It's increasingly evident that a sound night’s sleep works wonders for your mood, energy and the long term health of your brain and body. And despite most of us knowing the ‘right’ things to do a regular routine, keeping the bedroom tech free and so on it can still be hard get those eight hours every night, especially when there are things like the clock change and the lighter mornings to adjust to.
Mindfulness is a wellbeing wonder that’s been on the radar for a while, and guess what you can use it to improve your sleep too. Mindfulness is all about acceptance of, but not dwelling on, thoughts and feelings, and instead focusing on your breath and being in the moment. ‘In this sense, trying to force yourself to fall asleep or resisting being awake is a non-starter,’ says Anna Black, author of Mindfulness and Sleep. ‘Learn to move from a place of resistance to one of allowing it to be since it’s already here. Paradoxically, by letting go of the need to fall asleep you may find that your sleep improves.’
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The links between mindfulness and better sleep are so strong that mindfulness based therapy for insomnia (MBTI) is being developed and practised by mental health therapists. Guided meditation and adjusting mindset are key, so, start your journey to better sleep with some of Anna’s simple bedtime practices…
#1 Lie with your arms by your sides, eyes can be open or closed. Take a moment to notice the different parts of your body in contact with the bed or floor. Take a deep breath then exhale loudly, letting your body soften into the surface.
#2 Take your attention to the breath in your belly, placing a hand there to connect with its rise and fall. This is your home base. If you lose your place during the practice, just bring your attention back here for as long as you wish.
#3 Place your hand back at your side and move your attention from your torso, through your left leg and foot. Pay attention to the toes is there anything to notice? Don’t look for anything in particular, but notice what is present or absent!
#4 Move the same attention to the sole, heel, and top of your foot, then to your foot as a whole.
#5 In your mind’s eye, imagine you’re directing breath into and out of your left foot for a few moments.
#6 Move your attention to your lower left leg and explore in the same way.
#7 Continue like this round your whole body. You can do individual elements, or divide the body into sections.
#8 When you’ve finished, take your attention to your breath once more and imagine you’re breathing in through your feet and sweeping it out through the top of your head for a couple of minutes.
#9 End by being aware of your body as a whole, in contact with the surface beneath you.
#1 Begin by standing up straight and still, and sending your attention around your whole body.
#2 Notice how your weight is distributed by your feet. Shift to one side and peel the heel of the opposite foot off the floor. Notice how the sensations change. Which part of your foot comes into contact with the floor first? Do the same with the other foot then slowly walk step by step.
#3 If you’re walking in a straight line, pause at the end, stand still, then consciously turn. Notice how the distribution of weight may feel unsteady and awkward. Continue walking.
#4 Expand your attention from your feet and become aware of your whole body moving through space. Perhaps include the environment, its sounds and smells. Then narrow your attention to your feet once more, switching back and forth as desired.
#5 When you’re done, stand as you did at the start for a few more moments.
When you resist your personal sleep experience and want it to be different, it can lead to disappointment.
You may create mental stories about it, catastrophising (‘This is a nightmare’), generalising (‘I’m never able to sleep’), blaming (‘This is all my fault or someone else’s’), judging (‘I should be able to sleep’), and so on. You can get caught up in the tales, but actually they are just a reflection of your state of mind. Break the cycle by becoming aware of the different stories. Then you can choose how to respond. For example…
One of the frustrations of not sleeping is feeling that you are the only person awake (particularly if your partner is sleeping soundly next to you). In this practice you connect with the sense that you’re never alone, and there will always be at least one other experiencing something similar (with insomnia, it is more likely to be hundreds of thousands, if not millions).
#1 Begin by becoming aware of the whole body. Bring your attention to the breath, staying with the length of the in-breath, noticing that moment when an in-breath makes the transition to an out-breath, and then following the out-breath. Continue, bringing the attention back if it wanders.
#2 After a few minutes, expand your attention from the breath to the whole body, becoming aware of how it feels physically to be awake. Notice how you may move toward some aspects of your experience that you like (such as a cool breeze touching warm skin), and pull back from those that you don’t (perhaps tension in the shoulders). Notice any thoughts or emotions that may indicate how you are relating to whatever is arising. You may like to reassure yourself by saying silently, ‘It’s okay, let me feel this.’
#3 Then expand your attention to include others like you, awake when they would rather be sleeping. If there is a friend who you know is often in a similar position, bring her specifically to mind, otherwise imagine those in your neighbourhood who might be awake right now: insomniacs, a nursing mother, someone in pain, the firefighter, nurse, police officer... each one of them awake, just like you. You may like to hold the images of these people in your mind and then wish them well.
#4 Conclude the practice by narrowing your attention back to the breath for a minute or two.
Mindfulness is a wellbeing wonder that’s been on the radar for a while, and guess what you can use it to improve your sleep too. Mindfulness is all about acceptance of, but not dwelling on, thoughts and feelings, and instead focusing on your breath and being in the moment. ‘In this sense, trying to force yourself to fall asleep or resisting being awake is a non-starter,’ says Anna Black, author of Mindfulness and Sleep. ‘Learn to move from a place of resistance to one of allowing it to be since it’s already here. Paradoxically, by letting go of the need to fall asleep you may find that your sleep improves.’
