importance of sleep during pregnancy

Pregnancy has its own demands and challenges, and sleep deprivation is one of them. If you’re expecting at the moment or have had a child already, you’ll know what we’re talking about. As much as you need your sleep or rest during pregnancy, there are reasons you aren’t able to get enough of it.   

It is very common for women to experience fatigue during pregnancy and it happens the most during the first and third trimester of the gestation period. The hormonal fluctuations are very high during pregnancy and this tampers with your lifestyle, especially your diet and sleep cycle. To be specific, it is the rise in your progesterone level that leads to you having a broken and irregular sleep cycle.   

Also, cytokines, a group of proteins, are on a constant rise during pregnancy, causing disruptions in your sleep. Cytokines belong to your immunity system and ensure your system has a balanced chemical communication within it among all the other cells, in order for your body to function smoothly. A rise in cytokine level causes a drop in your immunity during pregnancy and is also one of the major causes of sleep deprivation for you.

There are other reasons for sleep deprivation too, such as:

1. Lower bladder control (makes you run to the washroom every now and then at night)

2. Lower back ache

3. Nausea

4. Morning sickness

The discomfort caused due to these reasons doesn’t allow you to lie down in peace and sleep like your baby sleeps within you.

You should also know, if you don’t know it already, that one of the major side effects of sleep deprivation during pregnancy (and otherwise) is depression. Depression leads to drastic health consequences both for you and the baby. Some of them are:

1. Preterm birth

2. Low weight of the infant

3. Irregular or disturbed fetal development (as sleep ensures proper growth of your uterus and the fetus in it)

4. Long-term depression

Sometimes, it’s also due to the anxiety of the birth and what follows that disrupts your sleep.

You can try things like sleeping on your side or keeping a pillow between your legs to find enough relaxation to sleep. You can also buy furniture to give your body enough rest, so you can sleep better. For nausea and morning sickness, we suggest you get your gynaecologist’s help.

Take care!

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