Sleeping through pregnancy

Sleep deprivation is something most pregnant women just accept as a way of life for 6 months or so as their pregnancy ramps up and a growing baby keeps you up. 

Sleep is one of the most precious commodities a pregnant woman has.  Sleep is the key to maintaining good health throughout your pregnancy, a smoother labor and delivery and 9 months with fewer complications.

Here are some proven benefits to good sleep hygiene during pregnancy.

1. Sleep is when your body returns to setpoint and helps you maintain a healthy weight.
2. Sleep decreases your chances of developing preeclampsia by allowing your body to rest and relax, thereby lowering your blood pressure and encouraging good blood flow to the fetus.  
3. Sleep releases growth hormones that are good for mom and baby. It helps ensure proper development and growth to your fetus.
4. Sleep makes even a rough pregnancy more tolerable. 

So, how does one simply get more sleep while being uncomfortably pregnant?

• Make sure you have a good supportive mattress and lots of pillows to cushion and support your back and belly. 
• If sleeping during the night is restless, make up for it with naps during the day.  
• If light is bothersome, consider investing in a sleep mask. 
• Keep the temperature in your room a comfortable temperature.  We tend to be much warmer when pregnant so adjust your external thermostat whenever you can. 
• If noise is an issue, tune in to some white noise.  There are many apps you can find or even recordings on YouTube. 
• Choose your food wisely.  Avoid hot and spicy foods, foods that create gas and indigestion.  Avoid too much sugar throughout the day.  Too much sugar during the day will create extra trips to the bathroom through the night. 
• Consider eating a high protein snack before bed.  This will help keep your blood sugars regulated throughout the night and help keep you asleep and comfortable. 
• Work out the stress of the day before you go to bed.  Write down anything you need to remember.  Dump out the worries and spend a few minutes before bed, just relaxing in peace and quiet.  Eliminate social media in the evening hours to give your brain a chance to slow down. 

These are just a few tips.   Anything that promotes good quality sleep will benefit you more than you know throughout your pregnancy. 

Night Owls and Early Birds

If you had to say...are you a night owl or an early bird?

According to science and studies and ...take it for what it's worth, night owls or late Chronotypes, as they are properly termed, have some advantages over the early birds.

1. Late nighters and late risers seem to have an edge of creativity.
2. One theory suggests that night owls seem to be better at finding non conventional solutions to the problems they face.
3. In 2009, researchers linked an increase in IQ to those who preferred to go to be late and wake up late.  That study has been recreated by the US Airforce and similar studies concur.  Even those who score higher on tests in MBA programs are self proclaimed night owls.
4. Night owls get bursts of strength and greater stamina than early birds. This can be in part to surges in the central nervous system in those late chronotypes. 
5. If you naturally stay up later without a problem, odds are you have greater mental strength, not just physical strength.  They often remain mentally alert for more hours in a day than those who rise early. 

All of this isn't to say that early birds are a lost cause.  Quite the contrary.  Early Chronotypes have a lot going for them. 

1. Early risers report that they are happier than their late counterparts.  Science suggests that the early morning daylight hours contribute to a better mood.  We all know the benefit of daylight.  Early birds are getting more of it. 
2. Being an early to bed, early to rise kind of person is correlated to lower body mass as well.  We don't realize the impact good sleep has on our body's ability to burn fat...seriously, while sleeping! 
3. Early risers suffer from less insomnia. Again, it seems sleep is an important component to all round better health. 
4. The internal clock of an early riser more easily aligns with school and work schedules making it easy for them to adjust to the 9-5 work schedule. 
5.  Early risers are energetic, effective problem solvers and offer their counterparts a positive outlook on life.  They are methodical and well organized...I mean, what else are you going to do in those early morning hours but organize something?

Perhaps you've tried to change your late night ways or stay up extra late and face a dismal success rate.  Most of our waking and sleeping tendency is hardwired in us from day one and partly controlled by our genes.   One is not better over the other, what matters most is that your body is getting adequate sleep.  

Good hygiene is associated with good health, so whatever you do, don't let your quality and quantity of sleep get away from you.  You know, embrace the inner owl or early bird that you are!  Whatever your preference, be the best you can be!