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Meditation is a simple practice often used in numerous religious or spiritual traditions. However, it can also be used to reduce stress and promote a sense of peace or calmness which can be beneficial for getting better sleep at night.
In this article, we’ll explore further meditation for sleep, its benefits, and other methods to help you get a good night’s sleep. Keep reading below to get the full details.
What is Meditation
Meditation was originally used in Ayurveda, a natural healthcare system from Ancient India. Now, it is mainly used as a term to loosely refer to techniques that provide health benefits [1]. Some of these common techniques include reflection, concentration, the use of nature sounds, guided meditations, mantras, yoga, or breathing exercises.
The Benefits of Meditation for Sleep
The main purpose of meditation is to help you connect to your deep inner self by mainly working with the senses, mind, and emotions.
Besides this, there are also other benefits of meditation, one of which is to improve sleep quality.
Here are some of the benefits of practicing meditation before bedtime:
- Reduces sleep disturbances: If you deal with sleep disturbances like chronic insomnia, practicing mindfulness meditation can be helpful. It focuses on your breathing and being aware of the present moment, evoking a relaxation response. [2], [3]
- Reduces stress and anxiety: Based on various studies and findings, it is found that mindfulness meditation or mindfulness-based stress reduction programs have helped to ease psychological stress and anxiety [4]. Being able to let go of your worries, helps you get better sleep.
- Promotes relaxation: With the primary focus on breathing exercises and calming your mind, it activates the parasympathetic nervous system. This relaxation response slows the heart rate and eases tension [5]. When you are relaxed, it’s much easier to fall asleep.
- Enhances mental clarity: Meditation helps to calm an overactive mind by temporarily forgetting about your worries and instead focusing on the present. This is to prevent interference with your sleep.
4 Sleep Meditation Techniques
Many different kinds of meditation techniques can help you get restorative sleep. In this section, you’ll find 4 of the more common sleep medication techniques.
1. Guided Meditation
Guided meditation is a technique that involves meditating under the guidance of an experienced guided meditation teacher or practitioner. It can either be done in person or via a recorded video or audio session.
Most guided meditations tend to focus on an object as a way to cultivate and train the mind to be mentally calmed and build present-moment awareness. It can come in the form of breathwork, visualization, mantras, or the use of an actual physical object [6].
If you struggle with falling asleep or staying asleep at night, guided meditation can aid in physical relaxation and promote better deep sleep quality.
Here is an example of a guided meditation for sleep:
2. Mindfulness Meditation
Mindfulness meditation is a practice that focuses on training your mind to achieve calmness and cultivate positive thoughts. It is about channeling awareness and observing your breathing, thoughts, and physical sensations that you feel in your body, and in your emotions presently.
In doing so, you prevent your mind from drifting and worrying about things from the past or future. Focusing too much on events that have already taken place or have yet to happen would only cause sleep disturbance like insomnia.
Here is an example of a mindfulness meditation for sleep:
3. Progressive Muscle Relaxation
Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) is a relaxation technique, developed by Edmund Jacobson in the 1920s. It involves contracting your muscles and progressively relaxing them until you are completely relaxed.
Studies have also shown that following this technique can help reduce stress levels, depression, and anxiety [7]. In separate randomized controlled trials, progressive muscle relaxation has also been shown to reduce pre-sleep anxiety, decrease sleep onset latency, and increase the time spent in slow-wave sleep [8], [9].
4. Transcendental Meditation
Transcendental Meditation is a type of meditation technique that was introduced by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in the 1950s. It is a silent meditation that requires you to repeat a mantra or a sound silently, for 15 to 20 minutes twice per day.
This form of meditation is usually taught by certified instructors and is seen as a non-religious method that promotes self-awareness, stress relief, self-development, and greater consciousness [10].
A recent study, focusing on healthcare workers, found that transcendental meditation has helped to improve chronic stress that is associated with symptoms of burnout, anxiety, and insomnia. Therefore, this shows that it can be beneficial for people with sleep problems or disorders [11].
How To Practice Meditation for Sleep
Practicing mindfulness and being aware of how you feel in the present moment does not always come naturally for everyone. Some may find it challenging to make it a part of their daily bedtime routine.
- Create a comfortable environment: Creating a relaxing atmosphere can help set the mood for bedtime. Try dimming the lights, switching off any electronic devices, and keeping the temperature cool. You may also consider using aromatherapy scents for better relaxation.
- Focus on your breathing: Once you have found a comfortable space, start by doing some deep-breathing exercises. Slow, deep breaths help with the production of the sleep hormone, melatonin to promote sleep and relaxation [12].
