Postpartum Insomnia: Why You Can't Sleep & What Helps

What else can I do to cope with my sleep challenges? 

There are many Cognitive Behavioral Therapy tools that are effective in helping you overcome insomnia and other postpartum sleep difficulties. At Prospera, your mental health coach can help you implement both cognitive and behavioral strategies to manage your postpartum sleep challenges. Your coach will guide you in identifying and reframing thoughts that might be contributing to your sleep problems. Your coach will also help you problem solve how to implement some of the following behavioral strategies that we know can improve your sleep! 

• Get outside during the day, especially in the morning. Postpartum, your circadian rhythm gets thrown off from frequent night wakings. Getting outside in the daylight in the morning can help your body figure out day vs. night again. 
• Once you are physically cleared by your OB, try to get regular exercise - a walk outside (in the morning!) is a great start.
• Limit your screen time before bed (and in your bed generally) and during any nighttime wake ups with the baby. Many of us are in the habit of scrolling our phones before we fall asleep. Try to switch up this routine. If you like to have some scrolling or TV time to wind down, do it out of your bedroom before you get into bed to sleep. 
• Sleep in a dark, cool room. Babies make all kinds of small noises in the night, so if they are in your room or you are listening to them on a monitor, it can help to have a fan, white noise, or ear plugs so that you wake primarily when they actually cry. 
• Create a loose bedtime routine for you. You might have read lots of advice about creating a bedtime routine for your baby so that they start to make associations between environmental cues (swaddle, white noise, story, etc.) and sleep. This is true for adults, too! We suggest a loose routine because we know that as a mom you have to be flexible every day. Yet, you can also start to build a short routine that helps your body know it’s time for sleep. For example, you might do a few of the following: take a shower, make a cup of tea, listen to a meditation or relaxation recording, wash your face, etc. Whatever helps you feel calm. The last part of the routine is the hardest part with a baby - you want to try to go to sleep and wake up within a similar time window. For example, bedtime between 10-11pm and wake up between 6-7am. Obviously the baby will have the final say on this, but whenever you do have control over your sleep and wake times, try to aim for your window.
• Try to limit your time in bed when you are not sleeping. This means during the day try to spend as much as possible outside of your bedroom if you are not actively trying to sleep. It also means at night, if you are struggling to sleep for more than about 20 minutes, get up and sit in a chair or go to another room and do a quiet activity (ideally not on a screen!) for 10-15 minutes before coming back to bed and trying to sleep again. The goal of this is to help your brain re-learn to associate your bed with sleeping. 
• Lean on social support as much as you are able and feel comfortable. The more support you have, the more you will be able to trust that your baby is being taken care of while you get rest. Gaining this support might require being assertive, creative, and/or flexible with a partner or other family members and might take multiple experiments before you find a routine that feels right for your family.
• Consider your baby’s sleep. It’s important to have realistic (developmentally appropriate) expectations for what your baby is capable of at their current age. If you feel like your baby is really struggling with sleep or you are unsure if their sleep is considered typical, consult your pediatrician for support.

Finally, there are also medication options to help with insomnia. Consult your primary care doctor for more information about safe medication options.