Makes sense. Read the basics about the Autonomic Nervous System, the sympathetic and para-sympathetic branches.<p>You don't want to stay in sympathetic activation. Browsing on a phone may seem relaxing, but it keeps your sympathetic nervous system engaged. Think of it as "goal oriented activity".<p>I've got into a habit of laying on my back for like 10-20 mins before I turn to the side. It really does help calm me down a bit. I don't try to "stop thinking" or count or anything like that, just laying on my back and feeling the sensation.<p>Some arguments in favor:<p>- if you work in IT likely you're sitting a lot, and your psoas shorten. When you lie on your back it opens the psoas a little bit, so you feel that very gentle stretch in the tummy area<p>- for anxious people, we are designed by nature with eyes that can scan in front of us, but our back is less secure. I think lying on your back for a little while, lets you "secure" this area, as well as release the neck and back muscles a little more<p><pre><code> Following this intuition, in the summer when it's too hot to have a blanket, I found a trick where I would roll my duvet in like a long tube, then when I lay on my side, I would pull the "tube" with one arm, and press it against my back. This way I would not be covered on top, but have a more secure feeling in the back and I think it also helped me fall asleep.
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Think of lying on your back as <i>rest</i>. It's not about willpower so much, but engaging the para-sympathetic part of the nervous system, which is typically about release/relaxed curiosity (ie. feeling the body a little bit) rather than being engaged and pursuing what nowadays is typically an endles stream of content.