Insomnia in pregnancy is surprisingly common, affecting around 78% of infanticipating women. Although the unborn child is unharmed, insomnia in pregnancy can be quite a pain for the mommy-to-be. It’ll be nine long months before you can return to your usual sleeping ways, so you may as well try to make the best of your predicament.

It just may be that the anxiety and excitement at giving birth to new life is keeping you from much-needed zzz’s. So unlike before when you went off to dreamland as soon as your head touched the pillow, the sandman seems to ignore you now.

Due to the physical and hormonal shifts you will be undergoing, you can expect your sleep to be disrupted by back pains, discomfort as your abdomen gets bigger, increased urinary frequency, heartburn, and even stirring dreams. Aside from the common complaint of morning sickness, you will also have to put up with headaches, dizziness, nervousness, and irritability.

A lot of office workers are known for being insomniacs due to lack of physical activity in their daily routine. Exercise during the day (but not 3 hours or less before bedtime) to help you relax and fall asleep. Avoid doing anything strenuous just before preparing to sleep as the adrenalin you’ve built up will only succeed in keeping you awake.

When having insomnia in pregnancy, as in any other instance of sleeplessness, getting the hang of relaxing is very important. Have a nice warm bath, then have your husband or partner give you a firm but gentle massage to ease muscle tension, and relieve stress and fatigue.

Surround yourself with gentle and lulling music, or recordings of soothing sounds like a steady heartbeat or lapping ocean waves. Make sure your player turns off automatically, because if you’re going to have to get up to turn it off yourself, then it negates the purpose of listening to a recording to help you get to sleep in the first place.

Your bedroom must be ideal for sleep. Not too warm or you’ll feel uncomfortable from the heat, and not too cold which would make you shiver all night. Your mattress should be firm and comfortable, not hard or lumpy in places, that you end up with a stiff neck, a bad back, and other aches and pains in the morning.

If it’s safe, do leave the window open to let in fresh air and proper circulation. Curtains and rugs encourage the absorption of light and sound, so the overall ambience of the room is darker and quieter. Earplugs prove useful, too. And don’t forget to turn off your phone.

If you’ve tossed and turned but you’re not in dream mode yet, get out of bed and do some light activities like reading or needlework until sleep overtakes you. The moment you feel sleepy already, by all means, float off to dreamland.

Sleep on your side to remedy back pain. Bend your knees and put a pillow between your legs. Try placing one under the small of your back, underneath your belly, for more support. Pile on even more to prop up your upper body if you suffer from heartburn.

Sleeping on your left side would help a lot as this causes blood and nutrients to surge to the placenta and your baby, although moving about and shifting positions is perfectly fine. These changes will make your movement limited, though. You won’t be able to lie on your stomach for apparent reasons, while lying flat may only aggravate your back pain.

With the weight of your belly bearing down on you, lying on your back could even lead to digestive and respiratory problems, as well as low blood pressure and decreased circulation, which in turn affects not only your heart, but also your unborn child.

Insomnia in pregnancy need not plague you. At the very least, you need not be part of the demographics that experiences it. Hopefully, with these steps, you will not only expect a baby, but you’ll sleep like one, too.