How To Not Move In Your Sleep: 8 Things You Can Do (Today!)

Introduction

Moving in your sleep is the worst. Perhaps you are tossing and turning while half asleep, perhaps you just have an overactive imagination and you are keeping your partner awake with your restlessness. Fortunately, there are some things you can do to stop this from happening. Let’s get started.

Below we will outline everything you need to know about how to not move in your sleep.

It’s All About Sleep Hygiene

If you’re tossing and turning while you sleep, it means that you have poor sleep hygiene. Hygiene? Like flossing your teeth? Not quite – sleep hygiene are the practices that lead to having quality sleep.

By practicing proper sleep hygiene, you can sleep better, get high-quality sleep, and stop moving around restlessly while you sleep.

At the end of the day (pun intended), follow the tips below to practice proper sleep hygiene and you will most likely stop moving in your sleep.

Try Exercising During The Day

According to the National Sleep Foundation, exercise vastly improves the quality of ones’ sleep by improving many of the components of sleep.

These benefits are numerous – exercise helps reduce stress and anxiety, improve sleep quality, and boost sleep duration, which is the actual time that you spend sleeping. This means that you are less likely to toss and turn and much more likely to sleep through the night.

If you are not currently exercising regularly, talk to your doctor about starting an exercise routine that is proper for your age, weight, and lifestyle. This website does not provide medical advice.

Put Your Electronics Away

Look, we all do it – it is easy to sit back on your couch after a long day of work and relax in front of your television, on your computer, or even on your smartphone.

However, we have to keep in mind that these devices aren’t good for us, and they are especially not conducive to good sleep.

The bright lights, flickering, and noise tells our brain that it is time to stay awake and stay alert. Try and shut down all electronics at least one hour before bedtime. Instead of watching mindless television to relax, instead turn to a book or try meditating.

You will find that you are more relaxed and you can fall asleep much more easily, which will help prevent you from moving in your sleep.

Avoid Blue Light

Sometimes avoiding electronics before bed is unrealistic – there is work that has to be done, emails to catch up on, and video conferences in different time zones.

One thing that you can do to prevent electronics from interfering with your sleep is to download an app that reduces blue light frequencies as you approach bedtime. This will prevent your brain from essentially telling itself that it needs to stay awake.

We recommend looking into f.lux, which is a phenomenal app that will help you fall asleep more quickly if you have to use your electronics before bedtime. Many smartphones have built-in nighttime modes, which we recommend using.

Implement Meditation Into Your Life

Meditating has an enormous list of health benefits including lowering blood pressure, improving your immune system, increased levels of happiness, and a better quality of sleep due to relaxation.

Try this simple meditation technique for ten minutes a day – sit in a comfortable position with your eyes clothes. Focus solely on your breath as it goes in and out. When you find your mind wandering, gently return it to the focus on your breath.

It may not seem like a lot, but meditation can drastically improve the quality of your life, and more specifically, lower your stress levels which can improve your sleep.

As you get more experienced with meditating, increase the duration and if you want, the frequency.

Avoid Caffeine 8 Hours Before Bed

Caffeine consumed even 8 hours before bedtime can have a negative effect on your sleep quality, thus causing you to toss and turn in your bed.

Yes, that afternoon cup can go along way to helping boost your productivity when you start to feel sluggish, but it can also have a tremendous effect on your sleep quality.

Although it differs from person to person, caffeine consumed even 8 hours before bedtime can have a negative effect on your sleep quality, thus causing you to toss and turn in your bed.

To be extra safe, we recommend limiting the amount of caffeine you consume per day and not drinking any extra coffee or tea 12 hours before bed. This will differ from person to person, so feel free to experiment.

Don’t Hangout In Your Bed

This is another one that many of us are guilty of – it may seem harmless, but hanging out in your bed (or even your bedroom) tells your brain that this is an environment to be awake in.

As you can imagine, this is the exact opposite of what you want your brain to do when you enter your bedroom.

In reality, you want your brain to associate your bed and bedroom with nothing but sleep. The only way to do this is to never do anything but sleep in your bed.

No browsing on your phone, no sending emails out on your laptop, and no watching television. Don’t even read a book in your bed if you have trouble sleeping.

Instead, relegate all of these activities to a different place in your house. When it is time to go to sleep, go to your bed and go to sleep. This is a major change that can drastically improve your sleep and thus stop you from tossing and turning in your bed.

Go To Bed & Wake Up At The Same Times

The idea here is to train your body to associate a certain time with sleep and a certain time with waking up. It is up to you to decide, but whenever that time comes, go to sleep.

Additionally, set your alarm to wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends. Some people may be able to get away with an extra hour or so on the weekends, but it isn’t advised.

It may be difficult for you to stick to this all of the time because sometimes life happens, but by sticking to a general routine day after day, your body will quickly learn to fall asleep at the right time.

You will also start to wake up more refreshed and more easily earlier in the day.

Try Using A Weighted Blanket

Weighted blankets work by activating what is called Deep-Pressure Touch (DPT), which is comparable to the sensation you experience when getting a long, comforting hug. Essentially, this releases chemicals in your brain that tells your body to relax. This can make you fall asleep quickly and enter a long, peaceful sleep without interruption.

We recommend using the Mosaic Weighted Blanket. Make sure you read the guidelines from the manufacturer and pick the right weight for you.

Additional Tips To Help You Not Move In Your Sleep

• Block Out Stimuli – Try blocking out all stimuli while you sleeping by using a face mask and ear plugs. Even small amounts of light and sound can disrupt your sleep, making you toss and turn. You can even pick up a combination system that will block out light and sound.
•  Experiment With A Wedge Pillow – Some people may toss and turn in their sleep because they are having trouble breathing. Using a wedge pillow can help open up the airways and prevent excessive moment in your sleep.
• Breath Through Your Nose – Breathing through your mouth can cause a variety of issues and lead to disrupting your sleep. If you have issues breathing through your nose while you sleep there are a number of things you can to do.
• Make Your Bed – It is a small thing, but having your sheets, comforters, and pillows lined up just the way you want them can help calm you and thus send you off drifting to sleep.
• Write Down Your Worries – If you suffer from stressful thoughts after work and when you are trying to go to bed, try writing them down. It may not sound significant, but simply getting the thoughts out of your head can reduce your stress.
• Don’t Oversleep On The Weekends – Many people undersleep during the week due to work and oversleep on the weekends because they are exhausted. Unfortunately, this makes them hyperactive on Sunday night, and then they have trouble falling and are exhausted Monday morning. Stick to a healthy schedule.
• Limit Napping – If you’re a constant napper, you may find it harder to fall asleep at night. Cut out napping all together unless it is absolutely necessary.

Conclusion

There you have it! How to not move in your sleep by improving your sleep hygiene. We wish you the best of luck – trust us, we know that getting a good night’s sleep is not easy, so try implementing these things over the long-run.

Fixing your sleep hygiene is a longterm plan and requires lifestyles changes, there is not one quick and easy solution. However, over time, you will find yourself getting more and more used to the changes and you will be able to sleep much more easily.