Who does not like to have a sound and uninterrupted sleep at night? In fact, we all love to! It actually helps us to feel relaxed and refreshed the next morning to welcome a wonderful new day. But, most of the times many of us, find it quite difficult to fall asleep or to have a sound sleep all night. In our busy and stressed lives most of the times we get sleep disturbances or suffer from some kind of insomnia, and this in turn can hamper our overall health and our quality of life. Now, how about knowing a trick for getting uninterrupted sleep? Yes! In this article we are going to let you know about sleep meditation along with its health benefits, that would definitely help you have a good night sleep. So, read below to know what is sleep meditation and what are its health benefits?
What Is Sleep Meditation?
It is reported that sleep is associated with reducing respiratory rates and consumption of oxygen, and also lowering blood pressure. In addition, sleep also brings down our anxiety and arousal levels. It must also be noted that a good night sleep is quite essential for our bodies to grow as well as repair.
Though we know sleep is very much important for all of us, many times because of the stress at work, day to day life’s challenges, chronic pain, illness, and even anxiety; we find it very difficult to fall asleep at night and this could actually hamper our health. Aging is also one factor that can make us remain awake for long or make it harder for us to fall asleep at night.
Fortunately, we have something that actually helps us in getting back our normal sleep, and that is the sleep meditation. If you are quite tired of reaching for any of the sleep aids so as to get the rest that you require, sleep meditation might be something that would be really worth exploring. (1)
Simply know, sleep meditation is a technique or a practice that generates a state of absolutely deep relaxation all the while being quite alert and awake. (2)
Sleep meditation can also be explained as a state between being awake and sleeping, where one puts self in a “Yogic nidra”, which is a state where the body is totally relaxed however, it is aware mentally. Sleep meditation is also known as “Yoga Nidra” and it is a relaxation technique for mind, soul, and the body.
For performing sleep meditation you need to first loosen up and relax your body and settle down well in a quite and peaceful place. Your mind must visit all your body parts which would help you to relax the parts of your body quite slowly, and make you aware of all your body parts and also how they actually function. You must slowly breathe and also keep in mind to breathe only through your nostrils, that helps the body parts to lose their sensitivity and you start feeling relaxed and light. While doing sleep meditation, you must think only of the positive emotions and happy times. You can also try to visualize pleasing scenes so as to get rid of any tensions that you might be feeling.
What Are Its Health Benefits?
Sleep meditation can be considered much more than a simple relaxation technique. Practicing it can influence the functions of your brain, metabolic and endocrine function, and functions of your immune system. Let us, now precisely take a look on some of the health benefits of sleep meditation.
It Helps You Sleep Soundly:
One of the finest health benefits of sleep meditation is that it helps you sleep soundly. There is an important regulatory hormone known as Melatonin, that is widely used to help with insomnia, jetlag, and many more other conditions. Now, when you practice sleep meditation on a daily basis, you are able to enhance the levels of your melatonin hormone, and also a mood-stabilizing hormone known as Serotonin.
So, if you are wondering if you can really sleep like a kid once again even with the stressed or busy life, then we would say, “Yes! You can. Just practice sleep meditation and explore your uninterrupted sleep time.”
It Is A Cure For Restless Nights:
Sometimes we find it difficult to fall asleep or even waking or, and it is in fact a problem that millions of people suffer from every year. We would let you know that performing sleep meditation at night might really help you encourage restful sleep. (3)
There are researches that found that when sleep meditation, especially the mindfulness meditation, is combined with cognitive behavioral therapy, you get better sleep.
It Soothes The Body Aches And Pains:
Now, what else could be the health benefits of sleep meditation? Well! It must be mentioned that sleep meditation is not just for mind, it also helps in getting you relaxation at your body. Many times we find it difficult to fall asleep when there is pain and ache in the body. Research has shown that sleep meditation can help in getting rid of severe body aches and pains. So, if you are suffering from any kind of pain or ache in the body then do try sleep meditation or any kind of mindfulness meditation for better relief.
Sleep Meditation Helps In Improving The Function Of Immune System:
One more health benefits of sleep meditation is that it helps in improving the immune function. The melatonin hormone is not just beneficial for sleep; it is an antioxidant and also an immune-modulator, and thus helps in normalizing our immune system and also gets a sense of overall wellbeing.
It Slows The Aging:
Now, who does not like to slow down the process of aging and look and feel youthful for a long period of time? In fact, we all love to! Sleep meditation could help in slowing down the aging process. Have you ever noticed that because of sleeping less your face starts looking or getting older? Not getting enough sleep could result in a faster aging.
Researchers have explained that sleep meditation could prevent earlier aging or the changes associated with aging. It also helps in maintaining a better life quality.
Sleep Meditation Helps To Combat Cancer Side Effects:
Sleep meditation helps to combat cancer side effects. Sleep disturbance is one common side effect of cancer along with stress and fatigue. However, practicing sleep meditation on a daily basis could help you in combating these side effects of cancer.
NOTE: It must be noted that sleep meditation is not the cure for cancer, and one must have proper diagnosis and medical treatment for the condition.
It Helps In Improving Symptoms Of Anxiety And Stress:
Do you experience too much of stress and anxiety? If yes, then sleep meditation is going to help you in dealing with these conditions. There are research which shows that mindfulness meditations can help people reduce their worry, stress and symptoms of anxiety and create a sense of calmness and proper focus. When you are calm, well focused, have less stress and anxiety, you definitely get more of the good night’s sleep.
Conclusion:
So, this was all about sleep meditation and its health benefits. If this has impressed you to some fair extent then start incorporating sleep meditation to your daily night’s routine and experience the benefits by yourself. You can try and find out some sleep meditation applications, listen to guided sleep meditation talks, or can find out your own guide to help you in this regards.
