- Establish a ritual to sleep better
- What position to sleep correctly when you are pregnant?
- Insomnia, cramps… The little nighttime aches and pains of pregnancy
Establish a ritual to sleep better
To get a good night's sleep, you need to prepare your body for sleep with a little ritual that is specific to you. For example, you can take a hot shower to relax and eliminate the tensions of the day, and then treat yourself to a massage with treatments for future mothers. The ideal? Apply an anti-stretch mark milk or even better, our anti-stretch mark Huile Sensorielle from the first trimester, all over the body, focusing on areas of tension: stomach, chest, buttocks, upper thighs and lower back. Let yourself be enchanted by its dry texture and delicious biscuit scent for a moment of escape and well-being. Don’t hesitate to call on the future dad for a 100% relaxation massage!
- Regular price
-
27,90 € - Regular price
-
- Sale price
-
27,90 €
- Regular price
-
28,90 € - Regular price
-
- Sale price
-
28,90 €
You can then drink a calming herbal tea : linden, orange blossom and chamomile are plants with soothing and relaxing properties that promote sleep. All this by leafing through a book or magazine and avoiding screens, which are too stimulating before bed.
To complete your evening routine, you can conclude your day with a meditation session. Clear your mind, refocus on your breathing, your sensations, the present moment to facilitate sleep.
Good to know: we sleep better when we exercise regularly. You should logically avoid letting off steam just before bed because sport has an exciting effect and can disrupt falling asleep. Practicing a gentle physical activity such as walking, yoga or prenatal fitness at least two hours before going to bed will help you release tension, let off steam and face the nights more peacefully. Sport also helps activate blood circulation – you will understand the benefit right after :-)
What position to sleep correctly when you are pregnant?
A question that torments many future mothers: is it better to sleep on your back, side, or even stomach if it does not cause pain?
From a physiological point of view, the best position is lying on your left side. A good reason for this: the uterus, which has increased in size, tends to compress the vena cava, which is located on the right. By releasing it during your sleep, you limit the occurrence of discomfort, promote venous return and placental exchange. Your gynecologist may advise you to sleep on your left side if your baby appears to be underweight. However, without any particular problem, it is not necessary to force yourself to adopt this position if naturally it is not one of your favorites.
You can sleep on your back, on your left or right side: the important thing is to feel comfortable. And then let's not forget that it is impossible to sleep statically, without moving: you will necessarily go through several positions during your sleep cycles.
The position you adopt to sleep is actually often dictated by your stomach. You often have to fall back on the most comfortable, or more precisely the least uncomfortable! With each movement, your very heavy stomach tends to pull. You can prop it up with a proven accessory: the pregnancy pillow or nursing pillow. If you haven't adopted it yet, it's a large U-shaped cushion, padded with plastic beads or foam. Sleep in the center, or use one of the sides to support your stomach. It's a purchase that will follow you beyond birth, since it will also be used to position baby correctly if you are breastfeeding.
Insomnia, cramps… The little nighttime aches and pains of pregnancy
Under the action of hormones, several changes take place in your body. You may have noticed that your legs feel heavier on a daily basis and that they tend to swell. Fluid retention is due to slowed blood circulation and lymphatic drainage. This is a problem known to pregnant women and can even cause pain. When you sleep, the phenomenon intensifies because you remain static, lying down for several hours. Raise the mattress at foot level to facilitate venous return.
Once you go to bed, you may be bothered by bloating, acid reflux or nausea. To limit them, it is best to have a light dinner at least two hours before going to bed, avoiding meals that are too heavy or too fatty. You can also sleep semi-recumbent, putting several cushions or pillows behind your head to prop it up.
Since you became pregnant, have you woken up every night with leg cramps? Unfortunately, these muscle contractions are one of the minor ailments of pregnancy. They appear or intensify from the second trimester. Their causes are varied: this famous venous insufficiency, poor hydration, lack of exercise, too low a potassium level in the muscles or even a magnesium deficiency. The cramps come on suddenly and are very painful. To make them pass as quickly as possible, the best is to stretch gently, or to put your foot on the ground to relax the muscles.
It's normal to be more tired than usual when you're expecting a baby. After all, you are going to be a mother: all your energy is mobilized to create this little being! Overwhelmed by fatigue, you willingly fall into the arms of Morpheus...but your sleep is ruined by insomnia! Awake without really knowing why, you start thinking about the birth, baby matters, your next ultrasound... Some will say that it's simply your body starting to get used to the rhythm of bottles/night feedings who awaits him after birth. Others, that it is the anxieties linked to pregnancy which resurface. It is important to be surrounded and to communicate with the future father, your family or your midwife to dispel your fears and be as calm as possible. If insomnia occurs, focus on your breathing and visualize positive things to avoid at all costs getting nervous and feeling like you are going in circles. Things should get back to normal fairly quickly.
Insomnia, poor digestion, muscle pain...to this is added the baby's strokes (especially from 6 months of pregnancy ), which waits until you are in bed to manifest itself, and another problem that is not very glamorous but oh so real: the size of your bladder, reduced and compressed which requires you to get up several times a night to go to the toilet. Try to drink more in the morning and afternoon and a little less in the evening. Avoid diuretic drinks such as coffee or tea – which also contain high levels of caffeine, which is the enemy of your sleep.
With these few tips, you will put all the chances on your side to get a good night's sleep and wake up in great shape!
Photo credits: Pixabay & Shuttershock
