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Can't. Stay. Awake. 18 Ways to Beat Pregnancy Fatigue

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Joanne Van Zuidam on Mar 11, 2011 at 3:41PM

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Can't. Stay. Awake. 18 Ways to Beat Pregnancy Fatigue

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Don't skimp on sleep

Whether it was your very first pregnancy symptom or it hit you a few weeks after the pee stick read positive, you're pregnant -- and suddenly you've never been so tired! (Hey, carrying around that extra weight and growing that life inside you is hard work.) You don't have to sleep your way through your pregnancy, though. Here are 18 ways to stay rested and awake.

You probably don’t need a reminder to turn in early -- fatigue in pregnancy (especially in the first trimester, when your body is busy creating the placenta) can be crushing. Naps help, but if your schedule can’t accommodate one, be sure to add an extra hour or two for an optimum nine-hour slumber. Another reason to ramp up shut eye: A recent study by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine found that sleeping less than six hours (or more than 10) each night in early pregnancy ups risk of elevated blood pressure in the third trimester. If you can’t sleep because you’re uncomfortable (or an overactive bladder keeps you running to the bathroom), turn over and position yourself on all fours for a few minutes, says Carrie Parker Gastelu, a childbirth educator and yoga instructor in New York City. “This will help shift the baby off of your bladder and make you more comfortable.”