Many pregnant women find themselves waking up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom (for the third time) or struggling to find a comfortable sleep position.
Likely because mild sleep problems are so common during pregnancy, many health care providers dismiss reports of insomnia, leaving women to manage the condition on their own and without resources they desperately need.
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
Exciting new research has demonstrated that cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) can improve sleep during pregnancy.This is a structured program that helps to replace unhelpful thoughts and behaviors that cause insomnia or worsen sleep problems. CBT-I helps to address the underlying causes of sleep problems with habits and thoughts that lead to deeper sleep.
CBT-I is delivered either in person, in a group, or over the internet. Within four to five weeks of participating in therapy, most people experience the benefits of treatment. Unlike with medications, sleep problems typically don’t return when the therapy is complete.
Keep Track of Your Sleep
One of the most common, and effective, sleep hygiene strategies is to set a regular sleep schedule. This suggestion is particularly true for setting a regular wake-up time, as there is no reason to crawl into bed if you don’t feel sleepy.By setting your wake-up time to be around the same every morning you are helping to your body re-establish better sleep.
Another method of improving sleep is tracking it. We know from weight-loss and smoking-cessation research that simply keeping track of a behavior leads people to adjust it.
Use Your Bed Only for Sleep
And then brace yourself—one of the key reasons sleep therapy works can be one of the hardest to do. Use your bed only for sleep!Our brains are learning machines. We can teach them to sleep when we get into bed, or we can teach them to do other things—like worry. It all depends on what we actually do when we get into bed.
Unfortunately, the bed can become ground zero for a thousand other activities ranging from reading your iPhone, replaying yesterday’s arguments, or worrying about tomorrow’s meetings.
Insomnia in Pregnancy Is Treatable
Changing sleep habits can be hard, so draw on your social support. Pregnant women often share their beds with partners, other children, and even pets. It’s important to get clear on the strategies you are going to try.Having a plan about who will get your toddler a drink of water in the middle of the night or what time it is essential the electronics be turned off.
The time to have these conversations is not at 3 a.m., so plan ahead.