Fighting Sleeping Troubles during Pregnancy

You may be finding it difficult to sleep while you are pregnant because of various mental and physical causes. Whatever the reasons may be, it is important to understand insomnia and its effect on your baby and health. Insomnia, which is ability to fall asleep or stay asleep during the night, is a common phenomenon that affects approximately around 78 percent of women.  

This condition is often characterized by the following factors:

Difficulty getting to sleep

Trouble staying asleep

Difficulty returning to sleep

Not feeling refreshed or feeling drowsy

What Actually Causes Insomnia during Pregnancy Time?

With physical, mental, emotional and hormonal changes taking place in this period, it is no surprise that 8 out of 10 women find it difficult to sleep at night. While physical discomfort and hormonal changes are the bigger causes for insomnia, every trimester of pregnancy brings its own challenges for sleep. Here are the common sleep changes:

• Frequent awakenings due to multiple bathroom visits

• Physical and emotional stress linked with pregnancy

• Increased daytime sleepiness and body weight

• Discomfort due to the growing belly

• Heartburn, leg cramps and vomiting

• Back pain and abdominal aches

• Hormonal changes 

How to cope up with Sleep Problems in Pregnancy

Not all people take the right approach to treat insomnia during this period. Some people try even sleeping tablets such as ambien pills, which are not recommended for pregnant ladies. It is simply because these drugs can harm your health as well as the health of your baby. Make sure you don't use ambien tablets to sleep during pregnancy.

It is not just ambien sleeping tablets; avoid all medications for sleep in the pregnancy time. Medication is not a better option while you are pregnant. So, try some safer and more effective ways to cure your sleep troubles:

• Avoid watching television, reading books and doing office work till late night

• Once you are in bed, try relaxation techniques to calm you down for sleep

• Use quality mattresses, pillows and beddings for better night's sleep

• Keep your room cool, dark and quiet enough to sleep well

• If heartburn keeps you awake, eat snacks of bland foods

• Try better sleep positions as your belly grows

• Try daily exercises of 30 minutes

If you cannot sleep despite trying all above options, then you should talk to your healthcare provider. Discuss the problems you face during the nighttime and ask for the good and safe solution to deal with your sleep problems.

Techniques To Keep Children Away From Sleep Disorders

If you are an attentive parent, you will be able to record obvious symptoms of any sleep disorder or lack of sleep in your child. Such a child may remain dull and low on energy, through the day. There are some common symptoms one can keep an eye on. In the morning you may not be able to wake the child up, despite constant ringing of the alarm or wake up calls. The child may most of the times, sleep while travelling in the car.

Good Habits before Sleeping

To deal with this, substantial changes should be adopted. Improve sleeping and waking habits of the child. Ensure that the bedroom is cool and there is no disturbance, light or sound for a good sleep environment. Ensure the child does not indulge in vigorous activities at night. Before bedtime turn off electronic games, play stations and computer games.

Before hitting the sack, a good habit is reading to set the tone and get ready for calming down and wholesome sleep. Sleeping patterns get interfered with intake of certain kinds of medicines, liquids, foods etc. The child could get oversensitive with display of crankiness, aggression and emotions. During noon time, the child may sleep recurrently.

Eliminating Separation Anxiety

Children need lots of sleep, at least for nine to ten hours. It has been seen that teens are deprived more of sleep than younger kids. One sleeping disorder is walking in sleep. Make your child aware about the same and avoid panic. This situation can be gradually removed completely, besides which the child becomes more conscious about the situation.

If the child is shifted to his or her bedroom then it may experience separation anxiety, but this fades off over time. Parents play a major role in helping the child overcome a sleeping disorder.

Find Useful Information on the Web

Wait no longer, as there is lots of useful information available on the internet to help you find natural remedies for sleeping disorder. Chemical drugs and antibiotics should be kept away from your timid kid when there are lots of natural remedies to opt for, to deal with sleeping disorders in children. Sleep disorders are seen sooner or later in kids less than four years or so. The child wakes up early morning, remains awake at night, refuses to sleep, cries while being put to bed, etc.

During the daytime if there is absence of fatigue then the child can get good sleep and for proper duration at night. Many kids spend time in the crèche or daycare during day time and after contact with parents, get over anxious and may decline going to sleep. Overanxious parents may keep checking out on the child to see if it is asleep, in the process causing disturbance and sleep disorders. A breast fed infant is more likely to awaken during night time and disturb the other kid in the bedroom.

Parents can set limits over coming out of the child's bedroom, being supportive and calm. Adopt a regular routine or sleep ritual if needed and avoid frantic searches if something goes amiss. After making the child brush the teeth, have a nice chat about the day's activities after which the child becomes cozy, relaxes and goes off to sleep. After a good night's sleep the child feels full of energy, refreshed and rested. Parents must not develop the practice of remaining or sleeping with the child till it falls asleep or else the child will not learn how to settle down in sleep.