- Practice body scanning: Next, practice scanning your body from head to tone by mentally focusing on each body part. Focus on releasing any tension that you might have, relaxing your body [13].
- Try using meditation music or guided meditation: If you are trying out meditation for the first time, you might want to try using meditation music or guided meditation to guide you through breathing techniques or visualization. The ShutEye® app offers a selection of guided meditation and music for you to try out.
- Identify and set intentions: Before the start of every meditation session, try to set an intention for how you want the meditation practice to go and what you hope to achieve (e.g. fall asleep faster). This will help you focus on your progress.
Common Challenges of Practicing Sleep Meditation
It’s completely normal to experience some form of challenge or obstacle when practicing meditation for the first few times. Our minds may wander off halfway through the process— it happens.
The common challenges that people tend to face are:
- Trying to stay consistent: Establishing and sticking to a meditation routine is not always easy, especially for beginners. Some may find it hard to commit or forget about it when they’re tired or busy every day.
- Feeling impatient with results: It’s normal to want to see immediate results from meditation. Being impatient and not understanding that it takes time can cause frustration and the desire to give up.
- Feeling restless: For some individuals, a session may feel a bit too long, causing them to fidget or feel restless. This disrupts focus and relaxation, making it harder to slip into a meditative state.
- Distracted by the external environment: Being in a noisy environment, having an uncomfortable sleep environment or being interrupted by someone are all situations that can make it harder to concentrate on the practice.
How to overcome these challenges
Overcoming these challenges does not happen overnight. It requires patience and persistence.
Some steps that you can take to overcome these challenges:
- Start small: If it’s too difficult and overwhelming for you to commit to a longer meditation session, start small. Try doing a 5 to 10-minute session per night for a start and gradually increase this time once you get used to meditating.
- Manage expectations: It’s important to understand that improving your sleep quality is a gradual process. Meditation can help to improve your sleep but not instantly. Rather than expecting that, focus on the small and gradual improvements.
- Find a comfortable position: To ensure that you don’t feel restless midway, try to find a comfortable position by experimenting with what works. Listen to your body and find what feels best.
- Find a quiet space with minimal distractions: To avoid getting distracted, try to look for a quiet and comfortable space for practice. If you need to, use white noise or meditation music to block out external sounds.
3 Tips to Get Better Sleep
Aside from meditation practice, you may also want to consider these tips for a better night’s rest:
1. Creating a consistent sleep schedule
Stick to a consistent sleep schedule by going to bed and waking up at the same time every day, even on weekends. This will regulate your body’s circadian rhythm so that you fall asleep more easily and wake up refreshed.
To find the best time for you to sleep, try out our free sleep calculator!
2. Create a relaxing bedtime routine
Before going to bed, you want to adopt a relaxed and calm state of mind. Try engaging in calming, self-care activities such as reading a book, taking a warm bath, doing a face mask, or listening to gentle music.
You also want to make sure to avoid using your electronic devices or doing any physical exercise at least 30 minutes to 1 hour before bed. Blue light and stimulating activities can affect your body’s ability to produce melatonin. Thus, disrupting your ability to fall asleep.
3. Be careful of what you eat and drink
Avoid heavy meals, caffeine, and alcohol when it is closer to bedtime. Eating before sleeping might not give your body adequate time to digest the food. This can cause indigestion and might arouse you from a deep sleep. If you are feeling hungry before bed, opt for a light snack like yogurt or banana instead.
In addition, caffeine and alcohol are known to be stimulants that can keep you up at night. If you do plan on drinking any form of caffeine or alcohol, make sure that you give yourself a minimum cut-off time of 8 hours to reduce sleep problems.
See also: 10 Foods That Help You Sleep Better
Meditation Resources For Sleep
Besides this article, here are also more meditation resources that can help you achieve improved sleep quality at night:
5 Best Meditation Apps In 2024
Best Meditation Practices For Sleep and Relaxation
Can Meditation Replace Sleep for Rest and Recovery?
Conclusion
Meditation is a useful tool that can help you improve sleep quality by reducing sleep disturbances, stress, and anxiety, helping you to relax and enhance your mental clarity. If you are currently dealing with insomnia and looking for a natural solution, consider including meditation in your pre-bedtime routine.
For more meditation practices and audios, try out our all-in-one sleep app, ShutEye®. ShutEye® features a series of meditation sounds, guided meditation and breathing exercises for better sleep. Try it today!
