How Mindfulness Can Improve Your Sleep

Getting a good night’s sleep is essential for our physical and mental well-being. Struggling with sleep, however, is a common experience, especially during stressful or busy times. Stress and feeling overwhelmed often make it hard to fall or stay asleep. Practicing mindfulness — bringing awareness to our experiences in the present moment without judgment — may improve sleep.

Numerous studies highlight that mindfulness practice can effectively manage insomnia and reduce anxiety and depression, often without the use of medications. Calming the mind and body using mindfulness practices can address some of the root causes of disrupted sleep.

Why Mindfulness Can Improve Sleep

When you lie down to sleep, your mind can flood with thoughts of unfinished tasks, worries and lingering concerns. This “mental chatter” activates the body’s stress response, making it harder to rest, relax and fall asleep. Mindfulness practice interrupts repetitive negative thoughts, allowing the mind to quiet and initiate the body’s relaxation response, easing you to sleep.

Simple Mindfulness Practices to Help Improve Sleep

• Mindful breathing: At bedtime, try this easy exercise. Still your body, close your eyes, and take a deep, slow breath filling your lungs. Focus on the sensations of your chest or belly as you inhale and slowly exhale. Repeat this deep and slow breathing two more times. Slow breathing, especially with a long outbreath, activates the calming branch of the autonomous nervous system (regulates blood pressure, heart rate, etc.) and helps quiet the mind and prepare the body for restful sleep.
• Body scan: Lying in bed, bring the focus of your attention to each part of your body, starting with your toes and moving up to your head. When you notice any tension in the body, imagine that area relaxing fully. Body scanning can help you soften your muscles, release physical stress in the body and settle into relaxation and rest.
• Gratitude reflection and self-compassion: Spend a few minutes before sleep thinking of things you’re grateful for from your day. You may also bring up feelings of goodwill, compassion and kindness toward yourself and people around you. These practices shift your focus from stress to positivity, fostering a relaxed, peaceful mindset.

Regular, daily practice of mindfulness meditation is helpful to develop your skill of intentionally focusing on present-moment sensations without judgment. This helps allow and accept things as they are and refines your ability to observe your mind and body moment by moment. It’s best to set aside five to 20 minutes for this practice in the morning or during the day.

Often, we try to get rid of unpleasant thoughts or worries when we want to get some sleep – efforts that can be counterproductive. The more we push the unwanted away, the more they tend to come back and increase our stress and anxiety. Calmly accepting things as they are, focusing on what we experience at the moment, and using the skills we gain from regular mindfulness practice may provide a better approach to getting a good night’s rest and better quality sleep.

Read other posts about mindfulness.