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Insomnia is never a good thing, but when a woman is in the early stages of pregnancy, insomnia can make for long nights and tired days. In a recent poll conducted by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), 78 percent of women reported more disturbed sleep during pregnancy than at other times. Sleep-related problems also became more prevalent as the women's pregnancies progressed.
Dr. Jill Powell, assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women's Health at St. Louis University School of Medicine, says she finds most sleep disturbances follow the pattern found in the NSF's poll. In other words, sleep problems can develop early on but usually aren't too bad and abate as the pregnancy progresses. Later, other issues can cause insomnia to reoccur.
In the first trimester, insomnia is relatively common. |
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The result is she may not be able to fall asleep that night, which then just sets in place a vicious cycle of exhaustion. To avoid this, Dr. Powell suggests trying to avoid long naps during the day. Try taking a walk or finding some other activity instead of sleeping. Go to bed at the same time every night; even if it's earlier than your "normal" pre-pregnancy schedule to get some extra sleep.
In addition to hormonal changes, Dr. Powell notes there is often a lot of anxiety in the first trimester. A woman may have concerns about her health or the baby's health and may worry about miscarriage. There may even be more specific reasons for anxiety, such as financial worries if the pregnancy was unplanned. For this type of emotion-related insomnia, Dr. Powell suggests trying to find someone to talk to who may help ease your worries, such as a friend, clergyman or your doctor.
I am now 11 weeks pregnant and in the last few days, I have been getting about 2 to 3 hrs of sleep a night and even then, I wake up a lot and have lots of dreams. It's SO frustrating. I work full time and I can't take time off. I have had a REALLY hard time focusing. I keep waking up my husband around 2 or 3 am since by then, I am TOO frustrated. I feel terrible about this and I hope he won't get fed up in the near future! I don't know what to do!
This has ben by far the most horrible pregnancy ever. I have even thought of after delivering, having my tubes tied. This will be my first child. I have dealt with NO SLEEP, constipation, feeling sick all the time, having no energy. I thought this was suppossed to be fun? What's going on?
I think I am pregnant which is great. I have been always, and I do mean, ALWAYS been able to sleep. For the last week I haven't been able to. I know that my period is due in a few days. I am always exhausted (but I work at a home improvement store), seem to always be thirsty, get dizzy easily. I don't ever get breast tenderness and they are already really large. Could these actually be symptoms or am I just hoping for something?
im 10weeks pregnant and cant sleep for more then an hour..i cant sleep during the day either which has caused me to become so extremely irritable my partner cant wait to go to work
I'm 8 weeks pregnant, and living on about 2 hours of sleep a night. This is my 3rd pregnancy, and with my 2nd one I had the exact same thing. So frustrating and hard!! I don't know how I'm going to survive or function this time....
Content provided on this site is for educational purposes only and should not be construed to be medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
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