3 Best Positions for Sleeping While Pregnant
When you’re pregnant, especially in the later months, it can start to feel like your body isn’t your own. Sleep, once an easy escape into restfulness, can become a nightly challenge, with comfort seeming like a distant memory.
As the weeks pass, finding a peaceful position to rest becomes as complex as the life developing inside you. However, there are some steps you can take to help restore your restful nights without creating issues for your pregnancy, which are more important now than ever.
Better sleep during pregnancy is well within reach through understanding and adapting to your body's new needs. This article dives into the heart of sleep solutions during pregnancy, exploring positions that promise sleep and quality rest for both you and your growing baby.
1. The Left-Side Leader
Switching to sleeping on your left side might seem like a small tweak, but during pregnancy, it’s a little shift that can have a huge impact. Sleeping on your left side is a way to make a conscious choice that pays off in spades for your health and your baby’s well-being.
By lying on your left, you’re boosting your circulation in a big way. This means your little one gets a steady supply of nutrients and oxygen, all thanks to the natural layout of your body and the helpful push from gravity.
But the perks don’t stop there. If you’re dealing with swelling and the need to visit the bathroom every five minutes, finding comfort in sleeping on your left side may offer an unexpected solution for these common pregnancy complaints.
Sleeping on your left side helps keep the swelling at bay and reduces those middle-of-the-night sprints to the loo. Slide into your pillow, find that left-side sweet spot, and let the magic happen. You might just find that this simple switch is the key to a more restful night.
2. The Back-Support Booster
It’s common knowledge that pregnancy can come with its fair share of aches and pains, including back pain, due to the changes carrying a baby can cause to your posture. Sleeping on your back may exacerbate this problem, so we understand if you’re hesitant to try it. But there are ways to mitigate the discomfort and create the ideal, most supportive sleeping positive by molding your pillows to support your body better.
When you arrange pillows to cradle your back and belly, you’re creating an environment that actively works to relieve your pain. It’s about strategic placement: a pillow behind your back for support, one under your belly to keep the weight off your spine, and another between your knees to keep your hips in a happy alignment.
By embracing this pillow-centric setup, you’re signing up for nights filled with deeper sleep and days that start with you feeling refreshed and revitalized. Don’t forget, though — with more pillows comes more laundry and a greater risk of putting your sensitive skin in contact with less-than-pure bedding.
Our ultra-luxurious Miracle Made® Pillowcases can help. They’re infused with antimicrobial silver, so not only does our NASA-inspired cooling technology make you feel like you’re always resting on the cold side of the pillow, but they stay cleaner longer than normal sheets.
3. The Inclined Rest
Sliding into an inclined rest as part of your pregnancy bedtime routine might just feel like you’ve struck sleep gold. Think of it not just as adjusting your pillows but as elevating your whole sleep experience to new heights — quite literally.
Not only can this position help you dodge the discomforts of heartburn or the annoyance of indigestion, but it can also offer some benefits to interrupted sleep during pregnancy. By elevating your upper body, you’re setting yourself up for a night free from the grip of gastroesophageal reflux, which can hugely impact your sleep quality. It can also improve your breathing and offer some relief from aches and pains if you find yourself rolling all over the place otherwise.
While sleeping on your back with the added support of pillows can be beneficial at a certain point in your pregnancy, it’s always important to speak to your doctor before making decisions that may impact your health. Certain types of pregnancies and sleeping positions during some trimesters may carry risks, so always do your due diligence.
What Else Can You Do To Get Better Sleep?
Getting better sleep improves our lives in just about every possible way. So, when you’re pregnant and need additional rest more than ever but can’t quite get comfortable, bedtime can start to feel like a catch-22.
Luckily, in addition to putting some thought into how you sleep, there are some small changes you can make to your sleep hygiene and bedding to improve the quality of your sleep, too.
Pregnancy is a rollercoaster of hormones, leading to a body temperature as unpredictable as a summer in San Francisco. The key to managing these sudden changes? Breathable bedding.
While adding a fan or an extra blanket may help, it won’t do much if you’re waking up feeling too hot sometimes and too cold others. Bedding designed to help you achieve and maintain the ideal sleep temperature should be your go-to.
Our Miracle Made® Sheets will be the pièce de résistance of your pregnancy sleep setup. They keep you at the perfect temperature all night long, reducing those dreaded night sweats.
Plus, with a promise to prevent up to 99.7% of odor-causing bacteria growth, you can say hello to fewer washes and fresher sheets. Imagine slipping into luxuriously soft sheets that do more than just feel good. They actively contribute to your well-being and pregnancy glow.
The Bottom Line
It's clear that finding comfort during these transformative months is more art than science. The paths to peaceful sleep are as varied as the experiences of pregnancy itself, each holding the promise of restorative rest for both mother and baby.
While the search for the perfect sleeping position may seem daunting, it's an important task to undertake because it can improve your quality of life during this magical but challenging period.
Embracing the changes, experimenting with support, and seeking out positions that cater to your body's evolving needs can transform your nights from restless to restful. Let each breath and each moment of rest be a gentle reminder of the incredible journey you're on, one that's not just about waiting but about growing together in love and anticipation.
Sources:
Sleeping Positions During Pregnancy | Stanford Medicine
Sleeping During Pregnancy | Kids Health
Best Sleeping Position for Breathing Problems | Sleep Foundation
