What causes people to toss and turn while trying to fall asleep?

Factual Questions
1

This turned out to be too hard to google because most articles about “tossing and turning” are actually about insomnia, so they answer why do people have insomnia.

I know why I have insomnia. I have ADHD and a huge percentage of people with it have insomnia.

What I’m trying to figure out is literally why do people who can’t sleep toss and turn instead of staying in one position.

I don’t think it’s just me, nor do I believe it to only be people who likewise have ADHD. I sleep on my right side. I can almost never fall asleep in any other position. But, as I’m lying in bed, if I haven’t fallen asleep in fairly short order, I have the overwhelming urge to roll onto my left side. And after a while, I have another overwhelming urge to roll back onto my right side. Rinse and repeat until I finally fall asleep.

It’s usually not due to being in pain, though ignoring the urge is uncomfortable (and pointless - I’ve never fallen asleep after temporarily overcoming the urge to roll over.)

I know that people with ADHD have been shown to still suffer symptoms while asleep, and we’re prone to restless leg syndrome, but what is going on physiologically or psychologically that causes the urge to thrash about specifically?

2

Not really applicable, but I fall asleep in a couch every night to avoid that feeling. The support from both the back and bottom cushions helps me feel “nested”. After a few hours I move to the regular bed.

3

Apparently nobody really knows, but one doctor thinks it’s because “pressure on pain receptors (called nociceptors) initiate a coordinated rolling over response, and this can happen whether we are asleep, or simply lying awake in bed.”

https://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2014/01/28/3861788.htm

4

For me, part of it is that I like to have cool bits of pillow and covers against my skin, so if I haven’t fallen asleep by the time my pillow gets too warm, I will roll over and roll my pillow over.

5

I think it’s dopamine (my crackpot theory). You know how when you roll over on your other side and feel that brief moment of euphoria… as in “This feels awesome”?

I think it’s your sleeping mind craving that.

I’d be currious to know if there’s a correlation between addicts and restless sleepers.

6

Interesting. There are theories that people with ADHD have issues with properly using dopamine which leads to sensory-seeking so that actually would make some sense.

7

I think this thread belongs in IMHO rather than GQ.

One observation I notice: Laying or sitting in any position puts weight on whatever part of your body is in contact with the surface (cushion, pillow, or mattress) below it. That in itself can get uncomfortable after a while for that body part. Perhaps one factor is impeding the blood flow to any body part that is at the bottom of your other body parts.

So the urge is to relieve the weight of your body on whatever part is down. Rolling over does that.

ETA: What this suggests also is, that it may have nothing to do with any kind of “disorder” like ADHD or addiction or restless legs or dopamine malfunctions – although any of those could also be present and making things even worse.

8

Chronic insomniac.

I actually don’t do this. I can lie unasleep in one position for a long time. But I also go to bed on a lot of medication. Usually I fall asleep within about 1/2 and hour from the insomnia meds. Occasionally, I’m doing worse than usual, and don’t fall asleep.

However, I’ve got stuff designed to make me want to stay in bed. I’ve got a body pillow, a weighted blanket, a white noise machine, and the room is cold (pillow radiator is on order). I usually sleep in a 3/4 stomach position, and I have actually gone into sleep paralysis a few times without falling asleep. Don’t know whether the meds do that, or it’s part of the whole disordered sleep issue.

I have a feeling, though, that we would move in our sleep more than we do if it weren’t for sleep paralysis.

I think it’s normal to feel the need to change position periodically-- it’s certainly healthy to do so. People who are lower-limb paralyzed are told to shift the position or their lower limbs periodically, and electric wheelchairs can even come with tilt mechanisms that allow for shifting position. People who don’t move their lower limbs often enough get bruises and "bed"sores (quotes are because you can get them from any type of non-movement, not just in bed).

I’ve also heard some stories of people who passed out drunk in odd positions, and injured themselves. Which is probably why it’s hard to fall asleep in an odd position, like seated on an airplane.

When I’m sitting and reading, or doing something else sedentary, I still shift position a lot. I think sleep is special in the fact that we don’t move due to sleep paralysis. When we “toss and turn,” I think we’re behaving normally, unless were literally tossing-- that is, hitting the mattress hard when we move, or popping up off it a lot.

If you want advice to reduce moving while trying to fall asleep, I’ll suggest the two things that reduced it for me (besides medication), which are the body pillow, and the weighted blanket. Bear in mind, the weighted blanket can be hot, so you may want a fan in the room, and you aren’t just going to want to put it on top of what you sleep under already-- remove some of your other blankets.

I used to have a lot of trouble settling down and letting the meds kick in, but these two things have helped a lot, and they help me get back to sleep when I have a lot of wake-ups in the middle of the night.

And I’m a true insomniac-- have been my whole adult life, not just for a few months, or occasionally when something upsetting happens. This has been a huge struggle for almost 40 years.

9

Anecdotal, but for me it’s heat. I’m lying on my right side, and certain locations on my body are getting too warm. I flip onto my left side, and those areas are able to cool. Now other areas are starting to heating up. Lather, rinse, repeat.

10

It’s not any kind of disorder, and its not just humans. If you have a dog or cat, you’ve noticed that they move around and change positions as they sleep.

11

Another anecdote: in my case, it’s my sinuses draining to one side. I’ll toss & turn to find the side which allows me to breathe better.

12

Pretty much what I rambled on for a while trying to say. It’s normal to shift position pretty often unless you are asleep-- the latter being due to sleep paralysis.

When your pet shifts positions, it’s usually when they wake up briefly, before they go back to sleep, which they do a lot when they nap during the day-- cats in particular, who sleep a lot.