Everybody has had those nights when they couldn’t find a comfortable position in bed and spent hours tossing and turning until daybreak. What causes this to occur?
Actually, your desire to “toss and turn” is a result of your lack of relaxation rather than a lack of ease. True relaxation originates from the inside and needs to be sparked by internal contemplation. On a deeper level, our mind tries to tell us to unwind, but most of the time, we take it to mean, “Find a comfy location on the bed.”
For instance, it doesn’t matter how you position yourself in a hammock on a beautiful summer day in Hawaii. If you’re worried about whether the stock market will increase or fall and you have $100 million on the line, you won’t be able to unwind!
Wait it out if you have the need to toss and turn while you’re in bed; you’ll be astonished at how soon it passes. Ask yourself, “How can I focus on anything else right now to feel more relaxed?” if you feel the want to toss and turn. You’ll be amazed to notice that within 15 seconds of lying there, the need to toss and turn suddenly vanishes, and you realize that all you truly want to do is unwind.
Be aware that if you begin tossing and turning, it won’t stop with just ONE toss or turn; instead, because of the momentum impact, you’ll continue doing so until morning. Sometimes you have a strong desire to move, or perhaps you are lying in a particularly uncomfortable position on your bed. If you absolutely have to relocate, follow these steps:
1) Move, but very gradually. Do you recall how you feel when you first wake up in the morning and are groggy? Do you move rapidly then?
2) Slow down, smile broadly, and inhale deeply while moving slowly. You will notice a change if you move very slowly and make sure to smile and breathe deeply. We toss and turn pretty quickly, and the more we do it, the more agitated we become, which is another reason it keeps us awake.
Keeping from turning and tossing
What annoys us? The majority of us frequently endure tossing and turning. On some evenings, we simply can’t get comfy in bed, which causes us to toss and turn all night long.
Instead of being an indication of discomfort, tossing and turning to signify our mental equilibrium is not at ease. Our body tries to locate a more comfortable location on the bed despite our minds telling us to unwind. This is the result of misinterpretation. Relaxation must originate within you and be the outcome of your mental process. It sounds incredibly soothing to lie in a hammock on a Hawaiian beach on a hot summer day. The hammock won’t help you relax if you’re worried about your stock market investments.
Give it some time and resist the impulse to turn around in bed. It will leave more quickly than it arrived. The temptation to toss and turn will pass in approximately 15 seconds if you lie there and think about focussing your mind somewhere more pleasant than it was. This exercise will teach you to relax rather than find a comfortable spot on the bed.
If you start tossing and turning, the process lasts all night and doesn’t end until the morning. Try it this way if you ever feel like you need to move because you have a strong need to toss or turn:
Move very gently as if you were just waking up in the morning. Try to grin at yourself as you move and take a deep breath. We often toss and turn swiftly and impulsively, and the faster we do it, the more upset we become. This keeps us awake. Try it as described above; you’ll notice the difference and probably break the habit quickly.
