Meditate Before You Sleep

Meditation is known for a long time as an effective method of relieving stress and calming your mental state. Its effects vary from mental, emotional, and physical attributions. From reducing stress levels to improving focus, meditation is a popular health and wellness practice that enhances the quality of life.

Sleeping disorders like insomnia and sleep apnea are just a few of the common problems that people face on a daily basis. But most individuals rarely address these problems. People start to care less about healthy sleeping and turns a blind eye on the side effects of insufficient sleep on well-being and health. Of course, it’s impossible to live your life without the so-called essentials such as drinking coffee and going out at night.

The Stigma

We become more desensitized to sleep deprivation and insufficiency in sleeping is taking a toll on our bodies, both in subtle and not no-so-subtle ways. From obesity to heart disease, a significant effect of undersleeping and oversleeping can trigger serious health issues. Fortunately, there’s meditation, an efficient method to correct disrupted sleep cycles.

According to the groundbreaking study conducted by the University of Massachusetts Medical School, 58% of people who experience insomnia improve their sleeping cycle through meditation. 91% of participants who are under medications were able to reduce the dosage or stop the prescription entirely. And, several months after, the majority of the participants are already enjoying better sleep cycles, showing that meditation is indeed a potent tool to fight insomnia.

Improving Sleep Through Meditation

Meditation improves our sleeping cycle in different ways. The most noticeable effect is how meditation relieves stress in our body. To be more precise, meditation is effective against stress because it actuates our autonomic nervous system which allows better sleep, deeper breathing, and stronger digestion.

As our culture continues to develop, our nervous system also begins to show signs of dysfunction and goes into survival mode, more than what is safe and necessary. Hence, meditation is like a human reset button that restores the natural order of our physiological state.

Meditating is also suitable for preserving Slow Wave Sleep, the deepest stage on non-REM or Rapid Eye Movement sleeps. It is a common problem for people over fifty years old.

How To Meditate Before Sleeping

Pre-sleep meditation may vary on different people, depending on the preferences. Some prefer binaural beats or meditative music to achieve deeper states of calm and relieve the mind. Others prefer guided meditations using a narrator’s soothing and soft voice which carries them to physical relaxation and sleeping.

Good thing, there are also various resources online that you can refer to get the best mattresses like BedsOnline to help you have a good night’s sleep, and some guides to proper meditation. There are also numerous techniques that you can utilize. There are ancient Buddhist techniques and modern variations.

One of the best practices that you can perform before hitting the mattress is the guided Vipassana meditation. This method is very useful for people with anxiety, overactive minds, and undergrounded feeling. By the way, Vipassana means to gain insight into the real nature of a thing.

The Effects

First-time practitioners of Vipassana may feel like it’s their first time to notice the room they are in or sense their physical bodies. It happens because Vipassana clears out your worries and mental clutter throughout the day and replace them with awareness of what’s currently happening at the moment.

So, the question now is how to do it? Vipassana is a technique that makes you focus on two things at a time like the sound of your breath, movements of your hand, or the negative view you see when you close your eyes.

No matter what is the focal point, Vipassana soothes the nervous systems. This soothing of the system enhances the REM sleep. It is especially beneficial to people who get sufficient amount of sleep but still experience fatigue every morning

You can try adopting a few habits every evening like drinking tea, turning off the phone or reading your favorite book before sleeping. Keep practicing these routines, after a few days; you will notice a significant change in your ability to stay calm and be calm throughout the night.

Takeaway

Sleeping is essential to our existence. Living without it is impossible. Failure to get a sufficient amount of sleep may not be alarming, but if it happens on a regular basis, it will take a toll on your health and create serious health issues. To avoid falling into this trap, you can use meditation to restore your sleeping cycle and reap other benefits that it provides. Take heed; sleep is wealth.

Author Bio:

Janis Walker is a freelance blogger and a full-time mother of two beautiful kids. She loves to talk about home improvement and interior design. Janis often browses reputable sites such as Beds Online as her source. In her free time, she loves watching videos about DIY crafts and projects.