Do you find it hard to sleep? Or do you find yourself counting the proverbial sheep when you should be fast asleep after the toils of a long day? If so, you're not alone as up to 50 percent of adults suffer from insomnia or other conditions that make it difficult for them to get a good night's rest. In search of remedies to alleviate their sleepy apathy, many have turned to herbal teas and even gone as far as utilizing static noises or natural relaxing sounds to induce sleep. But do you know one free and simple trick that could help you get the much-needed rest? Meditation! Heard of it before? Of course, you have. But what is meditation and how can it help you sleep better? This article addresses these questions. Stay with us.
Meditation
Most dictionaries define Meditation as “the practice of meditating”. What this vague definition does not reveal is that meditation requires that an individual utilize techniques such as mindfulness or intense concentration on an activity, object, or thought to the extent that he becomes calm emotionally, attains mental clarity, and achieves a stable state. Adherent to the practice of meditation have for years talked up its benefits for everyday life and so it may not come as a surprise that the practice of meditation is linked to sleeping better.
How can meditation help you sleep better?
While meditation is not a sleeping pill, studies have shown that it could help you sleep better. How? You may wonder. Well, the core principles entailed by the technique of mindfulness are what makes meditation such a wonderful tool in defeating sleep disturbances such as insomnia. The following are how meditation can help you sleep better:
Reducing stress and anxiety
In the majority of persons, insomnia or inability to sleep well can be traced to stress or anxiety. Even before the challenges of the COVID-19 virus, the hassles of daily life and making ends meet was daunting enough. Now with the virus, stress levels have skyrocketed thus, leading to more people experiencing difficulties in sleeping. Meditation with its technique of mindfulness can help clear the mind of things that lead to stress and anxiety. And while it's not a magical potion that makes your problems disappear, it can calm your mind and give you a sense of inner peace.
2. It helps your body relax
One of the critical techniques of meditation is breathing exercises that help you regulate your mind and help it focus on the present moment. When you focus on your breathing, your body naturally responds by relaxing and lowering your heart rate- a response that enhances the secretion of melatonin (a hormone that regulates sleepiness).
3. It helps resolve other health issues inhibiting sleep
Besides stress and anxiety, Depression may also be responsible for the inability to sleep well. And as studies have shown, meditation can help improve the quality of sleep of those who suffer from depression and other health issues through the practice of mindfulness techniques.
Most people do not know this but sleep is just as important to life as water and food is. If you find it hard to sleep try meditation. Its ability to relax you and stimulate your sleep hormones will help you sleep better.
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