Sleep changes when you are pregnant

Sleep Changes When You Are Pregnant

When you find out you are pregnant, you mentally prepare yourself for how much your life is going to change. Not just in your home and your schedule, but your body as well. Another thing you should be aware of is that your sleep habits will change dramatically during pregnancy, with different sleep patterns during each trimester.

First Trimester Sleep Changes

You will notice that your sleep will change during each trimester of pregnancy, and often depending on outside factors like stress, your emotional state, diet, and chronic pain.

During the first trimester, it can include a lot of waking up in the middle of the night to use the restroom. After the first few weeks of pregnancy, you urinate more frequently, often linked to needing to hydrate more than usual.

This can continue throughout your entire pregnancy, though there might be certain stages where it isn’t quite as noticeable.

During the first trimester, you might be even more tired during the day and at night, so you could sleep more than usual. Even so, you may have difficulty sleeping when you start experiencing difficult physical changes, especially if you start getting “morning” sickness, which can happen at any time.

Second Trimester Sleep Changes

Many women describe the second trimester as the best trimester. This is when the frequent urination isn’t quite as frequent, you are tired but not overly tired, and your morning sickness might dissipate as well. Take advantage of how much better you feel, and especially of how much better you sleep!

You might notice that your overall quality of sleep is improved. You feel more rested at night, don’t have as much discomfort from nausea or cramping, and your emotional stress is often less severe during this trimester as well.

If you are experiencing insomnia, it is a good time to speak to your doctor, just to rule out any other causes for it.

Third Trimester Sleep Changes

The third trimester is a beautiful time as you feel more movement from your baby and get closer to labor and delivery, but your sleep might suffer once again. A lot of the sleep issues during this trimester are from body aches and pains.

You are growing a human, and that means a lot of pressure is put on your back and hips. You might notice that you have to wake up a lot at night to move positions, have chronic back pain, and maybe even some cramping. You might also notice other physical discomforts that keep you from getting quality sleep, like heartburn, shortness of breath, leg cramps, increased urination, and sinus congestion.

The best thing you can do is try to be as comfortable as possible at night, whether that means upgrading your mattress, getting different bedding, or using a body pillow to help support your body and decrease the cramps and back pain.

Soon you will have a brand new baby to love, so try to take advantage of as much sleep as possible during your pregnancy.