The causes of insomnia in pregnancy are numerous: sleep can be disturbed by common anxiety states during pregnancy, by the need to go to the bathroom more often, even at night, by greater sensitivity to external stimuli and therefore to noise, by possible cramps night muscles that are quite common in pregnancy ...
As the belly grows, the problems of insomnia tend to be worse and, consequently, the major disorders are usually found in the third trimester, when it is more difficult to find the right position to sleep well, difficulties in digestion and acidity can arise. of stomach that further disturb good rest, nocturnal urination becomes even more frequent.
What to do then? How can we fight insomnia during pregnancy?
Insomnia in pregnancy, what to do
There are numerous natural remedies that can help fight insomnia during pregnancy and mainly concern lifestyle and nutrition :
Dine early, so as not to go to sleep with a full stomach, and consume foods that are easy to digest, especially in the evening hours. In addition, it may be useful to include foods that promote rest, such as whole grains and, more generally, complex carbohydrates in the diet. A glass of milk or yogurt can also help, thanks to the content of tryptophan, a precursor of serotonin which has a calming effect.
Avoid caffeine, especially in the evening hours, so be careful with coffee, but also with tea, chocolate and all the drinks that contain it.
Try to go to bed relaxed. In the evening hours, therefore, perform only activities that promote relaxation, such as reading a book, browsing a magazine, listening to relaxing music. To combat stress and anxieties that may appear during pregnancy, it may be useful to rely on autogenic respiratory training, a relaxation technique that uses autogenous breathing and also helps a lot during labor; so it is really worth learning.
The best way to sleep during pregnancy is to lie on your left side, with your legs curled up. This position is doubly useful as it prevents the weight of the bump from falling on the mother's back and, at the same time, promotes maternal-fetal placental exchanges.
To combat insomnia in pregnancy it is also advisable to try to go to bed and always wake up at about the same time .
Can herbs and melatonin be used to fight insomnia during pregnancy?
Before taking melatonin in pregnancy you should seek the advice of a doctor and the same also applies to herbs and other natural remedies; in fact, even these products can present risks to the fetus; "Natural" is not synonymous with "no contraindications and side effects".
An herb that is generally well tolerated during pregnancy, as long as it is not exaggerated, is chamomile. It has no active hypno-inducing ingredients, but it can still promote rest thanks, above all, to the antispasmodic qualities and therefore to the ability to induce muscle relaxation.
