Tossing & Turning

About Tossing & Turning and What May Be Causing It

There are many reasons why you might toss and turn all night, such as feeling anxious, being overstimulated, having an underlying medical condition, and more.

Some Possible Causes to Those Sleepless Nights

• Feeling Anxious – If you have an anxiety disorder, increased anxiety at night can make it difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep. An anxious, racing mind can also make your body feel restless, which may cause you to toss and turn more than normal.
• Feeling Stressed – Stress can cause both mental and physical symptoms that may make it harder to fall asleep. For example, if you have tense muscles due to stress, you might find it more difficult for your body to relax in bed at night. In another 2017 study, researchers discovered that higher stress levels were significantly associated with poorer sleep quality in medical students.
• Being Overstimulated – According to the National Sleep Foundation, the blue light that’s emitted from phones, TVs, and other electronic devices can delay the sleep hormone melatonin. In addition, loud noises and bright lights from inside and outside of your bedroom can also stimulate your senses, causing you to toss and turn more.
• Poor Sleep Schedule – Going to bed when you’re not tired, as well as going to bed too late, or even too early, can all affect your quality of sleep. If you’re not tired enough, or even too tired, by the time you get in bed, you may find it hard to relax and fall asleep. The same can happen when you are on an abnormal sleep schedule.
• Oversleeping Before Bed – Research has shown that short naps during the day are beneficial for our health. However, napping too much during the day can make it more difficult to get to sleep at night. If you oversleep a few hours in the afternoon, your body may not be fully ready to sleep again by the time you hit the hay. This can leave you feeling restless as you lay in bed at night.
• Imbalanced diet – Having a balanced diet can have a positive impact on your sleep quality. Nutrients from food play a huge role in the production of the sleep hormone melatonin, as well as other important neurotransmitters that help regulate sleep. Having certain foods can cause an inflammatory response within the soft tissues of the nose which reducing nasal breathing can disturb sleep.

Underlying Medical Conditions

There are many underlying medical conditions that can lead to poor sleep quality, with the most common being restless leg syndrome, sleep apnea, and insomnia.

• Restless Leg Syndrome – Restless leg syndrome (RLS) is a condition that causes the overwhelming urge to move your legs. With RLS, the sensation most commonly appears when your body is at rest, such as lying down in bed. The constant need for movement can lead to frequent tossing and turning at night.
• Sleep Apnea – Sleep apnea is another condition that can cause tossing and turning at night. When you have sleep apnea, your breathing becomes interrupted during sleep. This can cause you to toss, turn, and wake up frequently throughout the night.
• Insomnia – Insomnia is a condition characterized by the inability to fall asleep and stay asleep. There are many causes for insomnia, including other underlying physical or mental health conditions. If you have insomnia, you may find yourself moving around a lot in bed, unable to get to sleep.
• Pain – Some chronic pain conditions, such as arthritis and fibromyalgia, can also make it difficult to get comfortable in bed at night.
• Bruxism – Bruxism is the term used to describe either grinding or clenching of one’s teeth at night. These events can lead one to an arousal causing a person to move from a deep sleep to a lighter sleep or even to a complete awakening. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine considers bruxism a sleep disorder that falls in the category of rhythmic movement disorder much like Restless Leg Syndrome