S Is for Sleep
Each Night Is a New Night
Sleep is an essential part of nature’s biological rhythms. Also it is a mysterious stretch that lifts us out of or daily lives and alters our consciousness. For many it is toilsome to give into this swap, because surely it closely duplicates death.
Lack of sleep can seriously hinder body and mind functions during our day time endeavours.
Here are a few mindfulness principles that you can explore, and recall, if you need help getting to sleep or falling back asleep. These tips are compiled by Jason Ong, Ph.D., a psychologist at Rush University Medical Center who works with Mindfulness-Based Therapy for Insomnia.
https://www.mindful.org/seven-tips-for-falling-asleep/
Beginner’s mind
Remember: Each night is a new night. Be open and try something different! What you have been doing to this point might not be the way forward.
Sleep is a process that cannot be forced
Non-striving
Sleep is a process that cannot be forced but instead, should be allowed to unfold. Putting more effort into sleeping longer or better is counterproductive.
Letting go
Attachment to sleep or your ideal sleep needs usually leads to worry about the consequences of sleeplessness. This is counterproductive and inconsistent with the natural process of letting go of the day to allow sleep to come.
It is easy
Non-judging
It is easy to automatically judge the state of being awake as negative and aversive, especially if you do not sleep well for several nights. However, this negative energy can interfere with the process of sleep. One’s relationship to sleep can be a fruitful subject of meditation.
Acceptance
Recognizing and accepting your current state is an important first step in choosing how to respond. If you can accept that you are not in a state of sleepiness and sleep is not likely to come soon, why not get out of bed? Many people who have trouble sleeping avoid getting out of bed. Unfortunately, spending long periods of time awake in bed might condition you to being awake in bed.
Trust your sleep system and let it work for you!
Trust
Trust that your mind and body can self regulate and self correct for sleep loss. Knowing that short consolidated sleep often feels more satisfying than longer fragmented sleep can help you develop trust in your sleep system. Also, sleep debt can promote good sleep as long as it is not associated with increased effort to sleep.
Be patient!
Patience
It’s unlikely that both the quality and quantity of your sleep will be optimal right away.