How To Stop Tossing And Turning In Your Sleep

Wasting precious hours at night trying to sleep is not the best thing in the world. Anxiety and stress are just some of the disadvantages that cause the desire to incessantly toss and turn at night instead of sleeping soundly, recovering from a busy day and recharging for the next. Sometimes frequent tossing and turning may be associated with feelings of anxiety or even indicate the presence of a medical condition. 

Anxiety

It is heightened anxiety that is one of the first alarm bells that promises a restless night. Somatic anxiety has an extremely negative impact on sleep quality. When you’re stressed out thinking about something during the day, it also secretly causes restlessness in your body – and you’ll toss and turn more than usual. 

Stress

Stress not only has mental symptoms, but also physical ones – and they’re clearly not conducive to a restful night’s sleep. Stress also puts your muscles under stress, which means even your body will have trouble relaxing at night. 

Overstimulation

No, libido is not the issue here. Just as it is not advisable for children to watch TV before going to bed, special radiation from screens has a negative effect on adults – and inhibits the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone. Loud noises and bright lights in close proximity to the bedroom will all cause excessive arousal, causing you to toss and turn in bed again and again. 

Bedtime

The need to sleep when there is no sleep in one eye, going to bed too late or too early, all this affects the quality of your night’s rest. If you are too tired and the urge to put your head on the pillow has been chasing you most of the day, it does not mean that you will be able to fall asleep straight away. Revise your bedtime if possible and find the best schedule that suits you (unless, of course, you want to crawl into the night and feel exhausted in the morning). 

Tips that work

It’s important to have a bedroom environment that’s conducive to relaxation. A comfy mattress, pillow, duvet and even bed linen – try updating any of these on this list and it won’t take long to see results. 

Meditation or breathing practices are especially effective for quality sleep. Try not to use electronic devices for at least an hour before bedtime – it always works, although it might be hard not to snap at first. Add some activity during the day, and a walk before bedtime instead of looking at the news on your phone is the best option in this case.