Ideal or recommended amount of sleep?

I think I'm around 32(+4d) weeks now, and I'm wondering if anyone knows how
much sleep, on average, I should be getting.
I'm just trying to find out why, all the time, I feel like garbage, and
wondering if it has anything to do with sleep (or lack of) or if it's
something else.
I had a great pregnancy with the boys, with DD I always felt a bit tired,
but I was able to sleep... This time, though, I just can't sleep. I have
some major issues getting to sleep and actually staying asleep. I'm
starting to think that I just don't get enough sleep.
Any ideas on how many hours a night is recommended? What about naps during
the day? Ideas?

xkatx wrote:
I think I'm around 32(+4d) weeks now, and I'm wondering if anyone
knows how much sleep, on average, I should be getting.
I'm just trying to find out why, all the time, I feel like garbage,
and wondering if it has anything to do with sleep (or lack of) or if
it's something else.
I had a great pregnancy with the boys, with DD I always felt a bit
tired, but I was able to sleep... This time, though, I just can't
sleep. I have some major issues getting to sleep and actually
staying asleep. I'm starting to think that I just don't get enough
sleep. Any ideas on how many hours a night is recommended? What about
naps
during the day? Ideas?

It's hard to say, since everyone is different. You also don't say how many
hours you are getting right now, but clearly if you are having trouble
getting to sleep, and having trouble staying asleep, and feeling tired and
worn out all day long, you may not be getting enough deep sleep.

You might try a combination of a few small things to see if it helps on a
few of your different issues -- getting to sleep, staying asleep, and
getting more sleep.

On Getting To Sleep:
-- Take a warm bath before bed.
-- Go into your room an hour before you plan to go to bed, and keep the
lights low. Try reading or flipping through a magazine while in bed.
-- Drink some soothing tea about 30 minutes before you plan to go to bed.
-- Write in a journal before bed...write down all your worries, all the
things you need to do tomorrow, all the thoughts whirling around in your
head. Sometimes what keeps us awake is that we can't shut down our brains
during stressful times.

Hopefully some of the above ideas will help you relax and be able to stay
asleep, or go back to sleep more easily if you wake up in the night.

On Getting More Sleep:
-- Try to go to bed an hour earlier than before.
-- Try to schedule some nap time during the day. If the kids are napping,
nap as well. Or if the kids are in school/preschool, nap.

Hugs and good luck.
--

Jamie
Earth Angels:
Taylor Marlys, 1/3/03
Addison Grace, 9/30/04

Check out the family! -- www.MyFamily.com, User ID: Clarkguest1,
Password: Guest Become a member for free - go to Add Member to set up
your own User ID and Password

"Jamie Clark" wrote in message
. ..
xkatx wrote:
I think I'm around 32(+4d) weeks now, and I'm wondering if anyone
knows how much sleep, on average, I should be getting.
I'm just trying to find out why, all the time, I feel like garbage,
and wondering if it has anything to do with sleep (or lack of) or if
it's something else.
I had a great pregnancy with the boys, with DD I always felt a bit
tired, but I was able to sleep... This time, though, I just can't
sleep. I have some major issues getting to sleep and actually
staying asleep. I'm starting to think that I just don't get enough
sleep. Any ideas on how many hours a night is recommended? What about
naps
during the day? Ideas?

It's hard to say, since everyone is different. You also don't say how
many hours you are getting right now, but clearly if you are having
trouble getting to sleep, and having trouble staying asleep, and feeling
tired and worn out all day long, you may not be getting enough deep sleep.

Right now as it is, I bet I get about 6 hours of sleep at night, no sleep
during the day.

You might try a combination of a few small things to see if it helps on a
few of your different issues -- getting to sleep, staying asleep, and
getting more sleep.

On Getting To Sleep:
-- Take a warm bath before bed.

Ahh... That actually sounds fantastic, actually.

-- Go into your room an hour before you plan to go to bed, and keep the
lights low. Try reading or flipping through a magazine while in bed.

Maybe my problem is sitting up and having the TV on to try and make myself
so tired to fall asleep... I sit and I crochet my blanket with the TV on.
Maybe I'll try to knock out the tube, keep the crochet and maybe some light,
easy music in the background instead of whatever show.

-- Drink some soothing tea about 30 minutes before you plan to go to bed.

Soothing tea? So knock off the Pepsi? lol
I can't stomach tea - or coffee - or anything along those lines. I did,
however, drink as much of the RRL tea with DS2, as I had heard it's good
while pg. Maybe I'll take that up again, as it sure doesn't seem to hurt.

-- Write in a journal before bed...write down all your worries, all the
things you need to do tomorrow, all the thoughts whirling around in your
head. Sometimes what keeps us awake is that we can't shut down our brains
during stressful times.

Ugh... I'd end up with a bible a night if I wrote down all the worries and
what needs to be done the next day
Might be worth a shot to write down the major stuff, though?

Hopefully some of the above ideas will help you relax and be able to stay
asleep, or go back to sleep more easily if you wake up in the night.

I'll definitely give it a shot. I do think I need more than the 6ish hours
I currently get!

