Romer is so excited to announce our partnership with CocoonCare, a wellness community that offers prenatal & postnatal fitness and yoga classes, and women’s health coaching services. As I am now well into my second trimester of pregnancy, I have found great comfort in surrounding myself with other mamas-to-be who are experiencing the changes, both physical and psychological, of being pregnant. I wanted to share a blog post from Diana Zic that I found particularly relevant around dealing with sleep challenges while pregnant. Cheers to counting more sheep!

Beat Insomnia During Pregnancy with these Simple Sleep Solutions

At the risk of stating the obvious, pregnancy is full of surprises. From strange cravings to really uncomfortable symptoms, the 9 month journey to your baby can be an interesting one. When you think of symptoms of pregnancy, the mind may naturally wander to common ailments such as nausea or back pain. But one particular symptom, that affects 78% of women during pregnancy, doesn’t get quite enough attention. Chances are, you (and countless other expectant mothers) are reading this article at some odd hour because of it: insomnia.

But Why Aren’t We Sleeping? 

There are multiple reasons why women experience insomnia during pregnancy, which probably contributes to why such a high percentage of pregnant women, including yourself, are experiencing it. These include but aren’t limited to:

Nausea
Hormone imbalance
Discomfort
Anxiety
Need to urinate frequently
Back pain
Heartburn
Leg cramps
Shortness of breath

No wonder we aren’t sleeping. Having just one of these uncomfortable symptoms is enough to steal your zzz’s, however, odds you can relate with more than one on this checklist (plus a few of your own). And as this sleep stealing symptom list grows, the more exhausted you become. Well not to worry, there are multiple ways that you can recover some rest.

Anxiety & Restlessness 

Sometimes our biggest hurdle to a goodnight sleep is nestled right between our ears. Whether it is the excitement of an upcoming due date or a hormonal imbalance, anxiety can wreak havoc on our ability to achieve a restful state.

A way to combat this is through mind-calming practices such as meditation. Going through a simple 15 minute exercise right before bed can not only help you fall asleep, but achieve a deeper sleep, so you stay asleep too.

We recommend the Headspace App. It’s free and you have the option of choosing from multiple selections based on your current mental state — from restless to stress and anxiety, there’s an option for everyone.

AND visit CocoonCare’s Instagram page for a series of 10-minute Mama Meditations videos!

Creating the Environment for Sleep

Another great way to induce sleep during a bout of insomnia is to make sure that you have a comfortable space to rest. The key word here being comfort. Before settling into bed, consider:

Is your room a comfortable temperature?

Are there too many sources of light?

Are there noises in your room that you find distracting?

Are there one or more devices running?

Culprits of sleep are anything that is stimulating to the mind or discomforting to the body.

So although mindless scrolling on Facebook or other social media sites might seem appealing, you may find yourself in a useless information cycle, causing you to stay up later rather than power down.

Instead, darken the room and turn off devices. If a distraction is needed, find a book that can tire the eyes after a few pages.

Position

As your pregnancy goes on and baby gets bigger, one of the primary sources of discomfort can be a growing belly. Shifting positions at night can become overwhelming with the naturally unbalanced weight distribution due to your growing baby.

Pregnancy pillows have been designed for this purpose. By using a u-shaped pillow, you can take some of the strain off of the lower back while supporting the weight of your baby. This allows for the body to become relaxed, which is the first step to a good night’s rest.

The combination of these practices can truly be a winning trifecta when it comes to battling insomnia during pregnancy.

By ensuring that your environment is peaceful, your mind is in a restful state and your body is relaxed, you will be well on your way to getting some much needed rest for both you and your little one. 

**This blog post was originally published on CocoonCare’s Blog.