea (CPAP therapy), and leaving positive reviews about the Somnology Center in Moscow in Khamovniki. The Sleep Medicine Center in Khamovniki is one of the best insomnia treatment centers in Moscow. Individual treatment regimens for insomnia for men, women, the elderly, children and adolescents are drawn up.
Treatment of pregnant women for the problem of insomnia at the Sleep Medicine Center in Khamovniki in Moscow is carried out using the most modern technologies and modern equipment on an outpatient basis or in the hospital of the Somnology Center.
What you need to know and do to combat the problem of insomnia in pregnant women
Sleep hygiene. A simple and quite effective rule that will help cure sleep and establish a resting and waking pattern. Comfortable sleeping place, clean and tactically pleasant bed. Fresh air in the bedroom, moderate walks before bed, relaxation therapy. Overeating, especially before bedtime, causes a sleep disorder that does not require treatment, but requires streamlining the diet. For pregnant women, there are special pillows and mattresses that help you choose a comfortable position and fall into a deep sleep. Choice of clothes. Light pajamas with a loose fit are perfect for relaxing. It is better to choose sleepwear from natural materials; synthetic clothing can cause skin irritation and discomfort
If at the moment there is no desire to sleep, then it is better to wait for that very minute and immediately go to bed
During the day, it is advisable not to overwhelm yourself with fears about the problem of insomnia, but simply lead a measured lifestyle in the evening and do not forget about healthy walking for expectant mothers. At the Somnology Center in Moscow in Khamovniki, specialists skillfully work with pregnant women and share practical tips for improving the quality and duration of sleep
Behavior control. Do not use the bedroom, or rather the bed, for constant daytime activities (reading books, watching movies). The bed should be used exclusively for sleeping. This is the only way you will be pleased to return to your nest and enjoy your vacation in comfort. Don't forget to control your time in bed. It is advisable to wake up at the same time. This will help you develop a habit and normalize your sleep.
Relaxation. Absolutely different techniques can be used. Aromatherapy with essential oils. Lavender has a relaxing effect and helps relieve tension. Auto-trainings. Expectant mothers enjoy listening to peaceful compositions and melodies that promote relaxation and induce sleep
There are many methods for relaxation; a qualified somnologist at the Somnology Center in Moscow in Khamovniki will help you master the technique. A somnologist in Moscow will provide detailed information directly at the appointment and determine whether in this case it is necessary to prescribe treatment for the problem of insomnia with additional over-the-counter medications for insomnia or not. Effective non-drug therapy will help restore strength and improve sleep for the expectant mother.
Traditional methods of combating insomnia
Honey is a healer with a capital letter. If a person does not have an allergic reaction to the product, you can safely test traditional medicine and monitor the success from your own experience. Honey, cranberries and walnuts are an excellent mixture as a sleep aid. We suggest mixing the above ingredients in equal proportions and drinking 2 teaspoons 2 hours before bedtime. A good way to treat yourself to healthy goodies and improve your sleep at the same time. Chamomile or mint tea before bed. A decoction based on mint and chamomile helps relax the nervous system and has a calming effect. After a couple of spoons of honey and cranberries, you can drink mint tea. The hypnotic effect intensifies.
Applesauce combined with honey. You need to take sour apples and prepare a smooth puree, add a couple of tablespoons of honey to it. A pleasant dish for dinner, it does not burden the stomach and prevents overeating.
Honey can be consumed in combination with warm milk. A healthy mixture will help improve sleep and restore immunity.
In addition to honey therapy, herbal therapy is often used. Medicinal plants also help restore sleep. All parts of plants are used for brewing: leaves, stems, roots. Aromatic teas help expectant mothers restore sleep and establish sleep-wake patterns. Fireweed tea, passionflower, mint, chamomile are used to brew herbal drinks for pregnant women.
Remember, abuse of medicinal teas is fraught with consequences. Regarding treatment, it is advisable to consult with a somnologist at the Somnology Center in Moscow and receive recommendations on dosage and standards. An individual dosage regimen is selected for each woman. In addition to tea therapy, you can use aromatherapy from pine cones. A pleasant fragrance helps correct sleep and restores strength to the expectant mother.
In addition to traditional medicine, you can buy medications for insomnia without a prescription at the pharmacy. Taking into account the woman’s situation, the best option is to consult a somnologist at the Somnology Center in Moscow and get a consultation. Do not forget about your health and the health of your baby, whom you carry under your heart. For more information or to make an appointment with a sleep specialist, call 5.
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What to do
Realizing that you haven’t been able to sleep properly for a long time, the state of sleep deprivation is chronic, you need to learn to control your sleep
It is important to understand that the phenomenon cannot be treated in this situation, nor can you take any medications (sleeping pills), even if you were constantly taking them before pregnancy
First, you need to visit your doctor, get a consultation, tell him how the phenomenon manifests itself, and what worries you about it. Together with a specialist, try to find out the cause of the phenomenon, and then he will tell you what to do. Sometimes, in extreme cases, it is permissible to prescribe a certain number of drugs to improve the condition of the body and regain lost sleep.
- In such cases, it is recommended to drink soothing decoctions prepared from medicinal herbs: valerian, mint, chamomile, thyme, motherwort, licorice. Dry ingredients must be steamed and brewed strictly following the manufacturer’s recommendations. If you have a bad reaction to the decoctions, stop taking it.
- It is necessary to eat little in the evening, trying not to overload the stomach, which provokes poor sleep during pregnancy. Include fresh salads, radishes, black currants, asparagus, beets, and melon in the menu; these products are believed to promote sound sleep. In general, reconsider your daily diet.
- Avoid drinking tonic drinks, especially at night. In general, drink less fluid so as not to increase the urge to go to the toilet at night.
- During the day, and especially in the evening, do not worry, do not get irritated, and avoid stressful situations. In general, a person who is “ruffled” by the evening will rarely be able to sleep peacefully, and even more so in this state.
- If your heart rate begins to increase in the evening and shortness of breath appears, it is enough to drink a mug of sweet tea, but warn your doctor about such symptoms, especially if they are constant. Most likely there is a lack of sugar in the body, hence the reasons.
- It is useful to eat a spoonful of natural turnip juice shortly before bed. It is prepared simply by squeezing the turnips into pulp and adding an equal amount of honey. Leave for a couple of days before taking and store in the refrigerator.
- Take a contrast shower shortly before rest. Warm your feet in warm water.
- In the morning you need to get up earlier, walk more in the fresh air, move, and not lead a passive lifestyle.
When faced with restless sleep and insomnia, you need to think about whether the pregnant woman’s overall lifestyle is correct. Perhaps the woman sleeps a lot during the day and gets up late in the morning. Perhaps, in general, throughout the day, a woman is inactive, passive, practically does not expend energy during the day, so sleep does not occur.
