When you are pregnant, it is important that you get plenty of sleep. After all, your body is working hard day and night to grow your baby, in addition to performing the other activities that you do every day. In a perfect world, once you became pregnant your schedule and list of obligations would adjust accordingly, providing you with plenty of time to sleep as much as you felt like sleeping.
Unfortunately, that is not the case, but there are a few things that you can do to ensure that you get the rest that you need while you are pregnant. One thing that you can do is to go to bed an hour earlier than you normally would. It is natural to balk at this suggestion, since for most of us, the evening hours are the only time that we have personal or leisure time. During pregnancy, though, one hour a day of lost leisure time may be worth the increase in energy that you will feel throughout your days as a result of getting adequate rest.
Planning ahead for things that could wake you in the night is another way to ensure that when you get in bed, you get plenty of sleep. Unfortunately, there’s not much that you can do to avoid middle of the night bathroom trips because you do need to stay well hydrated. However, if you frequently wake up with heartburn (like I did with both pregnancies) then you can try propping yourself up with pillows and not eating too close to bedtime. If your rude awakenings are caused by leg cramps, you can try massaging your legs before bed to improve circulation.
Sneaking in cat naps during the day can also contribute to an overall feeling of being adequately rested. Of course, some people do find that napping makes them feel more tired and that they feel groggy after taking a nap. If that describes you, then the best sleep strategy is getting to bed as early as you can.
Photo by clarita on morguefile.com.