The need for sleep is a necessity, and yet many of us struggle with insomnia. We lay our heads on the pillow when exhausted, but our minds run with racing thoughts from stress, anxiety, and worry. Lack of sleep can produce adverse effects on our mental health and cognitive function, as well as our physical health. Can meditation help you sleep? Yes! Meditation can improve sleep quality in those who have insomnia.
Insomnia is a common sleep disorder affecting up to 50% of adults worldwide. For many people, their sleep difficulty is related to stress. Racing thoughts, along with stress and anxiety, as a result, cause tension in the body, which makes it even harder to fall asleep. In addition, some stressful events or situations may worsen an existing sleep issue, like insomnia and your health.
What is Sleep Deprivation?
Effects on the body:
Sleep deprivation can affect various aspects of health, including:
- The immune system: Sleep deprivation may cause a person to be more prone to infections, which may take longer to resolve, and respiratory disease.
- Weight: Sleep can affect the hormones that control feelings of hunger and fullness. It can also trigger the release of insulin. As a result, changes to sleep can cause increased fat storage, changes in body weight, and a higher risk of type 2 diabetes.
- The cardiovascular system: Sleep helps the heart vessels heal and rebuild and affects processes that maintain blood pressure, sugar levels, and inflammation control. Too little sleep may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.
- Hormone levels: Insufficient sleep can affect hormone production, including the production of growth hormones and testosterone. It also causes the body to release additional stress hormones, such as norepinephrine and cortisol.
- The brain: Sleep deprivation affects the prefrontal cortex, which handles reasoning, and the amygdala, which deals with emotion. A lack of sleep may also make it harder for a person to form new memories, which can affect learning.
- Fertility: Poor sleep may affect the production of hormones that boost fertility.
Long-Term Effects of Lack of Sleep
In the long term, having too little sleep can also increase the following:
- Hypertension
- Diabetes or insulin resistance
- Sleep apnea
- Obesity
- Heart attack
- Stroke
- Depression and anxiety
- Psychosis
A person who gets too little sleep may have a higher risk of drowsy driving, which can lead to accidents.
Meditation Can Help You Relax and Let Go of The Racing Thoughts That Keep You Awake
Listening to Meditation music is another way to relax and let go of stress and anxiety. Helping you to let go of the sticky thoughts and the worries that keep you awake.
Guided meditation is also beneficial for individuals who struggle to focus alone. A professional teacher teaches meditations. Therefore, you just lay down, listen to the voice on the recording and relax. Focusing on someone’s instructions takes the worry out of meditation too!
Physiological Changes: Can Meditation Help with Sleep?
When you meditate, various physiological changes occur in your body, including decreased blood pressure, lower heart rate, and lower levels of cortisol (the fight-or-flight hormone). Less inflammation in the body also eases chronic pain. Therefore, the benefits of meditation are numerous, resulting in mental, emotional, and physical health benefits.
Meditation can help promote sleep by initiating the same changes in your body that you experience when falling asleep. For example, research shows meditation can increase melatonin (the sleep hormone) and serotonin (precursor of melatonin), reducing heart rate, blood pressure, and brain activity and promoting relaxation. Therefore, all leading to more restful slumber and a healthier you!
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How to Let Go of Negative Thoughts?https://1111newme.com/2021/02/02/how-to-let-go-of-negative-thoughts/
Source: 3 Ways to Meditate for Better Sleep https://www.healthline.com/health/meditation-for-sleep#how-it-helps
Black DS, O’Reilly GA, Olmstead R, Breen EC, Irwin MR. Mindfulness Meditation and Improvement in Sleep Quality and Daytime Impairment Among Older Adults With Sleep Disturbances: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Intern Med. 2015;175(4):494–501. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2014.8081 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2110998