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How to Sleep When Pregnant

Carrying a baby for 9 months comes with a number of unexpected changes and challenges that no one ever tells you about. One of the most basic and yet significant challenges is sleeping during pregnancy. Trying to get comfortable while maintaining a safe position for baby makes night time feel like the night shift on the job of growing a baby. Every trimester will bring about new challenges, but with the right sleep positions and techniques, a more restful night’s sleep is possible. Here are just a few suggestions to help you sleep like a baby while growing your own.

First Trimester

In your first trimester if you’re a stomach sleeper you might experience discomfort due to swollen, achy breasts. This is caused by an increase in hormones and blood flow as your body prepares for breastfeeding in the coming months. It’s suggested that you begin to sleep on your left side not only for comfort, but also because this is the ideal position for fetal nourishment. Every woman’s body will respond to pregnancy differently, but this is the time where you’ll start to make adjustments as you learn how to sleep when pregnant.

Second Trimester

In this trimester you’re more likely to experience heartburn, cramps, indigestion, sleep apnea, and Restless Leg Syndrome. Here is a glimpse of what you can do to reduce the severity of these conditions.

  • Heartburn and Indigestion: Avoid sparkling drinks and caffeine. In addition, be sure to thoroughly chew all of your meals to help in the digestive process. Also be sure to eat sooner in the day so that your food is better digested by bedtime.
  • Sleep Apnea: It’s recommended that you refrain from sleeping on your back while pregnant. A saline spray or humidifier can also help open a blocked nasal passage.
  • Restless Leg Syndrome: Take walks throughout the day and exercise regularly. When you feel tingling in the legs while laying down, get up and stretch or do some light restorative yoga for a few minutes to ease or eliminate the sensations.

During this time you’ll start to feel the baby become more active and begin to kick and move around as you’re trying to sleep. This may result in you having more trouble staying asleep throughout the night.

Third Trimester

In the third trimester women typically experience worse sleep quality than they did in the initial 26 weeks. The baby is constantly applying pressure to the bladder, making frequent trips to the bathroom the new norm. Symptoms of heartburn, indigestion, sleep apnea, and RLS will also continue into this stage. Most notably however, all women are adjusting to the challenges of settling into bed with a fully formed pregnant belly.

In the final trimester it is pivotal to sleep on your left side to encourage the best blood flow to the fetus and to your uterus. Here more than ever the need to invest in a comfort pillow is essential. Regular pillows are designed for head rest, but a pregnancy pillow is designed to ease body aches and come in a variety of sizes and types.

Finding a comfortable sleeping position in pregnancy is a challenge but with the right support it can be accomplished. It takes a lot of work to grow, carry, and birth a baby, so be sure to incorporate these useful tips into your routine so that you too can sleep like a baby.

As your body changes so do your unique needs for comfort and support while sleeping. Changing your mattress to accommodate your pregnancy isn’t as realistic and investing in a quality pillow. Selecting a Coolist pillow ensures that your changing body will feel comfort and support, with the added bonus of body temperature regulation throughout the night. Take our quick survey to see which Coolist pillow is best for you and your body.

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