Mindful Relaxation Practices for a Good Night’s Sleep
Mindful Relaxation
Brain-imaging studies have shown that what we imagine ourselves doing affects our brain and biochemistry exactly as if we were really doing it.
Many Olympic athletes visualize themselves performing with excellence. Give it a go, and visualize yourself moving through your day or getting a project finished with absolutely no difficulties.
You can also harness this brain power to set yourself up for optimal rest.
Ready to go to sleep? Get in bed. Adjust the bedding and your pillow. Close your eyes and visualize a comforting and peaceful place. Now add sounds … and smells. Feel the gentle sun warm your skin … enjoy a light breeze … let your problems melt away in your calm, relaxing, safe place.
Here’s a script you can use to create your own relaxing visualization:
Imagine a peaceful place. It can be a place you’ve been before, or a place in your imagination. Breathe deeply and imagine this calm and gentle place. This is a good place — this is a safe place.
Now put yourself into the scene. Picture yourself in this calm and gentle place. You are so relaxed in this good place, in this safe place. You are so relaxed.
Take a deep breath and inhale the sweet air. Let it fill your lungs, let it flow through your body relaxing you.
Your stress is melting away in this tranquil, safe place. It’s a warm day and the sun is shining. Feel the warmth, feel the sun. You are content — you are at peace — you are smiling.
The more you do this exercise, the easier and quicker it will work for you. You can read about other relaxation techniques in the book Sleep Secrets.
Mouths Are for Eating, Noses Are for Breathing!
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Many of us have developed the habit of breathing through our mouths. Unfortunately, mouth breathing is not good for your sleep or your health.
When you inhale through your nose, the air is moistened and warmed on the way to your lungs. Cilia, the tiny hairs that line our nose, filter out dust and foreign particles.
Breathing through your mouth causes you to inhale dry, unfiltered air into your lungs.
Breathing through your nose slows your breathing and heart rate yet increases your circulation and the capacity of your lungs. Breathing through your mouth does none of that.
When we breathe through our mouths, our bodies don’t regulate the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in our blood as efficiently. This leads to a lack of oxygen that can awaken us in the night.
Mouth breathing can also cause over-breathing, which can elevate blood pressure and heart rate, and worsen asthma and snoring.
Another poor breathing habit that we have is we don’t breathe all the way down to our abdomen. This problem easily results from mouth breathing. The lower lungs contain about 3 times the capacity as the upper lungs; thus, three chest breaths are needed to get the same amount of air as you can with a single diaphragmatic breath.
Proper breathing and good sleep go hand in hand. You will be able to reduce your stress load and alleviate many sleep problems by learning natural breathing.
To learn more about natural breathing, get a copy of Sleep Secrets and read Chapter 7.
Exercise and Sleep
Are You Getting Enough Exercise?
People who exercise have less trouble falling asleep at night than people who don’t. But don’t exercise in the late evening or right before you go to sleep, as exercise raises your body temperature, making sleep more difficult.
If the only time you can exercise is before you go to bed, when you take your after-exercise shower, slowly turn down the hot water and allow the colder temperature to cool your body.
If you’re not already exercising, start now. A walk after dinner will help your digestion and make it easier to fall asleep at night. You can also swim, ride a bike, play a sport, go to a gym — anything you enjoy that gets you moving.
If you exercise on a regular basis, your body will secrete endorphins, hormones that produce a pleasurable sensation. Endorphins will cause you to begin craving exercise.
Simply put — exercise that results in physical tiredness will help you get a good night’s sleep.
There are over 200 pages of more tips to help you get a good night’s sleep in the book, Sleep Secrets. Get your copy now!
Sleep Secrets for Seniors
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Many seniors notice a change in their sleep patterns as they age: lighter sleep, frequent awakenings, waking very early in the morning, daytime fatigue and excessive napping.
Good sleep habits are vitally important to seniors to maintain their health and energy levels. They are more sensitive to the effects of strong light at the wrong time, EMFs, stimulation from electronic devices too late in the evening, poor eating habits and alcohol.
Seniors, be sure to read up on these things in the book Sleep Secrets:
- keeping a regular bedtime and wake-up time
- having proper early morning light in your room
- getting outside morning light or using a light therapy device
- establishing pre-sleep rituals
- following the 20-minute rule: get up if you do not fall asleep within 20 minutes
- exercising regularly
- avoiding caffeine, tobacco, alcohol, large meals and large amounts of liquid long before bedtime
- avoiding bright lights, TV and electronic devices before going to bed, and no TV in your bedroom
- keeping a cool and comfortable bedroom
- using your bedroom only for sleep
Many seniors require extra light in the afternoon, which will allow them to stay awake longer in the evening. This will keep them from going to bed too early and awakening at 3 or 4 a.m. A light therapy device can be very useful to curb this problem if getting sunshine in midafternoon is not possible.
Some seniors who complain about not being able to sleep at night don’t realize it is because of too-frequent daytime napping. Monitor the number and length of your daytime naps and try reducing them to see if this helps you sleep through the night.
