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The information on this website is designed to offer self-care tips and recommendations based on evidence-based research and literature from professionals in each field. It is not intended to diagnose or treat any specific medical condition. Please consult with your healthcare provider before making any health-related decisions.
The most common sleep problems I hear from my clients are difficulty falling asleep when they lie down at night and falling back to sleep during midnight awakenings. Well, there is a solution. Not only does research support the tips I will share in this article, but they seem to work for me and for those I see in therapy.
First, I want to help you visualize what is happening in your mind and body that keeps you awake. Insomnia is often caused by physiological arousal or increased activation of the brain’s arousal systems. There is an increase in somatic features or bodily sensations and cognitive activity. When this occurs, wake-promoting molecules run through your brain and body, preventing you from falling asleep.
Wake-promoting molecules are histamine, cortisol, norepinephrine, and epinephrine, also called adrenaline; the wake-suppressing molecules are melatonin, serotonin, and GABA, also known as nature’s valium.
Now, looking at the brain. Certain areas of the brain should be less active when we sleep. These are all the arousal-promoting areas of the brain. When these areas are active, the brain is more active, and the motor functioning causes one’s musculoskeletal system to move more often.
Breathwork and mindfully focusing on something calming can take control of these wake-promoting molecules and help you fall asleep. Here are a few tips I encourage you to try.
This sleep tip is my favorite, and I use it every night. This is counting backward from 100 down to zero. Before you start, you will take a few deep breaths. Breathe slowly and deeply with about 6-8 seconds of breathing in through your nose, then slowly letting out the air for 6-8 seconds. As you inhale, say to yourself, “I’m tired.” As you exhale, say to yourself, “Sleep.” Do this 3-4 times, then start counting backward from 100 to zero. You will count very slowly. Like 100…99…98…97. You will visualize the numbers as you pass through each one. The rule here is that if you mess up your count and forget what number you are at, you must start over.
I often make it to about 55, and then I’m asleep. Another key here is not to worry about sleep. If you become frustrated or worried about sleep, any worry or negative emotion activates arousal areas of the brain and releases these wake-promoting molecules I mentioned before.
Now, if you make it to zero when counting back from 100 and haven’t fallen to sleep. Try this more mindfully intense method that can calm your mind. This method empowers mindfulness meditation while counting.
Imagine you are walking in an open field full of flowers. For some reason, these flowers contain melatonin, and when you touch them, it soaks in your skin and makes you tired. As you walk through this field, pick a flower, smell it, and then collect it in one hand. Continue to do this, counting the flowers as you pick them and imagining that the more you pick up, the more tired you become. Continue to do this until you fall asleep.
These techniques influence relaxation and decrease arousal through mindfulness. When you relax and focus on counting, you turn off the areas of the brain promoting arousal, turn down the release of these wake-promoting molecules, and influence the release of the wake-suppressing molecules, melatonin, serotonin, and GABA.
If this doesn’t work, other areas within your sleep hygiene may need to be addressed. For example, you may consume caffeine within six hours before bedtime, expose your eyes to too much light before bedtime, or eat too close to bedtime. Become aware of the things you do during your day that impact sleep and make changes. Making these changes can decrease your insomnia.
You can learn a lot more about sleep physiology and a self-care approach to improving your sleep in my book, Self-Health Andragogy: A Self-Directed Learning Approach to Mental and Physical Self-Care.
The information found on this website is intended to provide self-care tips and recommendations informed by evidence-based research. The information shared on this website is not meant to diagnose or treat any specific medical condition. Please consult with your healthcare provider before making any decision that affects your health.
