Tips for Sleeping Better During Pregnancy

These tips for sleeping better during pregnancy are so helpful! If you are pregnant and struggle with getting a good night’s sleep, try these genius ideas!

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I don’t know about you, but I think that during pregnancy there are some nights when I get less sleep than when I have a newborn to feed every two hours. Between the back pain, the congestion, the heartburn, the hip pain, and having to go to the bathroom every few hours, getting a good night’s sleep during pregnancy can seem elusive.

It doesn’t matter if you are on your first pregnancy and have no other kids at home, or you’re on your third pregnancy and have two other kids at home, if you don’t get a good night’s sleep, you’ll probably be a little bit of a hot mess the next day. I’m pretty sure my husband and kids can attest to that.

I also know that if I don’t get a good night’s sleep, my husband doesn’t either, which is a big bummer because he has to wake up super early for work every day.

Now that I’m on my third pregnancy, I’ve figured out a few tricks and tips for sleeping better during pregnancy. Of course, there are some things you can’t control, but there are a lot of things you can do to help manage specific pregnancy sleeping problems. And since it doesn’t seem fair to keep these tips all to myself, I want to share them with you!

Tips for Sleeping Better During Pregnancy

Don’t drink anything after dinner

One common problem pregnant women experience is waking up to pee at night. I’ve found that nights that I drink any water or juice after dinner, I usually have to get up and go to the bathroom a lot. So limit yourself, and just don’t drink anything after dinner. I would say after 7pm, because that gives you a few hours to get whatever you drank earlier out of your system before climbing into bed, and that way, you will have to get up less times in the night! Yay!

Don’t drink caffeine in the evening

There are a lot of conflicting studies about caffeine during pregnancy, but experts recommend limiting your total daily caffeine consumption to less than 200 mg. And if you are a caffeine drinker and need that little extra boost to help you get through the day, just make sure you aren’t drinking it in the evening. Caffeine increases the frequency of urination and it can increase your heart rate, both of which are not conducive to sleeping. So just try to get your caffeine fix earlier in the day if you need it!

Don’t work out at night

This goes for anybody, but especially a pregnant woman.

Have you ever gone for a jog or played basketball or done some cardio after the kids have gone to bed? Were you able to get to sleep on time? My husband used to play basketball in the evenings sometimes, and every single time, he had a hard time falling asleep. Your body gets stimulated when you exercise, and obviously that’s a bad thing if you’re planning on falling asleep soon after. So even though exercise during pregnancy is definitely important, try to do it earlier in the day so you can sleep better at night.

Use nasal strips to help with congestion

I don’t know why, but during this pregnancy my nighttime congestion has been off the charts. And since I was curious, I looked it up and found out that congestion during pregnancy is very common!

If you don’t want to be up all night with a clogged nose or keep your husband up all night with your loud open-mouth breathing, try using nasal strips to help with congestion.

And bonus, if you get a cold during pregnancy or your allergies are extra bad (again, me!), nasal strips work for that, too!

Do something relaxing before bed

There are lots of ways you can do this, but some ideas are meditation, listening to affirmations, a pregnancy podcast, journaling, reading a pregnancy book, or listening to calming music in a dimly-lit bedroom. If you feel stressed or have a hard time turning your brain off (me!), then doing something to help relax you before bed is a great way to help your mind calm down and help you fall asleep faster. Pregnancy comes with a lot of thoughts and feelings, and if you don’t find a way to deal with that stress, you’re probably going to have a hard time sleeping.

Take a warm bath or shower before bed

Since I usually don’t get a lot of time to myself in the mornings, I like to shower at night after the kids are in bed. Not only does it help me feel clean and refreshed before bed, but it helps relax my muscles and ease any aches I have.

Pregnancy is hard on your body, and taking a warm bath with a nice bath soak or a long, warm shower really helps alleviate some of that pain. I don’t know about you, but body aches and pains are one thing that keep me from having a good night’s sleep during pregnancy, and when I take a warm shower before bed, I usually sleep better!

Sleep with pillows between your legs and under your belly

This is one of the most important things I do to help myself sleep better. Since you’re supposed to sleep on your side during pregnancy, and that’s definitely not always the comfiest position (I’m a stomach sleeper all the way, but that’s definitely out right now), sleeping with some support between your knees and calves and under your belly can really help you feel more comfortable. Personally, it helps my hips not hurt as much at night, too.

You can even buy a pregnancy pillow shaped like a big C to help with this, too!

Wear comfy pajamas to bed

You might think this sound silly, but if you don’t have on comfy pajamas when you sleep, you aren’t going to be able to rest well, especially during pregnancy. I love wearing leggings and loose, soft tees to bed, and it really helps me sleep deeper because I don’t have to adjust my clothes at night. It’s just one more small thing you can do to help you sleep better during pregnancy.

Take antacids before bed

I was going to recommend not eating spicy or greasy food for dinner, but is that even possible during pregnancy? Curry, pizza, and Mexican food, get in my belly. So yes, you could avoid spicy or greasy food in the evenings, or you could just take some antacids before you go to bed at night when you do eat those things. I’m certainly not going to tell a pregnant woman what she can and cannot eat!

Hopefully those tips for sleeping better during pregnancy will be helpful for any pregnant women out there looking for a better night’s sleep. I’ve implemented all of these into my life and so far, I’ve been sleeping better! And my husband has been sleeping better, too! Which makes for better days for everyone at our house!