Magnesium Deficiency and Insomnia
According to Dr.Mark Sircus, a world expert on magnesium deficiency, the lack of this crucial mineral in the body is directly related to insomnia…
“One of the principle reason doctors write millions of prescriptions for tranquilizers each year is the nervousness, irritability, and jitters largely brought on by inadequate diets lacking magnesium. Persons only slightly deficient in magnesium become irritable, highly-strung, and sensitive to noise, hyper-excitable, apprehensive and belligerent. If the deficiency is more severe or prolonged, they may develop twitching, tremors, irregular pulse, insomnia, muscle weakness, jerkiness and leg and foot cramps.”
If you find that good sleep hygiene and light management habits are not helping you sleep, then magnesium may be helpful.
Soothing Bedtime Routines and Rituals
When it comes to sleep, routine is the key.
Many sleep experts recommend that you establish a consistent routine for transitioning into sleep.
An hour before you go to bed, preferably at the same time every night:
- Turn off all electronic devices.
- Stop all stressful activities — homework, paying bills, etc.
- Turn off all unnecessary lights so your serotonin (daytime hormone) levels drop and your melatonin (night/sleep hormone) rises.
- Do some quiet yoga or stretches, inspirational reading and/or meditation.
- Listen to quiet, relaxing music.
- Soak in a hot bath or have a foot bath
Now go to bed and get that much-needed, blissful deep sleep!
If you do not fall asleep after a while, get up and do something rather dull — not stimulating — that makes you sleepy. Then go back to bed and try again.
Chapter 7 in Sleep Secrets has more Body-Mind Techniques for Sleep. Get your copy now!
Food for Great Sleep
As with many of my other sleep secrets around time of day, eating for a good night’s sleep best begins in the morning. If sleep is a problem in your life, a good breakfast will help you fall asleep at night.
Food nourishes your entire body. When you eat, stress hormones are reduced in your body. These hormones are a natural part of the circadian rhythm, telling us it is time to eat. Eating a good breakfast causes these hormone levels to drop naturally. This calms your body and helps you sleep that night.
Eat a balance of complex carbohydrates, protein and fats, or your health, as well as your sleep, will suffer.
Beware of fad diets that eliminate carbohydrates from your meals. Carbohydrates produce glucose that feeds all the cells in your body and gives you energy. Eliminating carbs from your diet can cause myriad problems.
Eat complex carbohydrates that digest slowly, such as whole grains (like brown rice and oatmeal), lentils and low-glycemic starchy vegetables (like sweet potatoes and squash).
Also beware of eliminating healthy fats from your meals. Your body needs them to maintain steady metabolism and to stabilize the digestion of the carbs. Important vitamins including A, D, E and K are fat-soluble, and fat is needed to absorb them.
Healthy fats include saturated fats found in butter, ghee and coconut oil — not the modern harmful fats from highly processed vegetable oils and margarines, which are profoundly harmful to the body and inhibit sleep to boot! Healthy saturated fats will help you sleep.
You also need some salt (sodium) in your diet. Salt is an electrolyte that controls blood pressure and the amount of blood. Sodium is needed to create the impulses that make your muscles function. Too little salt can make sleep difficult. Sea salt is best as it contains important trace minerals.
For more information on sleep and diet, read Chapter 6 in Sleep Secrets: How to Fall Asleep Fast, Beat Fatigue and Insomnia and Get a Great Night’s Sleep.
Create the Perfect Sleep Environment
Create the Perfect Sleep Environment
To create the perfect sleep environment, you need to make your bedroom your sanctuary, your refuge and your retreat. Make it a place for relaxation, romance and sleep.
Remove the clutter — the magazines, office files and random stuff. If the walls need painting, paint them. If you have a vase, fill it with flowers.
You need to train your mind/body to think of your bed as a place to sleep, not a place to work on a computer, play a video game, talk on the phone, or watch TV. When you associate the bedroom with sleep, you condition yourself to feel sleepy when you go into your bedroom and look at your bed.
If you must use the phone, get out of bed and go into another room to talk. Keep it out of your sleep sanctuary.
The more inviting your bed, the more conducive for sleep it will be. If good sleep is important to you, invest in a good bed.
More tips on selecting a good bed and mattress can be found in Chapter 4 of the book, Sleep Secrets.
Using Aromatherapy As a Sleep Aid
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Aromatherapy is the use of essential plant oils to improve a person’s health or mood. Good oils for promoting sleep are lavender, vanilla, chamomile, lime and jasmine.
Essential oils can be used in several ways:
- Inhale them directly by holding the bottle a few inches from your nose and breathing in.
- Put a few drops on a cotton ball, tissue, pillowcase or eye pillow before you go to sleep.
- Pour hot water into a bowl, add a few drops of sleep inducing essential oils and breathe deeply.
- Use this lavender spray in your bedroom to help ease you into sleep: Aura Cacia Air Fresh Lavender Spritz.
- Add a few drops of essential oil to your bathwater.
Use a diffuser to fill your room with a light mist of essential oil that will linger for a few hours.
If you enjoyed these tips and want to learn more about how to beat insomnia and get a good night’s sleep, read the entire book, Sleep Secrets.
Sleep Secrets Book Video
Watch this video to learn more about the book, Sleep Secrets.
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