Sleep during pregnancy is a common problem for those who are expecting the arrival of a new member of the family, and it can be the source of many concerns and doubts. There is, for example, a myth that sleeping too much during your pregnancy can be bad and many expectant mothers have heard of it and are worried about oversleeping, but how true is this?
The ideal amount of sleep for an adult person is between 7 and 9 hours a night, and it can vary from person to person depending on genetic or environmental factors and sleep quality, but usually 7 to 9 hours is enough for proper rest.
If you are consistently sleeping more than 9 hours in a row, you may be oversleeping, according to most sleep experts. The causes can be linked to various pregnancy phenomena, depending on the stage of your pregnancy.
During a pregnancy, the body undergoes many physiological and hormonal changes, which cause the various (and often strange) pregnancy symptoms. One of these changes is fatigue or tiredness, which causes women to feel very tired during the day and want to sleep a few extra hours, but why does this happen?
During pregnancy, the body's metabolism and hormone production is altered, especially the hormone progesterone. The increase in progesterone levels during pregnancy occurs mainly in the first trimester of pregnancy, and can cause what is commonly described as fatigue and excessive tiredness, which causes many pregnant women to try to sleep more.
In the case of third trimester fatigue, it may be due to the extra weight of the baby or the size of the belly, which can be an obstacle to getting into a comfortable position to fall asleep. There is also the possibility that the tiredness is a result of anxiety and worry about the approaching due date and all the emotional burden that this entails. In addition, you and your baby may not be on the same sleep schedule, with your baby being more active and mobile when you are just trying to sleep.
Oversleeping during pregnancy: is it bad?
A couple of years ago a study was published by the University of Michigan, which showed a relationship between oversleeping during pregnancy and fetal death, but it has only been a research that has pointed to this, without a truly conclusive conclusion, and the same scientists have clarified that further study of the subject is required before jumping to conclusions.
Finally, pregnancy is a physiological process that tests both your physical and mental limits, and this can be very tiring, especially when it is nine months of these extreme situations. So don't worry about getting a few more hours of sleep, your body and mind will thank you. And if you are having trouble sleeping, you can always try different sleeping positions, massages and many other solutions to give your body the rest it deserves.
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