A few months ago
I wrote a blog called DO YOU HAVE PROBLEMS SLEEPING – a lot of you commented on
this and how much it had helped them overcome some of their sleeping issues.
Writer Andy Puddicome (a former Buddhist Monk) has written a wonderful article,
which I would love to share with you all about solving your sleeping problems.
I have also
written a number of blogs regarding MEDITATION and proof that it “works”. The
following piece explains brilliantly how you can use meditation to help you
sleep – and to stop that BUSY MIND – How many times have I heard people say “MY
MIND IS TOO BUSY” – does that sound familiar?
You would be
amazed how many people have trouble sleeping – sleep is so important for your
mental wellbeing and your overall state of health – Please rad my blog online
but also read the following excellent article – you will find it so helpful –
thanks for reading – it will help you have wonderful, peaceful and happy sleep.
Cheers Peter
Andy Puddicome wrote:
A restful night’s sleep is something we
all crave but few achieve: research shows a third of us have trouble sleeping
and 85 per cent report waking up feeling unrefreshed. In fact, many people
describe waking up feeling more tired than they did before going to bed, as
though a narrative has been running through their mind all night. No surprise
then that the most popular pack on my Headspace app is the one for sleep.
My theory is that we are simply not used
to “being” any more. We are always “doing”. Even something as simple as
standing in a queue for a few minutes has us reaching for our phones, as though
the idea of not being distracted for even a few minutes is unthinkable. But if
you spend all day stimulating your brain, it never has time to process all that
information.
The result is that lots of thinking is
saved up for bedtime, just when you most want the mind to be quiet. So, what’s
the solution? Creating a bedtime ritual, having a comfortable bed and turning
off gadgets 60 minutes before sleep (studies show that the bluish light from
screens prevents the body delivering that surge of melatonin needed to feel
sleepy) are important and well worth making part of your evening routine. But
the most useful tool of all might just be meditation.
Scientific research is beginning to show
what practitioners have known for centuries. A study at Stanford University
showed that those who meditated daily over several weeks managed to halve the
time it took them to fall asleep.
Meditation can also help with the quality
of sleep. Two small studies, at the universities of Utah and Pennsylvania, have
shown that people practicing mindfulness experienced less cognitive arousal at
bedtime and felt they slept better.
These are tantalizing glimpses, but more
research is needed, which is why we will begin a Headspace study next year at
the sleep disorders centre at Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospitals in London, to
investigate how mindfulness can help insomniacs.
Mindfulness can best be described as
being undistracted, in the here and now, which of course you can do in any
moment — while eating, walking down the street or chatting with a friend. But
it’s a mistake to think you can stimulate your brain madly all day long and
then do a quick bit of meditation before going to bed and expect a long
peaceful sleep.
I’d recommend meditating for 10 minutes
in the morning when you wake up , then do a short mindfulness top-up exercise
before going to bed. People who meditate will tell you that they experience a
calmer, quieter mind for a long time afterwards; it creates a “trail”, so
you’ll be more mindful all day and by the time you go to bed your mind is less likely
to be racing.
As for how much sleep we actually need,
it is a very personal thing and is influenced heavily by our environment. In
the meditation retreat when I was a Buddhist monk, as little as four hours a
night was plenty as daytime distractions were minimal.
Now, living in a busy city, I find I need
six hours. For most people, somewhere between six and nine hours is ideal.
Try this simple exercise before bed to
transform your sleep patterns.
Evening Beditation
Do this once you’ve done absolutely
everything and are ready for bed: lists made, teeth brushed, alarm set. The
idea is not to have to get up again afterwards. The exercise takes most people
between 5 and 15 minutes.
Lie flat on your back under the covers
and take a moment to appreciate the sensation of sinking into the bed, the
feeling that your body is being supported and that you have reached the end of
the day. Take five deep breaths, breathing in through the nose and out through
the mouth. As you breathe in, get a sense of the lungs filling with air and the
chest expanding. As you breathe out, imagine the thoughts and feelings of the
day disappearing into the distance and any feelings of tension in the body
melting away. This will help to prepare for the three-step exercise ahead.
Step one
Begin by checking in, noticing how you’re
feeling, in both body and mind. Don’t worry if there are lots of thoughts
whizzing around; don’t try to resist them no matter how unsettling they may be.
Next, bring your attention back to the
sensation of the body touching the bed. Notice where the points of contact are
strongest — is the weight distributed evenly? Notice any sounds, which may
disturb you. Rather than resisting that sound, gently rest your attention on it
for 30 seconds or so, then bring your attention back to the body.
Then mentally scan down the body, from
head to toe, gently observing any tension or tightness. Do this scan several
times, taking about 20-30 seconds each time.
Bring your attention to the breath for a
minute or two — don’t try to change it, just notice it.
It’s quite normal for the mind to wander
off here, but any attempt to resist this is counter-productive. When you
realise you’ve been distracted, gently return the focus to the rising and
falling sensation.
Step two
Now it’s time to replay the day in a
focused and structured way. Begin by thinking back to the very first moment you
can remember, right after waking up. Now, as if your brain has been set to a
very gentle “fast-forward”, simply watch as your mind replays the events of the
day. This doesn’t need to be in detail, it’s more of a series of snapshots
passing through the mind. Take about three to five minutes. There is the
inevitable temptation to jump in and get caught up in the thinking: ruminating
on a meeting that went badly or a “he said, she said” situation you could have
handled better. It’s not helpful to get involved in new thinking at this time
of night. So when you realise you’ve been distracted, gently return to the film
playing back in your mind and pick it up where you left off. This will become
easier as you practice.
Step three
Return your focus to the body. Place your
attention on the little toe of the left foot and imagine that you’re switching
it off for the night. You can even repeat the words “switch off” or “and rest”;
do the same with the next toe, and so on. Continue through the ball of the
foot, the arch, the heel, the ankle and so on, all the way up to the hip and
pelvic area.
Continue the exercise up though the
torso, arms, fingers, and up through the throat, neck, face and head. Take a
moment to enjoy the sensation of being free of tension, of having given up
control. You can now allow the mind to wander as much as it wants, freely
associating from one thought to the next, until you drift off to sleep.
You may be asleep by this stage, but
don’t worry if not.
No comments:
Post a Comment