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Pregnancy insomnia!
How can I get better sleep?
Ok so you might be totally exhausted, but unfortunately that
doesn’t save you from insomnia. Or, as I like to call it, fresh hell.
Your brain and heart race while you obsess about the baby
items you still need to register for or how you’re going to fit a
newborn into your studio flat. Pregnant or not, insomnia is no fun
to deal with. Insomnia can mean you’re having trouble falling
asleep or you’ll wake up in the middle of the night and can’t fall
back asleep.
Creating a pre-bedtime ritual can help ease you into sleep. Among
one of the most important steps is unplugging and powering
down your devices at least 30 minutes before bed time. We’re all
guilty of electronic overload. We tend to check our emails every
few moments and remain glued to our devices. Facebook stalking
your ex-boyfriend or a Google frenzy on which actress played the
lead in that Netflix series can certainly wait until the next day.
The light emitted from the screen messes with the sleep-inducing
hormone melatonin and when you respond to an email your
body gets all excited and physically reacts by releasing cortisol,
which is that nasty stress hormone. And as we know, stress and
sleep are like oil and water, they don’t mix. Set your computer to
automatically turn off at 9 or 9:30 pm. Turning it back on can feel
like too much of a chore and will deter you from looking up said
actress on IMDB. Put your phone on airplane mode and tell your
partner to put it in another room if you have to.
Other pre-bedtime rituals that help set the tone for a
good night’s sleep include:
•
A relaxing bath and a cuppa, but make sure it’s caffeine-free
and not too hot!
•
Make sure your room temperature is set to your liking. Too hot
and you’ll be kicking off the covers all night; too cold and your
teeth will be chattering.
•
Do something that makes you happy every day. This may sound
like a bumper sticker saying, but it’s true and can actually help
you sleep more soundly. Experts say the more fulfilling goals you’ve
accomplished during the day, the better you sleep at night.
•
Spend more time outdoors. Natural light boosts your ability to
sleep at night; it also helps lift your mood and alertness during
the daytime hours.
For those times that insomnia knocks on your door in the middle
of the night and you can’t fall back asleep, try getting out of bed.
A middle of the night munchie might help: something simple and
healthy like crackers or a banana, not that leftover Chinese food.
Drink a glass of warm milk or try reading a book, the more boring
the better, with a dim light.
Still can’t fall asleep? Try listening to the Sleep
With Me podcast, which promises to put you to
sleep by boring the hell out of you with dull
stories. The creator and host of Sleep With Me
calls it “the podcast the sheep listen to when
they get tired of counting themselves.”
SLEEP
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