The links between mindfulness and better sleep are so strong that mindfulness based therapy for insomnia (MBTI) is being developed and practised by mental health therapists. Guided meditation and adjusting mindset are key, so, start your journey to better sleep with some of Anna’s simple bedtime practices…
#1 Lie with your arms by your sides, eyes can be open or closed. Take a moment to notice the different parts of your body in contact with the bed or floor. Take a deep breath then exhale loudly, letting your body soften into the surface.
#2 Take your attention to the breath in your belly, placing a hand there to connect with its rise and fall. This is your home base. If you lose your place during the practice, just bring your attention back here for as long as you wish.
#3 Place your hand back at your side and move your attention from your torso, through your left leg and foot. Pay attention to the toes is there anything to notice? Don’t look for anything in particular, but notice what is present or absent!
#4 Move the same attention to the sole, heel, and top of your foot, then to your foot as a whole.
#5 In your mind’s eye, imagine you’re directing breath into and out of your left foot for a few moments.
#6 Move your attention to your lower left leg and explore in the same way.
#7 Continue like this round your whole body. You can do individual elements, or divide the body into sections.
#8 When you’ve finished, take your attention to your breath once more and imagine you’re breathing in through your feet and sweeping it out through the top of your head for a couple of minutes.
#9 End by being aware of your body as a whole, in contact with the surface beneath you.
Walking with nowhere to go
Rather than lying awake, agitated that you’re not sleeping, get up and have a wander to shift the attention out of your head and into your body. You can walk up and down a corridor or room, or round in a circle, arms wherever they feel most natural, feet preferably bare.#1 Begin by standing up straight and still, and sending your attention around your whole body.
#2 Notice how your weight is distributed by your feet. Shift to one side and peel the heel of the opposite foot off the floor. Notice how the sensations change. Which part of your foot comes into contact with the floor first? Do the same with the other foot then slowly walk step by step.
#3 If you’re walking in a straight line, pause at the end, stand still, then consciously turn. Notice how the distribution of weight may feel unsteady and awkward. Continue walking.
#4 Expand your attention from your feet and become aware of your whole body moving through space. Perhaps include the environment, its sounds and smells. Then narrow your attention to your feet once more, switching back and forth as desired.
#5 When you’re done, stand as you did at the start for a few more moments.
When you resist your personal sleep experience and want it to be different, it can lead to disappointment.
You may create mental stories about it, catastrophising (‘This is a nightmare’), generalising (‘I’m never able to sleep’), blaming (‘This is all my fault or someone else’s’), judging (‘I should be able to sleep’), and so on. You can get caught up in the tales, but actually they are just a reflection of your state of mind. Break the cycle by becoming aware of the different stories. Then you can choose how to respond. For example…
NAME THE MONSTERS
Notice what story is in your head tonight perhaps it’s the ‘all my fault’ tale. Acknowledge it but don’t give yourself a hard time. The more you do this, the more you’ll notice that it’s the same old ‘monsters’ reappearing. You can introduce a bit of fun and give each one a silly name, which undermines them so you gain more perspective.YOUR PERCEIVED AMOUNT OF SLEEP
Once, after a broken night, I told a friend ‘It was terrible I was awake for hours’. I felt exhausted. Yet when I looked at my fitness tracker’s sleep monitor, it recorded eight and a half hours’ sleep. Just reading that made me feel better (despite knowing they’re not always accurate). My perception had changed. It’s healthier to become familiar with your body’s own signals and respond when it feels tired or refreshed, rather than focus on what you think you experienced.SHIFTING OUT OF YOUR HEAD
You can also notice how a story is manifesting in your body, since negative stories often generate uncomfortable sensations. Bring a friendly interest to whatever you notice physically and emotionally, and remind yourself there’s no need to do anything to fix or change what you become aware of.One of the frustrations of not sleeping is feeling that you are the only person awake (particularly if your partner is sleeping soundly next to you). In this practice you connect with the sense that you’re never alone, and there will always be at least one other experiencing something similar (with insomnia, it is more likely to be hundreds of thousands, if not millions).
#1 Begin by becoming aware of the whole body. Bring your attention to the breath, staying with the length of the in-breath, noticing that moment when an in-breath makes the transition to an out-breath, and then following the out-breath. Continue, bringing the attention back if it wanders.
#2 After a few minutes, expand your attention from the breath to the whole body, becoming aware of how it feels physically to be awake. Notice how you may move toward some aspects of your experience that you like (such as a cool breeze touching warm skin), and pull back from those that you don’t (perhaps tension in the shoulders). Notice any thoughts or emotions that may indicate how you are relating to whatever is arising. You may like to reassure yourself by saying silently, ‘It’s okay, let me feel this.’
#3 Then expand your attention to include others like you, awake when they would rather be sleeping. If there is a friend who you know is often in a similar position, bring her specifically to mind, otherwise imagine those in your neighbourhood who might be awake right now: insomniacs, a nursing mother, someone in pain, the firefighter, nurse, police officer... each one of them awake, just like you. You may like to hold the images of these people in your mind and then wish them well.
#4 Conclude the practice by narrowing your attention back to the breath for a minute or two.
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