Perhaps, you have tried eating sleep-inducing foods that mellow your mood and stimulate relaxation in order to gain shut-eye. Alternatively, you might have exercised to the hilt at the correct time of day, engaged in a hot bath before bedtime, and made sure that your body clock is ticking over brilliantly. However, it is possible that none of the above has worked for you, and obtaining sleep seems like a dream on the horizon. If so, you will benefit from encouraging your body and mind to relax by meditating.
Why meditation?
When your mind races due to stress or excitement, it can be impossible to sleep. One anxiety-provoking thought leads to another, or each spark of an idea in your head ignites your brain instead of peacefully sending it to the land of Nod. Meditation is beneficial under such circumstances since it soothes the brain, taking your mind down to lower vibrational frequencies.
Hyper-alert people operate via fast brainwaves, which keep them stuck in a flight-or-fight state of consciousness. Their systems are ready for action rather than amiable to winding down.
There again, you might find getting to sleep difficult because you are uncomfortable. If you are in pain or discomfort, due to an illness or injury, or simply experiencing aches and pains from over-exercising, it can be difficult to find a good position in which to sleep and stop signals of uneasiness stemming from your body. Meditating can make you so deeply relaxed that you no longer notice bodily sensations, since your concentration flows inwards to your mind.
There are many types of meditation, and a great deal are practiced during the day and are not intended to stimulate sleep, just an alert state of peacefulness. Nonetheless, you can meditate yourself to sleep, or at least use meditation to help you rest comfortably while you are awake.
Meditation techniques that help with sleep are often combined with brainwave training to calm down the synaptic vibrations between neurons in the brain. You can also listen to a meditation audio, or simply tune your thoughts toward mindfulness, whereby you pay full attention to your breath as you slowly breathe in and out deeply. It is also possible to focus on relaxing parts of your body, one by one, by repeatedly telling yourself that each part in question is comfortably heavy and that you are relaxed. The sensations induced by doing so encourage your body to unwind so deeply that you feel incredibly comfortable and calm, which is how you want to be when you desire to sleep.
There is no point lying awake while feeling uncomfortable and focusing on problems. If you find sleep hard to come by, try meditating in a fashion that suits your needs and you are likely to nod-off sooner than you expect.
