Sleep is extremely important for pregnant women. According to experts, the appropriate sleep time for pregnant women is about 7-9 hours in the evening. Therefore, staying up late will have a negative impact on the health and development of the fetus.
1. Why do pregnant women often stay up late?
During pregnancy, adequate and reasonable sleep is one of the factors that play an important role in the health of the mother and the comprehensive development of the fetus. However, many pregnant women often stay up late because of the following reasons that affect sleep:
- Pregnant women often stay up late before pregnancy: The habit of staying up late before pregnancy affects sleep and it is difficult for pregnant women to give up sleeping late;
- Difficult to find a comfortable sleeping position: Along with the development of the fetus, many pregnant women find it difficult to find a comfortable sleeping position, especially in the final stages of pregnancy;
- Frequent urination at night: For pregnant women, kidney activity must increase by 30-50% compared to normal to filter more blood during pregnancy, resulting in increased blood urea levels and more urine output. Frequent urination at night is one of the common causes of insomnia and staying up late in pregnant women;
- Shortness of breath: Changes in hormones during pregnancy make breathing slower and deeper, leading to discomfort when going to sleep, especially in the last months of pregnancy;
- Back pain, leg pain: The growing fetus increases the weight of the mother's body. Most pregnant women have back pain, swollen legs and leg pain, these conditions are the cause of difficulty sleeping and insomnia in pregnant women;
- Fetal movement: Increased fetal movement in the last months of pregnancy also makes the mother prone to insomnia and staying up late;
- Using electronic devices too much: Pregnant mothers who are too focused on using electronic devices such as phones, laptops... make it difficult to sleep and lose sleep.
See now: How does insomnia during pregnancy affect the fetus?
2. What are the effects of staying up late during pregnancy?
Many issues have been raised around the question of whether staying up late during pregnancy is good or not. Accordingly, research from scientists shows that the harmful effects of staying up late during pregnancy are very bad for the mother's health and the development of the fetus. Although the nutritional regimen is fully and reasonably supplemented, if the mother sleeps less than 6 hours a day, it will make the pregnant mother tired, not alert, even leading to exhaustion, affecting the mother's health and the development of the fetus. Some consequences of staying up late during pregnancy can be mentioned as follows:
- Suitable for miscarriage in the early stages of pregnancy: The early stages of pregnancy are the embryonic period and the most important stage of development of the fetal organs. Therefore, the condition of staying up late and sleeping late in pregnancy will cause serious effects that prevent the fetus from developing healthily, adverse reactions such as dizziness and falls in pregnant mothers can also cause miscarriage;
- Slow fetal development: Is one of the important issues when answering the question of whether it is okay for pregnant women to stay up late. Accordingly, if pregnant women stay up late, it will affect the body's biological clock, disrupt the secretion of hormones and affect the body's metabolism. These effects adversely affect the development of the fetus;
- Children are born with anemia: The period from 11pm to 3am is the time for the process of regulating and creating blood in the mother's body. Therefore, in the case of pregnant mothers staying up late or not having regular sleep, it can lead to anemia in the baby when born;
- Mothers are susceptible to colds and infections: Studies show that sleeping after 11pm will weaken the body's immune system. Especially for pregnant women, hormonal changes in the body combined with a weakened immune system due to staying up late will increase the risk of colds and infections;
- Mothers always feel tired and lack of vitality: Staying up late will make them always feel tired and lack of vitality the next morning when they wake up, their spirit will always feel unhappy and depressed. Along with that, pregnant mothers also have to face other health problems such as melasma, dark skin...
- Mood changes: Pregnant mothers staying up late can easily lead to insomnia, restlessness and affect their mood, emotions of sadness and happiness, forgetfulness and irritability...
3. Secrets to help improve pregnant women's sleep
In addition to questions related to whether pregnant women should stay up late, how to improve sleep in pregnant women is also one of the issues of great concern. Accordingly, recognizing the harmful effects on the health and development of the fetus when staying up late will help pregnant mothers build a reasonable lifestyle and sleep regimen. The reasonable sleep time for pregnant mothers is about 8 hours a day. Some measures to help improve sleep are as follows:
- Do not drink caffeinated drinks: Caffeinated drinks cause stimulation and difficulty sleeping, so to sleep well and avoid staying up late and insomnia, pregnant mothers should not use these drinks;
- Soak your feet in hot water, take a hot bath: This method helps increase blood circulation, relax the body. Therefore, pregnant mothers can soak their feet in hot water before going to bed to help them fall asleep more easily;
- Limit or drink less water in the evening and eat before going to bed;
- Foot massage: Helps increase blood circulation, relax the body and fall asleep more easily;
- A pillow to hug when sleeping will help you sleep better;
- Maintain a regular bedtime every night.
Getting enough sleep and on time is very important for the mother's health and the development of the fetus. Therefore, pregnant mothers should establish a scientific rest regimen, sleep on time, and limit staying up late to avoid the risk of related diseases and negative effects on the development of the fetus. The 9-month and 10-month period of pregnancy brings both difficulties and happiness to the mother. Therefore, the mother needs to be taken care of both physically and mentally. If the pregnant mother stays up late or is always in a state of insomnia, it will seriously affect the mother's health as well as the development of the fetus.
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