What have you heard about sleep? To get the best of it, we have been told to sleep for about 7-9 hours per day. But proper sleep is more than just getting the right amount of it. It is more of not tossing and turning each night. So here is a simple remedy for you – meditation for better sleep.
If you are wondering how to do so, wonder no further. This blog post is designed to take your concerns into consideration.
The Alarming Impact of Poor Sleep Quality on Your Well-being
Let’s share a few reports on the prevalence of sleep disorders and their consequences. It is approximated that 30% of older adults do not sleep enough. This leads to frequent daytime fatigue and insomnia. A certain study showed that those who slept for less than 7 hours per day were more likely to be overweight than those who slept for the recommended amount.
Sleep deprivation has a physical impact on us. When you don’t sleep enough, you get sick easily. You also get to experience hormonal imbalance, skin aging and weight gain.
What about mental effects? Sleep deprivation affects your level of concentration and memory. Not sleeping enough can also make you have mood changes. Feelings of anger and depression can easily set in the next day. Aside these, it can also make it more difficult for you to cope with stress and anxiety.
Unveiling the Ancient Art of Meditation: A Natural Remedy for Restful Night’s Sleep
To the surprise of many, meditation can help prepare the body and mind for a restful sleep. Yes, you can fall asleep and stay asleep. Funny enough, some have called this ‘sleep meditation’. Meditation has been studied since ancient times to reveal its role in relaxation and stress. But first, let’s get the definition.
You Check Out This Blog: Secrets of Ancient Meditation Technique
Meditation – Its Definition and Benefit for Sleep
Meditation is a practice that makes use of various methods to help you stay in the present moment. These methods truly vary. For instance, we have focused or concentrative meditation where you focus on a specific object. The mindfulness meditation(5 Mindfulness Exercises) is another one where you become aware of your thoughts without judgment.
Other forms include body scan meditation where all body sensations are considered. Next is the guided meditation where you are led by a person or a recording. Transcendental meditation is another form that lets you connect with the universe. Yoga and mantra meditation are also common among people.
Meditation helps the brain to experience calmness. Additionally, it reduces symptoms of anxiety, stress, and depression. This enables you to sleep better. As a matter of fact, meditation practice helps to slow down your heart rate which will make you sleep naturally. Interestingly, it can cause you to have theta brain waves. This is the same state your brain enters when you are about to sleep.
A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials Regarding Meditation and Sleep
A study was made to evaluate mindfulness meditation and its improvement in sleep quality and daytime impairment among older adults with sleep disturbances. To perform the assessment, comparator groups were restricted to specific active controls as well as nonspecific active groups. These groups were analyzed separately of course. What was discovered was that there was low strength of evidence to support the claim that meditation had no effect on quality of sleep. Whereas, there was ample evidence that meditation can improve the quality of sleep.
These findings gave rise to the conclusion that meditation may be effective in the treatment of sleep disturbance. Although, further search is required.
Although extensive research is ongoing regarding how meditation enhances sleep, some mechanisms have been proposed. To cite an example, attention awareness and acceptance in meditation have been argued to be the mechanisms for improvement in sleep quality. A test was conducted to know if this was actually true. The findings suggested that it could be so. These mechanisms work to reduce psychological stress and improve your sleep.
Master Meditation for Better Sleep with These Practical Tips and Techniques
If you are a beginner, no worries. Do not be overwhelmed or afraid. With patience and consistency, you can kickstart and enjoy the journey. It doesn’t mean that if you have been doing it for long, you should take it for granted. We will share with simple techniques you can try to help you get the best of meditation for sleep.
Simple Meditation Techniques to Try Before Bedtime
Deep breathing
- This is often regarded as one of the simplest. This is because it is easy to remember and it doesn’t involve too much thinking. You just need to focus your attention on your breath.
How to do it:
- First, you need to gently pay attention to your breath.
- Observe intently how your breath moves in and out of your body in a smooth way.
- Pay close attention to the falling and rising of your chest and stomach.
- Ponder upon the way your breath moves through your nose, throat, and lungs.
- Whenever your mind wanders, simply draw it back to your breath.
Relaxing Body Scan:
- This simple technique is good to help you relax when you are tense about going to bed. A body scan means you scan your whole body thoroughly, paying attention to its different parts without judgment.
How to do it:
- For a start, take in a few deep breaths.
- Study carefully the different parts of your body.
- Take a few moments to observe each of these parts. As you do, gently release tension in those areas.
Listen to meditation music:
- When you have had a rough day, some music may be the best way to make you sleep more soundly. But just any music won’t do. You need to find the one that works for you. Meditation music can be obtained from the app, YouTube, or even a podcast.
How to do it:
- Stay in a comfortable position where you are likely to sleep.
- If you have a headphone, put it on. If you don’t, you can play from your phone.
- Simply press play on your favorite music and be in the moment, guiding your mind back whenever it wanders as usual.
Visualization Meditation:
- With this technique, you can tune in to your sensations to help you relax before bed. For instance, you can visualize yourself at the beach; you can smell the ocean or listen to the song of the birds – anything to make you calm.
How to do it:
- Choose a comfortable place to sit.
- With your eyes closed, imagine yourself in a nice moment.
- Observe what you can see, smell, hear, and taste.
A Look into the Amazing Power of Guided Meditation for Better Sleep
For beginners, guided meditation is a great tool that can help. It can enable them get the hang of it and learn more about the practice. It can also give them something to think about. It is also good for those who have difficulty getting negativity out of their head. In other words, guided meditation can be a distraction. It can help you focus your mind on meaningful things like goals and aspirations.