On Getting More Sleep:
-- Try to go to bed an hour earlier than before.
-- Try to schedule some nap time during the day. If the kids are napping,
nap as well. Or if the kids are in school/preschool, nap.

Hugs and good luck.

I'll give both those a try as well. The nap issue is more than likely out,
but half napping and resting with the kids watching TV in the bedroom might
be alright to try out?

--

Jamie
Earth Angels:
Taylor Marlys, 1/3/03
Addison Grace, 9/30/04

Check out the family! -- www.MyFamily.com, User ID: Clarkguest1,
Password: Guest Become a member for free - go to Add Member to set up
your own User ID and Password

xkatx wrote:
"Jamie Clark" wrote in message
. ..
xkatx wrote:
I think I'm around 32(+4d) weeks now, and I'm wondering if anyone
knows how much sleep, on average, I should be getting.
I'm just trying to find out why, all the time, I feel like garbage,
and wondering if it has anything to do with sleep (or lack of) or if
it's something else.
I had a great pregnancy with the boys, with DD I always felt a bit
tired, but I was able to sleep... This time, though, I just can't
sleep. I have some major issues getting to sleep and actually
staying asleep. I'm starting to think that I just don't get enough
sleep. Any ideas on how many hours a night is recommended? What
about naps
during the day? Ideas?

It's hard to say, since everyone is different. You also don't say
how many hours you are getting right now, but clearly if you are
having trouble getting to sleep, and having trouble staying asleep,
and feeling tired and worn out all day long, you may not be getting
enough deep sleep.

Right now as it is, I bet I get about 6 hours of sleep at night, no
sleep during the day.

Well it seems like the general recommendation when not pregnant is 8 hours,
so clearly 6 isn't enough for you. And gestating an entirely new human
being takes energy, so you really need more than 6!

You might try a combination of a few small things to see if it helps
on a few of your different issues -- getting to sleep, staying
asleep, and getting more sleep.

On Getting To Sleep:
-- Take a warm bath before bed.

Ahh... That actually sounds fantastic, actually.

Okay, give it a shot tonight. It just might be enough to help you wind down
from your day.

-- Go into your room an hour before you plan to go to bed, and keep
the lights low. Try reading or flipping through a magazine while in
bed.

Maybe my problem is sitting up and having the TV on to try and make
myself so tired to fall asleep... I sit and I crochet my blanket with
the TV on. Maybe I'll try to knock out the tube, keep the crochet and
maybe some light, easy music in the background instead of whatever
show.

And not really bright lights. I really think that having super bright
lighting stimulates your brain into thinking that it's still daytime. Of
course dim lights might make crocheting tough, but maybe not...Definately
turn off the TV though. Even mindless drivel sucks me in, and I've been
known to stay up many hours into the night, watching some stupid show that
hooked me in!

-- Drink some soothing tea about 30 minutes before you plan to go to
bed.

Soothing tea? So knock off the Pepsi? lol
I can't stomach tea - or coffee - or anything along those lines. I
did, however, drink as much of the RRL tea with DS2, as I had heard
it's good while pg. Maybe I'll take that up again, as it sure
doesn't seem to hurt.

I'd definately cut down on the Pepsi, at least after 5-6 pm. You can't even
stomach Camomille tea? Those Sleepy Time Teas work wonders for me, about 30
minutes before I want to go to bed. Just even hot water with a squeeze of
lemon in it might be good, as the warm water seems to slow down the body and
help induce sleepiness...

-- Write in a journal before bed...write down all your worries, all
the things you need to do tomorrow, all the thoughts whirling around
in your head. Sometimes what keeps us awake is that we can't shut
down our brains during stressful times.

Ugh... I'd end up with a bible a night if I wrote down all the
worries and what needs to be done the next day
Might be worth a shot to write down the major stuff, though?

Yes. Even if the list of worries and things to do the next day is basically
the same as yesterday...I really think it helps to get it out of your head.
Like your brain is more willing to let go of it since it's written down, and
you know you can check the list tomorrow...also, even freestyle journalling
for 15-20 minutes can be useful, even if it's nothing concretely productive.

Hopefully some of the above ideas will help you relax and be able to
stay asleep, or go back to sleep more easily if you wake up in the
night.

I'll definitely give it a shot. I do think I need more than the 6ish
hours I currently get!

On Getting More Sleep:
-- Try to go to bed an hour earlier than before.
-- Try to schedule some nap time during the day. If the kids are
napping, nap as well. Or if the kids are in school/preschool, nap.

Hugs and good luck.

I'll give both those a try as well. The nap issue is more than
likely out, but half napping and resting with the kids watching TV in
the bedroom might be alright to try out?

If you can get at least an hour more at night by going to bed earlier, fall
asleep more quickly due to a warm bath, sleep more soundly during the night
time hours that you are sleeping, and then have time during the day when you
are quietly laying down for 30 minutes to an hour, you just might find that
you feel better overall.

I feel more rested just writing that! : )
--

Jamie
Earth Angels:
Taylor Marlys, 1/3/03
Addison Grace, 9/30/04

Check out the family! -- www.MyFamily.com, User ID: Clarkguest1,
Password: Guest Become a member for free - go to Add Member to set up
your own User ID and Password