Meditation Articles Series

Breaking the Insomnia Cycle

Listen to our free guided meditation Peaceful Sleep to encourage a restful night’s sleep.

People often feel concerned about how much sleep they need. The amount of sleep a person requires to be alert and energetic during the day varies widely. Recent research indicates that when people are able to control their own sleeping without adhering to a structured lifestyle, they tend to sleep on average, nine, to nine and a half hours a night. However, if you feel refreshed, and energized throughout the day on eight or seven hours of sleep, or less, then consider that that is normal for you.

If you are having trouble falling asleep at night, if you are waking frequently during the night, or if you wake in the early hours of the morning and cannot get back to sleep, then you may well be experiencing sleep deprivation. I’m sure we’ve all had periods in our lives when it’s been so difficult to fall asleep at night or to wake up and toss and turn for hours unable to get back to sleep.

There are a number of causes for insomnia and the prevalent ones appear to be stress, worry and anxiety. If you are a person who finds it difficult to unwind, and takes your worries to bed with you, you could consider trying some of the following tips that may help to ensure a restful night’s sleep. Some of these you may be doing already. First of all, make it a habit to go to bed and get up at the same time each night and morning. Before bed write down all your worries on paper to help clear your mind. Write down all the things you need to do the next day. Have a warm bath before bed, and put some Epsom salts in the water to help relax your muscles. If you don’t have access to a bath have a warm soothing shower instead. A warm milky drink contains the amino acid tryptophan that may also help you to relax. Put a few drops of essential oil of lavender under your pillow. Avoid all caffeine like tea and coffee, chocolate and cola before bed. Consider the supplement, Melatonin, which you can purchase at a health food store. Consult a health care practitioner first, to make sure it is okay for you to take. Have your sleeping area as quiet as possible. Another idea that can help, is when you lie down, go back through your day starting with the last thing you did before getting into bed, and then right back to when you woke up that morning. This practice can often be very sleep inducing. Last of all consider meditation as a very effective tool to aid relaxation and calmness.

The free guided meditation on this site for Peaceful Sleep will help to encourage a restful night’s sleep. Use it for several nights in a row to help your sleeping pattern return to normal.