When you go online, you can find tons of apps and resources for guided sleep meditations. They may be overwhelming but no worries. We have compiled a list of the recommended ones to get you started.
- Apps: Headspace, Smiling Mind, Simple Habit, Waking Up, The Mindfulness App, Aura and Calm.
- Online Resources: The Honest Guys on YouTube, Tara Bach Website.
Cultivating a Bedtime Routine: Integrating Meditation for Optimal Sleep Hygiene
It is important that you cultivate a consistent bedtime routine. This cannot be overemphasized enough. A good bedtime routine helps to regulate the internal clock in your body. In your professional life, it is an ingredient for success. We will now be taking a look at few of the things you must do to create such a routine:
Tips for Better Sleep
- Maintain a cool temperature. A hot environment may hinder sleep. A cool environment may promote better sleep. Additionally, you can take a warm bath to maximize this benefit.
- Avoid the bad guys – alcohol and nicotine. These things can make you have sleep issues. In fact, they stimulate feelings of arousal and wakefulness.
- Use dim lights and remove electronic screens from your room. When you expose yourself to bright lights, the brain may think it is daytime. This trick may interfere with melatonin production.
- Limit noise so you won’t encounter sleep problems. As an alternative, you can use white noise, ambient sounds or relaxing music.
- Do not take your electronic devices with you to the bed. It may delay your sleep. Rather, read a nice book as it can help you get a good night’s rest.
It is good to have a consistent sleep schedule. This could mean going to bed and getting up at the same each day. The benefit is that you will regulate your body internal clock. You will also easily get the recommended amount of sleep.
Combining Meditation with Other Good Sleep Habits
- Employ the use of soothing scents. These scents promote a calming effect and can help you relax. Feel free to invest in rich essential oils like lavender oil to get a good night’s sleep.
- Writing a journal can also help you fall asleep. It will help you focus on positive things that will make your worry die down.
- Try doing gentle stretches before you fall to the bed. It will help straighten out those parts of your body that has been curled up during the day.
- Limit your daytime naps.
It is good to combine meditation with other healthy habits. It can help you experience transformative changes in your physical and mental life. It also makes you have a good sleep hygiene.
Meditate in Bed With These 6 Meditation Techniques
- Breathing: As simple as this is, there are different breathing exercises for sleep. Have you heard of the box breathing? This kind is intentional and is beneficial to relieve stress and anxiety. It is a pattern of breath control where inhalation and exhalation occur at the count of four.
- Visualization: It is a powerful one that allows you see with your mind’s eye. You use guided imagery to create a mental picture of something that resonates with you. This practice is good to do before sleep as it releases tension and anxiety.
- Awareness of the Body: As is rightfully called, this tool makes you become aware in the present moment.
- Stories and Sounds: Soothing sounds or calming music can aid you to have a good sleep. They can even be used as an intro to sleep meditation. They help to create a conducive environment for sleep at night.
- Gratefulness: This one makes you get rid of any grievances or negativity and to embrace love, kindness and compassion. It is a kind of technique that moves you to show these same positive feelings to others.
- Mindfulness Meditation: A common one that allows you to become conscious of the present moment without judging your thoughts.
How Effective is Guided Sleep Meditation?
It has been studied that guided sleep meditation is effective. It is as effective as in-person meditation for some people. Those who meditated with apps were able to sleep well and have reduced job strain. It was also easy for them to go deep into meditation with apps and resources.
Body Scan Meditation
This kind of sleep meditation brings awareness to the present moment by means of noticing the different parts of your body. As you lie on the bed, you can shift attention to your body parts and notice the sensation or tension. It is a good tool to help you prepare the body for sleep.
The Benefits of Sleep Meditation
Sleep meditation can help in the following ways:
- It may help to fight insomnia symptoms in the long run.
- It may help to shift your body out of the fight-or-flight mode into the rest mode. Thus, you are able to stay calm and relaxed.
- It may help wind down racing thoughts, especially those that are negative.
- It can greatly improve your brain health.
Success Stories: Real-Life Experiences of Those Who Embraced Meditation for Better Sleep
Marian – I have had trouble sleeping. As a busy woman and a mother, I tend to do too much. However, meditation was the solution to my problem. It took me few days to get into it, though but it was worth it.
Alisa James – I couldn’t believe it at all. The solution to my sleep disturbances was at my fingertips and I didn’t know. I was happy I tried meditation and it worked.
Remember: Brilliant things always happen in calm nights. Thinking about the past and future makes us miss the present. To know one’s mind is life-changing.
The testimonies say it all, do they not? We are sure that these testimonies have shattered whatever fears you may have. We know that starting off may not be easy for you. But you are not just by yourself in this journey. Revisit the techniques discussed so far and try for shorter sessions so you can get better sleep. We wish you good luck in using meditation for better sleep.
Frequently Asked Questions: Addressing Common Concerns about Meditation and Sleep
It may take up to 8 weeks.
Surprisingly, recent studies say you can.
Mindfulness practice is good.
It can calm your mind so you can sleep better.
When you’ve not started at all, when you’re not regular and when you’re in a period of deep depressed anxiety.
Yes, you can do meditation in bed.
Body scan is good to help you focus on your body parts and help you sleep.
It certainly preserves good sleep according to studies.
Two hours of meditation can replace one hour of sleep.
Yes, meditation can promote better sleep.