Pregnancy Insomnia Is A Thing — Here's What To Know

• If you’re comfortable sleeping on your side, try placing a pillow between your knees to support your hips and legs and make it easier to stay asleep. This can also help alleviate lower back pain and pelvic pain. If you’re experiencing pregnancy rhinitis, or nasal congestion, propping your head up on an extra pillow can help you to breathe more easily.

You may find that you need to make some adjustments to help improve your sleep quality when you’re pregnant.

• Creating a bedtime routine that includes things like a warm bath, some light reading, a dark room (or eye mask), and using dim lights to guide your bathroom trips
• Avoiding screens, late afternoon naps, and caffeine close to bedtime
• Exercising earlier in the day (at least 4-6 hours before bedtime) can allow your body adequate time to relax.
• If heartburn is keeping you awake, avoid spicy, heavy, and fried foods and discuss antacid use with your healthcare provider.
• If you wake up at night because you are hungry, keep a protein-rich snack by your bed so you can eat quickly and without much disruption, making it easier to go back to sleep

It’s important to discuss your sleep challenges with your healthcare provider before you try any over-the-counter or prescription medications.

A medication called Unisom (doxylamine) is an antihistamine that has been safely studied for use in pregnancy, and is often used in combination with vitamin B6 to help with moderate nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy. It’s also an effective sleep aid when used on its own. Other antihistamines, such as diphenhydramine in other over-the-counter sleep formulations (like Tylenol PM or Advil PM), do not have enough data to support use in pregnancy.

Current research shows that while sleeping flat on your back may make some people feel lightheaded during pregnancy, there is no evidence that this will negatively affect you or your fetus up to 30 weeks of pregnancy. The research regarding the safety of sleeping on your back beyond 30 weeks gestation is limited and inconclusive. If sleeping on your back before 30 weeks gestation feels comfortable and allows you to get the rest you need, there’s no reason to avoid it.

Hormones relax your esophagus, and lying down for sleep or bedtime can cause stomach acid reflux. Heartburn tends to be a more common issue in the third trimester as your digestive organs are compressed by your growing uterus and shift up to make room for your growing baby. Smaller meals in the later weeks of pregnancy can help alleviate heartburn. Read more about pregnancy heartburn here.

Muscle contractions in your feet or calves (also known as a Charlie Horse) are common in the second and third trimesters, commonly occurring in the middle of the night, which can cause you to wake up. Stretching your calves before bed can help alleviate nighttime cramps. Staying hydrated is also key to avoiding muscle cramps. While conclusive evidence is lacking and inconsistent, anecdotal evidence suggests that magnesium supplements may improve sleep and leg cramps and are safe to consume in pregnancy.

Feeling like you need to constantly move your legs to relieve discomfort is called Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS). These sensations tend to be more common at night. RLS is 2-3 times more common in pregnancy. Hormones likely play a role in RLS, but this is not fully understood. RLS increases with low folate and iron levels, so prenatal vitamins can help stave it off. This condition usually resolves after you give birth.