Meditation is portable, profound, and powerful. It
improves your life in all sorts of ways, ranging from the spiritual to the
physical.
Today I want to share about how you can take concrete and
effective steps to improve your sleep and, by extension boost your energy,
through meditation
Meditation is a practice that you build incrementally
over time. The more you do it, the more natural it becomes for you. And right
from the start, just a few moments of meditation can help you fall asleep
faster, as well as improving the quality of your sleep. In fact, it's quite
possible that meditation could help you feel more refreshed with fewer hours of
sleep.
Here are 7 simple practices to encourage mindfulness and
increase energy:
Meditation Practices to Do Anytime
Breathe deeply.
Breathing fully from your abdomen gets more oxygen to your brain. You'll have
more energy all day long and feel more relaxed when night falls.
Scan your body.
Get in the habit of paying attention to your body. When you notice an ache or
pain, try adjusting your position to address small discomforts before they
build up and interfere with your energy and your sleep.
Let go of
judgments. Meditation also helps develop a mind free from judgment. As you
observe your thoughts you notice (and reduce) negative self-talk.
Identify
obstacles. If some thoughts recur as you meditate, they could be trying to tell
you something. They may be issues you need to resolve so you can sleep better.
Become more
mindful. Focusing on the present moment helps you stay calm. Studies show that
multi-tasking erodes concentration and creates stress that contributes to
insomnia.
Try Yoga or Tai
chi. Exercises like these are especially helpful when you approach them as a
mental discipline as well as a physical workout. They encourage deep breathing,
stress reduction and enhanced concentration.
Use meditation
to complement sleep. People who go on prolonged retreats are sometimes
surprised that meditating all day may dramatically reduce their need for sleep
at night. Proceed at your own pace to find the right combination of sleep and
meditation for you. You may someday find that your body requires less sleep as
you meditate more.
Ready to explore meditation and the ways it can enhance
your life - and especially the quality of your sleep? Let's get a bit more
concrete, with these 5 specific tips, to use at night and in the morning. I
think you'll find them very helpful!
Meditation Practices for Bedtime and On Waking
1. Limit your screen time. Meditation works wonders and
stepping away from the TV or the internet will help you fall asleep. Studies
show that many Americans are suffering from sleep problems because of the
mental stimulation and looking at a brightly lit screen just before retiring.
Turn all your devices off at least an hour before bed.
2. Create a quiet setting. Silence is conducive to both
meditation and sleep. Now that you've got the TV off, put your phone away too.
3. Take the pressure off. Getting anxious about falling
asleep is enough to keep you up at night. By shifting your attention to more
constructive activities, you'll dispel these tensions.
4. Use guided imagery or phrases. You can adapt some of
the concepts you use in your meditation when you're going to sleep. Select any
soothing image or thought and allow your mind to become fully engaged with it.
You might think about a still lake or a line of poetry. If you wake up after
falling asleep, return your mind to your object of meditation.
5. Wake up more gently. Try going to bed and getting up
at the same time each day so you can wake up naturally without using an alarm
clock. Easing your mind awake gradually enables you to transition gently,
reflecting on dreams and welcoming the new day.
Meditation is a safe and effective method for alleviating
insomnia. These techniques will enhance your sleep time and boost your energy,
no matter what else is going on in your life!
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