Decreased sleep quality seems to be a common physical change during pregnancy.
But it is still unclear if insomnia in pregnancy is associated with the same risk factors as chronic insomnia in common people.
Recently, scientists conducted a study to explore the determinants of insomnia during pregnancy.
The findings are published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep and Medicine.
The study included 266 women who were in their late pregnancy. Researchers checked their sleep quality, general physical activity, and different sleep disorders.
The research team found that almost 40% of the women in the study received a diagnosis of insomnia.
The team then divided all women with insomnia in terms of insomnia duration: 49% developed insomnia at least 1 year before the study and 39.6% during pregnancy.
The women in whom insomnia developed during pregnancy showed different scores in eating at night, legs tingling, nightmares, and snoring compared to women without insomnia.
Further analyses confirmed that depressive symptoms (BDI) and eating at night were significant predictors of insomnia in pregnancy.
The researchers suggest that eating before bed and eating late at night — a large dinner or something small to snack on while watching TV — can affect the overall metabolism and create stress inside the body.
The women in whom insomnia developed during pregnancy showed different scores in eating at night, legs tingling, nightmares, and snoring compared to women without insomnia.
And people suffering from chronic stress were more likely to sleep shorter and sleep worse, experiencing daytime impairments to follow.
Similarly, feeling depressed now and then may cause sleep problems and sleep problems may cause or contribute to further depressive disorders.
Depressed people may suffer from a range of insomnia symptoms, including difficulty falling asleep (sleep onset insomnia), difficulty staying asleep (sleep maintenance insomnia), unrefreshing sleep, and daytime sleepiness.
To have a good sleep during pregnancy, expecting moms should cut their eating and fluid drinking before bed, keep moving during the day, support the body during sleep, and have a diet that can reduce heartburn.
This story originally appeared on iHealth Living.