This is my second in my Sunday series on sleep. Again, I’d like to ask for feedback from my readers. Why do you think you can’t sleep? What helps you sleep?
For me, the most frequent cause of insomnia is being wound up. My brain is a busy one, and if I let be too active in the evening, it takes a while to wind down and get sleepy. That also includes watching tv in the evening, especially suspenseful or thought provoking shows. The best thing is to find something to do to unwind, starting about two hours before bed time.
If you have any sort of spiritual practice, that is probably one of the best things to do before bed. Prayer, meditation, scriptural study, etc. Just be careful that the studying is not to stimulating. I find when I do my spiritual practice in the evening, not only do I sleep better, but I feel like a better human being the next day. I’m more tolerant, compassionate, and at ease. You could also enjoy inspirational books, audios, or videos.
Some people love a hot bath before bed. Try adding a little lavender essential oil to the water. It is very soothing.
If you do not live alone, you could take a beginner’s class in massage or acupressure, and trade giving each other massages in the evening. A gentle, relaxing style of hatha yoga is a nice way to prepare for sleep. A guided relaxation or self hypnosis CD is great too, though sometimes it puts me to sleep earlier than I want to. It’s best to save that for last. I have made two CDs, so far, that work for helping with sleep. If you are interested in them, let me know, and I can tell you more about them.
Sweet Dreams.
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Hey Ed,
There’s another thing that really helps me a lot to wind down (I watch things like CSI before bed sometimes, so I know what you’re saying), and that is to remember this quote by a truly great being:
“Emotions are like soap bubbles. Don’t focus on the bubbles for they have no substance. Instead, focus on their source, which will promote tremendous bliss instead. In this way you stop identifying with your thoughts and emotions and can begin to identify with your real Self.” If that doesn’t give you the ability to rest easy, I don’t know what else will.
Hope that helps a little more.
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