10 Hacks for Better Sleep While Pregnant & Beyond!

Right now, as I'm recording this, I am pregnant with my fifth child. In fact, I'm due in a week. And by the time this is out, I will, please God, have had the baby. But I wanted to share what I've been doing during this pregnancy in order to sleep better and prioritize my sleep because in pregnancy, there is so much more that goes on in your body that makes sleep challenging. And if you also have other children, then it's just, hmm, it can be a hot mess, right? Hi, my name is Avital. I'm a mindful parenting coach and the mother of four, soon to be five, hopefully by the time you're watching this. And I share videos that help you to love parenting and to parent from love and to create family bliss, to really create a family life that you love and enjoy. So if that's the kind of thing that speaks to you, hit the thumbs up button and subscribe to the channel. Click the notification bell because I will continue to share these tidbits and hopefully they'll be really helpful to you. I know parenting is the most meaningful project of my life and I'm sure it is of yours too if you're watching this. And we all need as much help and support and upliftment and encouragement as we can get in order to really enjoy parenting and not suffer through it in survival mode. Am I right? Back to the sleep. There are so many things that you can do to prioritize sleep. And the truth is that in our culture, we like to complain a lot about how tired we are. We like to paint parenting as this exhausting thing that will deprive us of sleep. Newborns wake up in the night and babies disrupt us and toddlers and nursing and all the things. And it's all true. However, we also have a lot of responsibility that we're sometimes not taking, frankly. We're not being honest about our own self-sabotage of our sleep. Like even if our kids are disrupting our sleep, are we doing enough outside of what our children are doing to make sure that we sleep well? For me at least, I'll be the first to raise my hand. The answer is often no. I'm often the worst offender against my own sleep, worse than what my kids are doing to me to wake me up. So let's look at the things that we do have control over. Okay, so the first thing you have to think about when it comes to sleep is keeping your bedroom minimalistic, streamlined, very, very neat and tidy. I'm a very visual person. And if I'm in a room that has piles of laundry and lots of clutter, it just reminds me of everything I have to do. It just overwhelms me. It actually puts me into a bit of a stress state and cortisol might spike or adrenaline might spike. And that is the opposite of the sleep hormones that we want to induce. So making your bed in the morning, putting piles of clothes away, keeping the surfaces clean, even the cupboards and your wardrobe spaces should be spaces that aren't stressing you out and reminding you of everything you have to do. Now, you might be so annoyed with me right now because you have no time to organize all of that. But just put that as, you know, put a little sticky note on it that when you have time, you want to honor your sleep space as a sanctuary, as something that calms you, as something that feels like a safe haven. Especially if you're busy with kids all day, cleaning, cooking, doing all the stuff all day, you deserve and need a space that is there to pamper you and make you feel good. So maybe it's about hanging artwork on the walls that is meaningful or beautiful to you or calming. And what else can you do in the space that makes it feel like a spa or feel like a really calm sleep bubble? In many ways, the emptier the room, the sparser the room, the more clear and clean and minimalistic, the better. If you don't have time to really make it beautiful, then at least make it clear and empty and functioning so it doesn't feel like a chaotic place to enter into. You want to consider your senses in the room that you're sleeping in. So first of all, what's the fragrance? There are fragrances that are calming, such as lavender, for example. And maybe you want to diffuse those or light incense so that you can make that space something that really just triggers the calming hormones and makes you feel like this is a place where you can unwind and relax and really spikes pleasure sensations as you enter into the room. Next is touch. What is touching your body while you sleep? Can you think of perhaps getting pajamas that really feel good to you? If you're wearing anything itchy or tight or restrictive or suffocating or anything that just doesn't feel really, really smooth on the skin. And maybe the same for your sheets and linen. Some people are really sensitive to the fabrics that are touching their skin. Some people sleep in satin or in silk if you want to go really high end with it. But just, you know, I know a lot of people who are very sensitive to anything that feels like jersey or feels too warm or too itchy perhaps on their beds. And I personally really like as cool as possible for sleeping in. We'll get to that in a moment. And so anything that's cooling is going to be great for me. Something smooth, right? Something like a satin type of finish. So think about that and think if you want to invest perhaps in a new set of sheets, just the one, you can wash them, you can keep them on, and your pajamas so that they really, your skin is feeling good when you sleep and you just want to consider that there's nothing restrictive, no elastic bands that are hurting you, that type of thing. Same goes for maybe removing your jewelry, taking your hair scrunchie out or putting in a scrunchie that is not like tightly pulling your hair back. Anything that's touching your body needs to feel good. While we're on the subject of cooling, there's been a lot of research that shows