Natural remedies for third-trimester insomnia?

[RuthieJ]

I'm 33 weeks pregnant and suffering from insomnia almost every night.  I go to sleep no problem, but then wake up at 3 or 4 am and can't get back to sleep, usually for at least an hour, and sometimes I never do get back to sleep before morning.  I know the issue is that I'm dealing with a lot of stresses.  I'm working on those, but in the middle of the night my brain always seems to decide that I need to process something.  Any suggestions for natural remedies for sleep that are safe for pregnancy?  I've tried Rescue Remedy for Sleep, but it doesn't do anything for me.  A glass of wine is pretty tempting at this point!

[vermontgirl]

Melatonin? I have heard it provides wonderful results for insomniacs. 

A hot bath before bed...or even in the middle of the night. 

I can't see any reason not to have a glass of wine. I think that in moderation it is fine in the third trimester, and I think it would be more harmful to get no sleep at this point for you. 

Cannabis? (slightly controversial, but something to consider)

[LilyTiger]

Tart cherry juice is supposed to contain melatonin and something else that supports sleep.  I drank it in my last trimester (and in the early stages since that's when my insomnia was the worst) and I think it helped.  It's hard to say.  But it might be something to try and is definitely good for you either way.  You need to get the tart stuff.  Many health food stores have it and lots of grocery stores too.  Regular cherry juice isn't the same thing.  Good luck!

(FWIW: Alcohol seriously messes with my sleep patterns.  If I have a glass of wine or beer at night with dinner, I'll be up at 3am staring at the ceiling.  It doesn't happen to everyone, but alcohol is generally known to mess with the ability to stay asleep, as much as it might help with falling asleep)

[joy2grow]

Pregnancy insomnia is the pits!  I find that eating a protein based snack before bed along with supplemental magnesium is helping me stay asleep.  I use a generic form of Natural Calm most nights before bed.   I buy the Vitacost brand online, they call theirs Natural Tranquility. 

Best of luck!

[Quinalla]

Are you hungry maybe? Usually when it happens to me eventually I figure out I was hungry but couldn't tell because I was tired.

[Veslemor]

For me, the problem was solved when I started taking calcium at night and supplementing additional magnesium.  Get an excellent quality supplement.  For the magnesium, I would recommend using either Calm (it's a lemonade flavor drink mix) or the dermal spray.  The spray is the best.  You can get either one at swanson vitamins on line or any good health food store.  Good luck!
 

[sageowl]

For me, the issue is the inability to get/stay comfortable, so nothing seems to help entirely, but I find I do a bit better if I drink some chamomile tea in the evening.

[pokeyAC]

How about listening to a pregnancy meditation on your ipod?

[Ktietje85]

That is typically a magnesium deficiency.  I experience this if I skip using my mag for a day, but otherwise I have no issues.  I use a homemade magnesium chloride lotion and as I have gotten further along, I have needed more and more.  I am past 38 weeks now and as long as I keep up with it I have good energy, no sleep troubles, no issues at all.  You need a LOT in the weeks before and after birth.  It also can get rid of morning sickness.  It is essential.

[haurelia]

I take extra calcium (1000mg) and magnesium (400mg) at bedtime.
My midwife said skullcap tincture is okay for occasional use to help with insomnia, but melatonin is a no-no for pregnancy.