Want better sleep? How meditation can improve your sleep habits

We all know meditation can help us be more present in our lives. But what about when we want to be not so present? Can meditation also help us with sleep? In this article I’ll describe how meditation can not only help you optimize your nightly routine, but also help you fall asleep faster and sleep more pleasantly.

How can meditation help improve sleep in the moment?

One of the biggest barriers to sleep is a restless mind, a mind that won’t shut off, or that is filled with worry and stress. Meditation can calm the mind and help you let go of anxious thoughts and worries, easing you into a more restful state. In part this is due to the state of concentration that can accompany meditation. You can’t simultaneously be focused on that stressful thing at work while also focused on your breath. This makes it easier to sleep at night, as a mind filled with anxiety makes it hard to sleep, but a settled mind rests easily.

Sometimes your mind won’t calm down and the stress won’t go away, and that’s ok too. When practiced correctly, meditation can help you let go of the resistance to these states of mind, so that you can be in a state of acceptance and inner peace, even in the face of restlessness and worry.

How does a regular meditation practice can help you build better sleep habits?

One benefit of having a consistent meditation practice is that it cultivates two key emotional intelligence qualities: self-awareness and self-management. Self-awareness is critical because it will help you identify the things in your life that keep you awake or cause you trouble with sleep. For example, with more body awareness you might realize that caffeine is causing tension and tightness in the chest late into the evening, and so you might decide to limit your caffeine intake. Or you might also realize that you’re hooked on your phone, scrolling on social media for hours into the night instead of sleeping, and so you may decide to implement a nightly phone-off time.

Similarly, self-management is an essential quality that will help you take action on improving your nightly routines. You may already know that you should be turning off your computer and screens early in the night, but just don’t seem to have enough self control. Having better self-management around your habits and behaviors will help give you the mental strength you need for behavior change. It can help you resist urges to “just check email for a couple minutes” and can help you take the appropriate action so you can set yourself up for a good night’s rest.

On top of that, a highly developed meditation routine has been shown to reduce stress, anxiety, and overwhelm. As mentioned earlier, a huge barrier to sleep for most people is an overactive and stressed mind. So, the more consistent your meditation, the less stress you will have and the easier your sleep will be.

What are some useful pre-bedtime meditation techniques?

One of the best styles of meditation for sleep is concentration practices; bringing your attention to a single point of focus. This will have the effect of calming and settling the mind. For example, you can do a visualization technique, like visualizing your breath as a wave, watching it crashing into the shore and then receding. This can be very soothing and calming for the mind.

Another style of meditation that I find particularly useful before bed is lovingkindness, or metta, meditation. This style of practice involves sending kind thoughts and well-wishes to various people. It’s a form of concentration meditation that also cultivates good feelings and a warm heart. One of the benefits of this style of practice is that it will help you have pleasant dreams at night.

Open awareness or acceptance based meditation techniques can be very useful when the mind doesn’t feel concentrated. These styles of meditation focus on opening up to whatever is arising in your environment: sounds, body sensations, smells, thoughts and emotions. Simply resting in a state of open awareness.

Are there certain meditative sounds or instruments (singing bowls, sound baths, percussive instruments) that could help ease you into sleep?

Yes, many sounds can help ease you into sleep, but it’s important to know that each person is different in terms of what helps them fall asleep. Some people will like singing bowls or meditative chanting, others will prefer natural sounds like wind or rain. There are also white-noise machines that many people find helpful. Find what helps you and stick with that.

Is there a good resource for people who want to use meditation for better sleep?

Yes! It’s for exactly this reason that I created the Sleep Masterclass course on Udemy. This course combines the best of modern sleep science with a wide range of guided meditation techniques. Click the link below to get a discounted access to the course.

https://www.udemy.com/course/sleepmasterclass/?referralCode=23B86DBEFDEF8853E5E0