that the cooler your body is, the cooler the room is, the better you sleep. Now I know a lot of people don't like this. Some of you might have electric blankets and you wear socks and hats and I don't know what to sleep. Personally, I love a cold, cold room with the windows open with fresh air and to get warm under the blanket. I love that. And when I'm pregnant, I'm especially hot and I really need the fresh air and even in the dead of winter, I will open the windows and have that cold, cold air coming in on me and my family hates it. Everybody's freezing. They're all wearing sweaters and fleeces and there I am in a little cami because I just really enjoy that cold sensation. But even if you're not like me, crazy cold, you still want to consider maybe trying to sleep in a slightly colder room temp. They say about 68 to 69 degrees is ideal and a lot of sleep research has shown that people just sleep deeper and longer when they're actually in a cooler environment. So if you're not sleeping well, consider if you're overheating yourself. Another problem with overheating yourself is that it dehydrates you and then you're more thirsty and of course when you're pregnant, you need to pee more when you sleep. It's not a good look. So you want to try and keep yourself as cool as possible. On the subject of touch and sensation, consider what pillows you need in your bed. A lot of people sleep with a pregnancy pillow. I did up until the third trimester and for some reason at that point, I didn't enjoy it anymore and you can get a boppy pillow or a U-shaped pillow or a bolster to put under your knees and really consider the various positions that you could try out in order to sleep more comfortably. So don't just resign yourself to the fact that you're pregnant now so it's uncomfortable and you're always going to have this belly and a baby kicking you, etc. Think of ways you can support yourself better during sleep, even with the things that you already have like just extra cushions from your couch. Let's talk about your eyes and visuals. So first of all, as you're winding down to go to sleep, about an hour before you know you're going to sleep and this is so hard to do, I don't manage to do this, but you really want to stop looking at your phone at that time. You want to stop looking at computer screens. You want to stop having bright lights in your eyes. So this is a time to turn those dimmers down, to use soft Himalayan salt lamps, for example, or just low lights, warm lights, candlelight even, right? And the idea is that the light that shines in your eyes really signals to your body that it's morning, that it's day and it keeps you awake and it gets you going. Instead, you want to kind of tone that all down as much as possible. Looking at your phone not only emits that blue light that keeps you up, but also sparks all sorts of dopamine hits and adrenaline hits as you read the news or you read a post on Facebook and it gets you addicted and then you're likely to stay on your phone, especially if you've been with kids all day. This is like, oh, it's me time. I'm allowed to be on my phone. But the truth is we all know that scrolling through Facebook or YouTube or whatever before you go to sleep is not necessarily going to help you unwind. So the only exception I would make for this rule is if you are listening to affirmations or meditations, hypnobirthing, that type of thing, calming music and you need your phone for that, fine. But if you could maybe get it from another source, so consider having a clock that is not related to your phone. Consider having a music source that you can play that is not related to your phone so that you can actually take your phone out of your bedroom. That is my end goal for you is to have no phone in your bedroom and no TV in your bedroom and really you watch the stuff that you want to watch outside of your room and when you come into your room, you know this is a place that you go to unwind. That is what I would most want for you because it will help you sleep the best. Doing some meditations before you go to sleep, doing some journaling before you go to sleep, anything that helps you unwind, calm down, massaging yourself, dry brushing yourself perhaps, having your partner massage you, anything that you can do that gets you into a calmer mood. Maybe you have a hot bath or shower with salts. Maybe you just give yourself you know just a night routine of a facial or just washing your face and all of that stuff is great because it's all kind of spa-like pampering that unwinds you and doesn't get you attached and involved in what's going on in the world or your to-do list but instead really centers you in the here and now in the physical sensations in your body and that's what you want as you're winding down to sleep. You want to let go of all those thoughts into your journal. You want to clear your mind and meditate. You want to do breathing exercises. You want to massage your body. You want to get in touch with how you're feeling. You want to stretch, right? Stretch it out. Do some yoga. Do any and these can all take just a couple minutes each. It doesn't have to be a long fancy bedtime routine but you know you wash your face, brush your teeth or have a shower or bath and then you just do some stretching, a couple minutes of journaling and listening to a meditation as you fall asleep, right? The idea is really not to just be on your phone or falling asleep to a TV show although, of course, we all do that. Now, if you need help with sleep and it's still not working then you can consider taking some sleep herbs or drinking sleepy teas in the evening. You really, really, really want to restrict your caffeine intake past 2 p.m. so that you're not having caffeine in your body. Anything past 2.30 p.m. if you're having caffeine apparently