The busy working life, stress due to the pandemic, family problems, and internal troubles felt sometimes could cause you to miss a night of good quality sleep. Can mindfulness compensate for the decrease in sleep quality? Scientific studies reveal that the relationship between mindfulness for sleep is promising.
How does mindfulness support a better sleep
Mindfulness helps you reduce your stress and reduce rumination. Conscious awareness (aka mindfulness) provides a great deal of relaxation and calming. For these reasons, mindfulness for sleep even dramatically helps with the treatment of insomnia.
Surveys conducted in the US indicate that an average of 85% of employees experiences stress-related sleep problems. Sleep problems cause loss of energy in daily life and cause the person to feel exhausted. Constant insomnia and fatigue can cause damage to work efficiency and the normal flow of social relations. According to studies, mindfulness meditation can help improve sleep quality!
Exercises to practice mindfulness for sleep
• Meditate. Before going to bed, do mindful walking, mindful yoga, or other mindfulness exercises. Some people say it is very effective; try it yourself and observe the effects.
• If you wake up at night and cannot sleep again, you can try the body scanning exercise. Focus on all parts of your body from your toes up to your head one by one, feel them.
• If your mind works hard at night and is full of thoughts, turn your attention to your breath. Focus on every breath you take and count your breaths until you fall asleep.
• Try focusing on the sounds and counting them. Listen to the sound of your breathing, traffic noise, your partner’s movements, and sounds. Focus on these sounds in turn and only focus on the sound you have chosen. Notice the change, rise, and fall of the voice. Look for other sounds as well. Focus on sounds until you fall asleep.
• Count your exhales. Count your every exhale. When you get to it, go back to the beginning and keep counting.
• If you really can’t sleep, avoid making it a struggle. Struggling in bed will also increase your anxiety and make it difficult for you to fall asleep. Continue to sit upright and practice mindfulness. Perhaps mindful yoga can also help.
Mindfulness exercises reduce mental fatigue and exhaustion
Mindfulness may also reduce fatigue and improve symptoms of insomnia. We all know the feeling of tiredness that takes us to sleep. A recent study found that mindfulness exercises reduced burnout levels and improved cognitive function and motivational energy in worn-out business entrepreneurs.
Mindfulness exercises improve mental health
An eight-week course on mindfulness practices improved the amount and quality of sleep in 213 participants, with benefits in psychological state and even stress-related disorders, including anxiety and depression. The authors concluded that the benefits of mindfulness exercises are most likely due to improved cognition and emotional regulation.
Mindfulness exercises tackle memory problems
Studies confirmed links between higher mindfulness levels, reduced perceived stress, and improved sleep quality. It has been found that increased mindfulness and reduced stress levels are incredibly vital to preserving mental and cognitive health. Reduced stress and cortisol levels even help protect us from serious cognitive diseases such as dementia.
Useful pre-bedtime techniques to practice mindfulness for sleep
We’ve seen before how mindfulness practices can affect the brain, prepare you for sleep, and how insomnia can harm our memory. Stimulating our senses could also help significantly to reduce stress and improve sleep quality.
Sound:
According to research, “pink noise” – softer than white noise and imitating sounds found in nature like waterfalls or gentle waves – promotes slow-wave sleep. Such pleasant sounds of nature like waterfalls or waves can benefit your sleep and your mental health and cognition! Try listening to sounds of nature in your next meditation session, and for a fantastic experience, go out in nature and meditate directly in those settings. You won’t believe how great and refreshing it feels.
Smell:
It’s also possible to stimulate memory recall with particular smells for better sleep. Fragrances such as lavender can improve slow-wave sleep. The findings of the healthy participants in a sleep study reported “higher vitality the morning after lavender exposure,” confirming the increased slow-wave sleep recordings. Smells can also promote learning when associated with specific memories or behaviors.
Take these steps now; there is no reason not to implement these straightforward mindfulness techniques in your bedtime routine starting tonight!
If you’re looking to build new habits and enhance your health, then it’s time to start thinking about what you should be doing differently in your life. The good news is that there are many ways to make changes to your lifestyle that can improve your health and lead to better overall wellness. If you want to learn how to live a healthier lifestyle and mindfulness for sleep better, download wannawell app for free.
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