When you are trying to conceive (TTC), each step along your journey can be crucial. One of the most vital phases is the implantation process when your fertilized egg attaches to your uterine wall. This takes place over a number of days and is the point when you are scientifically considered pregnant. During this time, some women report a decrease in sleep due to feelings of stress and slight discomfort in the form of dull cramping in the abdomen or back.
When you are having anxiety about becoming pregnant and your body is giving you signs that your egg may be implanting at this very moment, how can you possibly expect to get any sleep? The best thing you can do to encourage yourself to sleep properly during implantation is to maintain a healthy mind and body.
This can come in many different forms but it can be hard to know where to start. If you find yourself sleepless and wondering what you can try, it’s ideal to begin with the basics.
A Healthy Mind
The internet is saturated with blogs, websites, articles, scientific evidence and a lot of nonsense regarding pregnancy. Sifting through, you begin to feel overwhelmed, stressed, confused. Trying to have a baby, one of the most natural experiences in our life, is becoming a full-time job. You’ve now thrown yourself, head first, into a spinning cycle that is mistake number 1: STRESS.
But why is stress worse for women who are trying to become pregnant? The biggest reason is that it can cause difficulties falling or staying asleep. When you stress, you are disrupting the hormones that help regulate your sleep, like melatonin, which in turn prevents reproductive hormones, like luteinizing hormone, from regenerating properly. Altering hormone production can have various consequences, particularly affecting your fertility.
How can you reduce stress, when the idea of being pregnant is all-consuming? Since the dawn of the world wide web, many women have laid awake at night, asking this same question. You cannot simply tell your brain to relax and go to sleep. Even when you try to convince yourself that you’re not thinking about names, picking out cribs, or envisioning your baby belly – the thoughts are always there in the background.
Here’s where willpower and dedication come in. The two-week wait (TWW) will test you in ways you have never been tested. The time from ovulation, through implantation into when you can finally take a pregnancy test feels like the longest roller coaster of emotions, but you’re willing to try anything to help you get through it. You’re ready for mini-you and you will do whatever it takes to bring your own smiling bundle of joy into this world (until they reach teenage years, at which point you’ll stop sleeping for completely different reasons).
Keeping a “sound mind” sounds esoteric and airy – clear your head, reduce stress, be zen. Is it really that easy and will you become pregnant? Yes, and no. Science absolutely will not tell you that getting enough sleep will suddenly make you with child. This is easy to see from the number of mothers out there with high-stress jobs, ones who don’t sleep as much as they should for any given reason (they probably have teenagers), or ones who simply don’t think about it and manage just fine.
But a doctor will tell you that it’s worth a try, and honestly, it can’t hurt. So, what can you do?
Meditate: You may be shaking your head because really, who has that much time to sit and do nothing? The good news is, it doesn’t require doing anything special that you aren’t capable of. A few minutes after you wake up, a few before you go to sleep, in your car before you walk into the office, you can even do it while you’re doing the dishes. You can try a mantra or an affirmation, and if that’s too much – simply focus on your breath. You may just need to teach your brain better habits and giving your brain the option to slow down will train it to do this when you are trying to sleep as well. Starting with shorter time increments and building your way up will be a mental activity you can practice daily to increase sleep and decrease stress.
Shut down the internet: Wait, not yet! Tell yourself this will be your last article for the evening and when you get to the end – close your internet browser. Seriously, try it. The internet is an endless loop and will keep you running in circles. We have all experienced it. When we do this, we are not giving ourselves the chance to achieve our body’s deepest sleep if we go to bed with browser brain. Read a book, stretch, begrudgingly do your meditation, anything to give yourself the chance to truly sleep. The internet will be here tomorrow.
Eliminate stressors: You’ve agreed to limit your screen time – that’s great! But chances are the internet isn’t the only thing stressing you out. Take a look at your day-to-day life. When you are trying to go to sleep each night, are there little things that are nagging at you, preventing you from drifting off? If it’s something at work, ask for help. If it’s a person in your life, face the problem in order to resolve it. If you hate the wall color of your kitchen, paint it! Whatever your issue is – don’t take it to bed with you. Stressors have a snowball effect, especially when it comes to sleeping. The time during implantation is an important time to remove as much of this as possible, so as not to have it grow and become worse.
A Healthy Body
As far as the actual implantation goes – there isn’t much you can physically do to help the process along.
Right now, before you even get pregnant, is when you should start ensuring that you are taking the best care of your body. The best part about it is that everything you can do to take care of your body will help in your mission to get a decent amount of rest.
Exercise: You don’t need a doctor to tell you that even light exercise, anything to get your body moving, will greatly increase your ability to fall asleep. If you can’t get your mind to slow down – let your body take over. Now, we’re not talking about suddenly going out to train for a triathlon or to be the next American Ninja Warrior. Keep it simple. Go for walks, ride a bike, gradually get your body working for the sleep it wants.
Food and alcohol: What are you eating? A proper diet and monitoring your alcohol intake will absolutely have an effect on not only your sleep but also the process of implantation. Consult your doctor for a diet that is right for you. Remember not to consume caffeine prior to sleeping and beginning to reduce your caffeine intake, in general, is recommended. Caffeine can lead to increased anxiety and sleep disturbances even when you’re not trying to conceive; so while it may not impact your chances of getting pregnant, it will take a toll on your sleeping pattern.
Sleep Position: Can the way you sleep have an effect on whether your precious fertilized egg will implant or not? Probably not. Research has shown that the way you sleep can possibly affect the location of implantation, but not successful implantation itself. Whether you are a back, side, or stomach sleeper – don’t let this worry you! That being said, there are studies which show that side sleeping does have more health benefits than other positions as it promotes circulation in your body. Once you become pregnant, you are likely to be encouraged to sleep on your left side for this reason. This will also be more comfortable as you get further along as well as helping with back pain. It can’t hurt to try side sleeping if you don’t already.
Vitamins/Supplements: Consult your doctor to find out which vitamins are needed in your diet. Folic acid, iron, and calcium are among the many vitamins that are recommended for women who are trying to become pregnant. In addition to this, having sufficient levels of Vitamin D has shown to help increase the chances of successful implantation.
What if it Doesn’t Work?
Any woman who has spent more than 2-3 months of actively trying to conceive will tell you that we grew up living a lie. What our teachers and parents impressed upon us as teenagers are not exactly true and you’re here because you have discovered that you will not get pregnant just by looking at a boy. As it turns out – getting pregnant isn’t always as simple as it sounds.
There are a number of other modalities that have shown to provide positive health benefits for both sleep and implantation as well as other times of high stress. Some of these include:
- Therapy
- Massage
- Acupuncture
The most important thing to remember about sleep and the implantation process is that everybody is different. What works for one, may not work for another. Get to know your body and ensure that you are taking the steps to achieve the best sleep results for what your body needs.
For many women across the world, successful implantation is about action, not reaction. If you are one of those women who has tried all of the above but still struggle to fall asleep – please consult your doctor. Insomnia, as well as other sleep disturbances, can be a result of other medical issues which you should be made aware of at this time.