it still stays in your body and disrupts your melatonin at night and so you really want to be aware of that if you're having any trouble sleeping whatsoever don't have much caffeine at all and certainly not past the afternoon. I have a coffee first thing in the morning only and then you might need some help with some herbal supplements, with sleep oils, with sleepy teas or perhaps even melatonin supplements if that's something that your healthcare provider recommends. Mine did from time to time for me to take some melatonin supplements if I was really having trouble sleeping and especially leading up to the birth you want to remember that this is really crucial to sleep as much as you can as ironic and difficult and annoying and paradoxical as it sounds because you're not comfortable and you need to be and the baby's kicking you and you're anxious and nesting and excited and nervous but still we want to do everything we can to rest up as much as possible so we have energy to birth that baby and so that's whatever you need in that realm I would try and you know test it out and see what works for you there. On the subject of peeing when you're pregnant you often need to pee super often or even if you don't actually need to you have the sensation that you need to so if possible try to drink as much as possible the bulk of your liquids intake in the morning and throughout the middle of the day and then try to start to limit it a little bit more as you get into sleepy time so that you're not just getting up time after time after time like I am to pee throughout the night. It's so disruptive but if you get up just once or twice that's so much better than five or six times, right? So try to drink as much as you can in the morning and then keep it cool and not get too thirsty towards bedtime that might help. And finally if there are any gadgets or accessories that really help you sleep I have been gifted this beautiful eye mask by Claire my team member and it is so relaxing. It's actually a cooling eye mask made of these beautiful gems and it feels so great and when I put that on my eyes and I lie down even though I'm lying on my back if I get myself comfortable with my pillows it can really really relax me and also help me keep my eyes closed instead of popping up and deciding oh I just need to check something on my phone or I just need to write something down. It kind of signals to me that this is a time to close those eyes. So maybe you need an eye mask or cucumbers on your eyes or tea bags on your eyes or maybe you need earplugs and on the subject of earplugs really consider the sound in your home. In my home we hear every little creak from other rooms and so I put on white noise and I put pillows or something like that under the door so that I can really muffle the noises and you might want to consider even wearing earplugs or noise cancelling headphones and listening to those meditations. So anything that's going to help you really sink into sleep do it my friends you've got to prioritize that right now. All right did I miss anything? I would love to hear what your sleep tips are what has helped you sleep better during pregnancy or beyond. Even though my children still sometimes come into my bed or wake me up I know that if I get to bed early enough and I do these tips then I will get enough sleep and I will be energized and that is actually a good last point is getting to bed early. A lot of research has shown that the best sleep that we have is between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. and we really wanted to be sleeping by 10 p.m. and I know that might sound laughable to you. I get it. I have four kids. I run a business. I know how busy you probably are but to me this is kind of like that Gandhi quote that if you don't have time to meditate for an hour then that kind of means you need two hours that day, right? Like you need extra. If you're not managing to get to bed early because you're so busy then it's potentially true that you even more so need that early night sleep so that you are really rejuvenated and have enough energy to do all your things all your super superwoman things during the day. So prioritize it and get to bed early and many people have a lot of success with naps especially during pregnancy and beyond into the postpartum stages and I'm not such a good napper. I don't love napping unless it's like with my toddler but when I have had a nap it's been wonderful and amazing and siestas are just excellent ideas all around especially when you're pregnant. So really think what works for you and I also want to say give yourself permission to move room if your kids are disturbing you in that room if your partner doesn't like the temperature or whatever that you're sleeping in if you have a different room that you can go to and you can set up your bed there just prioritize your sleep is the point whatever works for you whatever gets the most sleep for all the family members that's the route to go right now. All right. So I just want to wish you a smooth easy healthy beautiful empowering birth experience and postpartum experience. I hope this has been helpful for you. Give it a thumbs up if it has and a thumbs down if it hasn't so that I know that this is not the kind of thing you want to see and let me know in the comments below what was your favorite tip and what has worked for you. Also, if you know anyone pregnant share this with them because it might help them. Don't forget to hit the subscribe button and that notification bell so that you see my future videos. I'm about to shoot a video all about self-care during pregnancy and how you can feel and look amazing and really take care of yourself when you're pregnant and parenting young children and so make sure that you are notified so that you get that video too. Bye.