Tips for Getting a Good Night’s Sleep

What can you do to solve your sleep problems during pregnancy? Here are some tried-and-true suggestions

• Avoid caffeine (in all its forms, so put that chocolate bar down) after noon.

• Get your eight glasses of water (or other fluids), but taper off at night.

• Drink if you’re thirsty, but don’t down a 16-ounce water bottle right before bedtime.

• Exercise regularly - during the day or early evening. A daily workout will help you sleep better, but if it comes too close to bedtime, it could actually sabotage sleep (exercise) is energising)

• Take a warm bath just before bed. The soothing and relaxing effects of the bath should help you summon the sandman sooner.

• Make love, if you’re in the mood. Or at least ask your man for a massage - both of which can relax you.

• Have a light snack before hitting the hay to stave off midnight hunger pangs. Include protein and a complex carb (think cheese and a whole-grain muffin), as well as some warm milk (it really works!) or decaffeinated tea. Besides the duh (avoid caffeine, again in all its forms - sorry, no chocolate with the warm milk), stay away from sugar, which will give you an energy boost when you least want one, and then leave your blood sugar levels wobbly during the night (yet another strike against chocolate).

• Crack a window - as long as the weather’s comfortable (which for a pregnant woman means anything from 65 degrees on down-way down). The fresh air can be soporific. If the weather’s not cooperative, keep the room comfortably (for you, not your spouse) chilled. Remember, your heat’s up, the thermostat’s should be down.

• Try some relaxation exercises - visualisation, deep breathing, meditation, or even yoga or chanting before hitting the sack. And actually, counting sheep can work the same way - the monotony of watching those little guys jump over the fence can be truly relaxing (unless you associate them with insomnia).

• Leave a night-light on in the bathroom - switching on the overhead is way too much of a wakeup call and will make it much harder to fall back asleep.

NAME: Elizabeth Lodge-Knowles

AGE: 33

SON: Barney

OCCUPATION: Respiratory WardSisterwith10years experience in NHS Respiratory