How Meditation Can Help You Get a Better Night’s Sleep

A good night sleep is essential for our wellbeing, but many of us have forgotten how it feels to be really well rested after regular good night’s sleep.

Why do you not feel rested? What is causing these problems? Often sleep issues arise from the fact that our lives are becoming more and more demanding. A good night’s sleep is a common issue that many have trouble with these days. It can be periodic, but for some can be a constant issue. With the uprise in sleep issues, a large amount of remedies have come about — most of these are external, but often the issue lies in our minds and this cannot be fixed with some external tool. We generate so much stress, worry and anxiety from our lives, that we struggle to let go at night, jeopardising our important sleeping hours. Living more mindfully and practicing regular meditation can be the internal guidance we need and is a strong influencer in getting a better night’s sleep.

The reason why meditation is important in creating a good sleep habit, is because the mind continually jumps from one thought, impulse or stimulus to another. Worries play up and keep your mind constantly busy. Meditation quiets the mind and creates increasingly long periods of space between thoughts. Once your mind learns these habits sleep improves.

When meditation becomes a practice, the brain becomes familiar with the restful state and no longer resists it. It becomes easier and more comfortable to fall into a restful sleep. We’re always looking for ways to get better sleep, things that help are finding the best foods to eat before bed, natural sleep aids to help us fall asleep, or positions to help us sleep more soundly. The amount of sleep we get has a huge impact on our health and mood.

With meditation, the brain begins to relax. The brain can behave similarly to a muscle. If it focuses too tightly for too long, the muscle has trouble releasing and can feel tight and sore. A tight muscle prevents restful sleep. Meditation brings relaxation and consciousness to the brain by training the mind with the message that it is now time to relax, release thoughts, stimuli and impulses. If the brain doesn’t have the opportunity to relax, you will stay in a state of stimulation without any release. Sleep quality then suffers and you can end up experiencing difficulties falling asleep.

Meditation is not a way to put yourself to sleep, meditation helps set the stage for sleep by giving your brain space to quiet down being able to focus on unwinding and shutting off distractions is incredibly difficult. A daily meditation practice will help you to create a better night’s sleep.

If you currently have no daily meditation practice, here are some tips that you can practice in bed when you struggle falling asleep.

• Lie down on your back, legs straight and rest your hands on your belly. Close your eyes and start breathing deeply from your belly. Follow the movement in your belly closely with your hands. Start counting your breath: inhale deeply and fully exhale and count one, repeat the deep inhale and exhale and count two, keep counting until you reach the number 10, then start again with number one. Try to keep this counting as your only focus. When thoughts arise, acknowledge them, but don’t go in them. See them as a cloud, and let them pass by. Your task is to count the breaths, until you fall asleep.
• The body scan: start with your head and one by one, relax your whole body. So, first your skull, forehead, eyebrows, eyelids, nose, mouth, cheeks, jaws, chin, your full head etc. Like this, scan your whole body and for each part you scan, you relax all the muscles and tension in that area.
• A third option is to let your thoughts be what they are and start to imagine. Take yourself to a peaceful and comforting place. This could be anywhere: a place you know very well, or a place you’ve never been. Start to create a world there, make sure all is peaceful, calming and enjoyable. Let your worries be and enjoy the quietness.
• A last tip: keep your phone out of your bedroom, and don’t check it an hour before going to bed. Always keep a notebook next to you, so when you have a thought you really can’t let go for the moment, write it down and continue your relaxing method, creating a better sleep, and with that, a healthier and happier life.

Want to experience how meditation can help you in increasing your personal wellbeing? The Silatha Journey is a great start to learn how to meditate and make it a habit in your daily life. Find more information www.silatha.com.

Article written on behalf of the Mindful Living Show, by Veroniek Vermeulen, Founder Silatha. Silatha is one of the exhibitors at the Mindful Living Show on 2–3 June 2017, Business Design Centre, London.

The Mindful Living Show is a new event that offers a unique opportunity to learn about mindfulness and meditation and how it can benefit your life. Ticket price includes access to seminars and practice sessions with more than 70 of the greatest speakers, authors and teachers in mindfulness, meditation and relaxation including Ruby Wax, Ed Halliwell, Vidyamala Burch, Sharon Salzberg, Vanessa King, Jenny Edwards CBE and Michael Chaskalson. For more information and show offers, sign up to our newsletter: www.mindfullivingshow.com.