I am 13 weeks along in my pregnancy and recently I’ve been having a hard time sleeping (even though I’m so tired). I’m afraid to nap during the day because I worry that it’ll be even harder to sleep at night. Help!
Barbara Dehn, RN MS NP explains:
I'm so sorry to hear that you're experiencing such a 'nightmare' of sleep issues. If you've had sleep issues prior to pregnancy, then the hormones might be making a difficult situation worse. If this is a new experience, then it's the hormones.
Here's what you can do:
Take a warm bath or shower before bed
Try meditation and/or yoga breathing
Drink chamomile tea
Eat 1/2 a banana and/or cereal and milk (these have natural tryptophans)
Call your health care provider and ask them for some ideas (both over-the-counter and prescription) to help. You can start with over-the-counter remedies, and if they don't work, consider a prescription once in a while.
Meanwhile, I would suggest that you try to take a nap this weekend, because you're probably in a vicious cycle and are overtired. Pregnancy takes a lot of energy can exhaust you, so listen to your body and rest whenever you can.
I am 13 weeks along in my pregnancy and recently I’ve been having a hard time sleeping (even though I’m so tired). I’m afraid to nap during the day because I worry that it’ll be even harder to sleep at night. Help!
