How Meditation Can Help With Poor Sleep
If you struggle with sleep, you may find yourself staying up late, watching television or looking at your phone in bed, and feeling generally anxious for morning to arrive. These are common characteristics in those who don’t sleep well and those that suffer with poor sleep patterns. In fact, some people go for years avoiding sleep in these ways.
Eventually, everyone gets to sleep — even if it’s only for a few hours a night. The problem is that poor sleep habits (and the inevitably small amount of sleep that many people live off of on a regular basis) can have ramifications in your waking life. Inadequate sleep can cause a range of health issues, both physical and mental. Even if you lead an otherwise healthy lifestyle — eating well and exercising on a regular basis — if you don’t get enough quality sleep, your life and wellbeing will suffer, especially your mental health.
So, what can people do to help themselves sleep better and improve their sleep cycles? As it turns out, there’s a clear answer, and it’s not a sleep aid such as a pill, an expensive mattress, or a type of a new-fangled therapy.
Here’s a short meditation practice to try this evening, right before you head to bed.
Set the scene.
While this isn’t necessarily a step associated with meditation, it’s one that can be useful to facilitate better sleep on a regular basis.To set the scene for a good night’s sleep, start by dimming the lights in your bedroom. Make sure that all screens and technology are turned off, but set your alarm beforehand, if necessary. Put on your pajamas (making sure they’re comfortable for the duration of the night). Ensure you have clean sheets on your bed.
At this point, you might consider spraying a calming room scent in the air or dabbing a few drops of essential oils on your pillow. Scents such as chamomile and lavender are good for promoting sleep. If you like to sleep with background noise, start a stream of white noise or water or wind sounds at a low level.Now, climb into bed.
Position yourself for meditation and a good night’s sleep.
To meditate in bed, lay on your back with your head on your pillow and your hands at your sides. Position your body, neck, and head in a neutral, relaxed position. You shouldn’t feel any tension or stress in your body. To ensure this, do a quick body scan, starting at the very top of your head and working your way all the way down your body to the tips of your toes. Make any adjustments that are necessary, including moving the covers so that they are over your body in the same way that you would normally sleep with them.
Take three deep breaths.
Start by taking three deep breaths. Remember that these breaths should come from the base of your lungs. Start by inhaling and bringing in a full breath of air, feeling your stomach rise as you do so. Count slowly to five during your inhale. For a short moment, hold the breath in your lungs before exhaling to a count of five as well. Repeat this breathing exercise two more times.
Begin your meditation visualization.
Gently close your eyes. Breathe slowly, but normally — again, remembering to take the air from the very bottom of your lungs instead of breathing shallowly with your shoulders. Imagine that you are lying on the soft grass in a cozy clearing in a wood. All around you, fresh trees rustle in the light wind. Wildflowers grow near your feet and all around you. You hear the song of birds and the distant trickling of a mountain stream. The temperature is perfect. You are in the shade, but you can feel the warmth of the sun and the cool texture of a woodsy-scented breeze.
Speak a mantra in your mind.
Now, take control of your breath once more. There’s no need to continue a long, drawn-out deep breathing routine. Rather, you are going to be concentrating on the in-breath and the out-breath and repeating with each inhale and exhale. You should move slowly in your breathing, but not too slowly. It should feel comfortable and relaxed. Keep your cozy spot in the wood in mind. You are still there. Now, while you take your next in-breath, say these words in your mind: “Breathing in peace and calm.” As you breathe out, say these words in your mind: “Breathing out stress and tension.
Repeat this as you continue this deep breathing technique at your own pace and visualizing your spot in the woods.
Meditation is an excellent way to help yourself get to sleep and stay asleep. That’s because it calms the mind and helps you focus on the present moment, instead of promoting rumination the future or the past. Meditation provided by our in-home meditation coaches also promotes the production of melatonin, a hormone that is produced right before sleep and that is linked with sleep in general.
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