Go To Sleep
Self-Care February Day 20: Get better restI must be getting old. I just woke up from an afternoon nap and it was won-der-ful.
Okay, so afternoon naps are the kind of luxury you only really appreciate as you age, but no matter whether you’re young or old, sleep is fundamental to health. However, although it’s incredibly important for our wellbeing, sleep can be highly elusive.
I’m sure you know all the usual advice for dealing with insomnia – establish a sleep routine, cut back on screen time before you settle down for the night, have a relaxing warm bath, etc. but what happens if all those traditional tips aren’t working for you?
Here’s a few more unusual suggestions to help you get the rest your mind and body so desperately needs:
1. Stay awake
Instead of lying there, desperately trying to go to sleep, actively try to stay awake. Your brain can be an ornery creature. Tell it not to think of pink rhinos, what happens? You’re instantly inundated with all sorts of thoughts about pink rhinos! So tell your brain “I don’t want to sleep” and it’ll immediately come up with ways to make you sleepier. The harder you fight it, the sooner you’ll drift off.
2. Meditate
The more you meditate, the greater control you have over your brain. Having meditated for decades, I now have the self-awareness to know when my brain is in various different states and can take myself up and down through the different brainwave patterns. If you haven’t got that control yet, don’t worry. The simple act of meditating can put your brain into the same wave pattern it enjoys during sleep, allowing you to get some rest even if you don’t manage to go to sleep.
I’ve been using mantra meditation to go to sleep since I was a teenager. If all else fails, this is a good place to start. (Just be aware that if you use meditation as a sleeping aid, you’ll want to use a different method when you want to meditate and stay awake afterwards.)
3. Breathe into sleep
Your breath is an amazing tool. It’s something we do automatically, yet most of us don’t realise that we can use it for more than simply staying alive. Your breath can be an indicator of your mood – when you’re stressed out, you breath quickly and shallowly. When you’re relaxed, your breath deepens and slows down. Controlling your breath can actively alter your mood.
Every emotional state has a corresponding breathing pattern. When you’re anxious, your breath is shallow and fast. And when you’re relaxed, your breath is deep and slow. The cool thing about this is that you can consciously change your mood by changing your breath – one follows the other.
You can simply count your breaths, counting from one to ten on the inhale and then going back to the beginning and start again. Alternatively, you can try a more controlled technique, inhaling for a count of four, holding for a count of four, exhaling for a count of four then holding for four.
5. Tell a story
We tell our children stories to help them go to sleep. Why? Because it works. So you can tell yourself a bedtime story to get your brain into storytelling mode, preparing it to give you pleasant dreams.
Read a book (a fiction one – it’s all about stories) or recreate a movie or a pleasant experience in your mind. The great thing about this is that if you can’t fall asleep, you’re having a lot more fun than if you were just lying there waiting for morning to come around. However, be prepared not to get to the end of the tale – your brain will recognise that it’s time for a story, connect that with dreams and take you off to dreamland.
6. Tense to relax
If you’re holding any tension in your body, this can stop you getting to sleep. So, if you consciously relax your body, it’ll help relax your mind.
Lie flat on your back and squeeze your toes as tightly as you possibly can. Hold for a few seconds, then let go. Now squeeze your whole foot, hold and release. Move up to your calves – squeeze, hold and release. Your thighs – squeeze, hold and release. And so on and so on, moving slowly all the way up your body through your legs, buttocks, stomach, chest, arms, hands, shoulders, neck and face. Once you’ve worked your way up your entire body, tense every single bit of you at once, hold and release. This will give your whole body a delicious feeling of relaxation to help you get to sleep.
If you come on the Journey Through the Chakras retreat, you’ll learn techniques which you can use to help you relax and rest. Tickets are no longer available online, but if you email info@neptunesdaughter.co.uk, we may still be able to fit you in at the last minute.