Get Plenty of Rest for Morning Sickness
Posted on Sep 26, 2012 | Articles, Treating Morning Sickness Category | | Print This Article
If you’re in the first trimester of pregnancy and dealing with morning sickness, you’ve probably received an awful lot of advice. Some of it is time tested and proven (crackers, ginger ale), some of it is a bit dubious. It doesn’t take many days of waking up feeling like you need to throw up before you’re ready to try just about anything. One thing which most experts agree can help ease your morning sickness is making sure you get plenty of rest.
Studies show that women who get sufficient amounts of sleep (at least 8-10 hours/day) are less likely to have severe morning sickness. They experience nausea less often, and that nausea is generally less severe.
You should try to sleep a full eight hour night if you can. In addition (and especially if you can’t get a full night’s sleep), you should try to take a short nap or two during the day. Even if you can’t actually fall asleep, you should lie down and give your body the opportunity to rest.
Many of us have difficulty taking naps during the daytime. If you are having a tough time getting enough sleep, consider trying one of these ideas:
- Use a sleep mask. This is particularly useful if you are trying to sleep during the day or when other family members have lights on. Inexpensive sleep masks are available at most pharmacies. If you don’t have a sleep mask, a pair of dark sunglasses will do in a pinch.
- Use a maternity pillow. These help support your stomach and back properly. These are especially later in your pregnancy, but they can also help you rest better early in your pregnancy when you’re most likely to experience morning sickness.
- Try napping after meals. This helps in two ways. You get the extra rest you need, and your body is still while trying to digest what you’ve eaten. Often, moving around after you eat will aggravate morning sickness.
- Take your time getting up. The slower you rise, the less likely you are to be hit with a wave of morning sickness when you get up.
- Keep the crackers in the night stand. If all else fails, you’ll want them nearby when the first wave of nausea hits.
Getting adequate rest won’t guarantee that you won’t have morning sickness. However, it does appear to reduce the frequency and severity. Besides, any doctor will tell you that you should be getting extra rest while you’re pregnant anyway.
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