Sleep is so important; it is our life-support system and helps to heal our bodies and mind. For several reasons sleep does not always come easily, and when we cannot sleep, it is easy to become desperate for help. Mindfulness practices can help us to fall asleep and stay asleep. The answers you are looking for, are in this guide, teaching you how to sleep better with mindfulness meditation.
Why might we struggle to sleep?
A good night’s rest can elevate your mood and improve your concentration. We all experience life events that cause difficulty going to sleep. Common causes of insomnia include stress, concerns relating to work, studies, health, finances, or family can keep your mind working at night, making it hard to sleep. Once we do manage to sleep, our quality of sleep is compromised as our brains are not conserving energy inducing glucose but are working over-time and using up our day supply.
Regular sleep deprivation can cause bodily harm. When we lose sleep, our learning, memory, and mood are affected negatively. During the sleep period, our bodies remove the build-up of the day’s chemical by-product, improving and rejuvenating the mind and body for the next day’s work. If we are struggling to sleep, and our bodies do not have this opportunity, we have noticeable effects on ourselves.
What can mindfulness do to help?
We grow sleepy due to signals in our body telling our brain we are tired, and environmental signals indicating that it is dark outside. The rise in sleep chemicals, such as adenosine and melatonin, sends us into a light sleep which gets deeper making our heart rate and breathing also grow slower and deeper. To enhance the quality and ease of our sleep, we can begin our routine with what our body already does when it is in deep sleep.
Mindfulness meditation sets the stage for good sleep, readying your mind to be able to let go of the day’s anxieties and stress. People who have insomnia or bad sleep tend to feel apprehension for the night as it comes, and the pressure to be asleep. Mindfulness prepares you to drift off into sleep and can improve the quality of your sleep.
How do I practice mindfulness to sleep better?
Establishing a meditation routine takes practice, as you try meditation to sleep better, be patient with yourself. Mindfulness meditation involves focusing on the present and increasing your awareness of your consciousness, breathing, and body.
- Remove all distractions from your room, lie down in bed in a comfortable position, with your hands lying flat.
- Focus on your breathing. Inhale for 10 counts, hold for 10 counts, and exhale for 10 counts. Repeat this 5 times.
- Inhale and tense your body. Pause, relax, and exhale. Repeat 5 times.
- Notice your body. Focus your attention on each area, and tense and untense this area. Start from your head and move throughout your body. Become conscious of any part that feels tight and consciously relax it.
- If a thought pops up, slowly breathe past it and allow yourself to regain control.
Guided meditations are a great option to release control and allow yourself to follow instructions. As part of the routine, you could follow a recorded guided meditation available in several places.
⭐Tips for Better Sleep⭐
Below are some tips to sleep better:
- Meditate daily – Try to maintain a regular routine of these practices that will help you sleep better. Routine allows for consistency and stability encouraging you to take control of your sleep struggle to improve it.
- Try not to force it – If it is not happening, it is not happening. We all know the more you try to force yourself to sleep, the less sleepy you feel. Try to utilise techniques such as a body scan or deep breathing in an effort to fall asleep.
- Say goodnight to your phone – What they say about blue lights is not untrue. Although the focus is more about the endless stimulation and distraction that our devices cause. Maybe leave them further than your bedside table.
The Bottom Line
Sleep is subjective and difficult for many people. Those daily stressors that cause an overactive mind prevent you from getting a good night’s rest. Research has shown that mindfulness meditation promotes calm and can help improve sleep.
The first step is looking for help, and if you are reading this then well done! Succeeding in having good sleep is a journey and you should not be hard on yourself if you don’t get the hang of it quickly. The most important thing is making the effort and maintaining the effort to meditate. Also, why not take a look at some of the resources on Benefits of Mindfulness which will help guide you through some simple everyday practices to get you started.
