Can't sleep? Try meditation!
About 30 percent of adults have symptoms of insomnia, while about 10-to-15 percent of adults have chronic insomnia that is severe enough to cause daytime consequences – so says the National Sleep Foundation.
Before you reach for a pill to put you to sleep, consider learning how to meditate, which may just help you get the sleep you need to lead a full, successful, calm life. Your daily insightful mindfulness meditation carries into every part of your day, and at night, while you are lying in bed unable to sleep, you can use the same techniques you use to meditate to fall asleep, or return to sleep if you awaken in the middle of the night.
According to the Journal of Clinical Psychology, the breathing patterns you use during meditation are perfect for sleep.
Research on insomnia
Here’s some of the latest research, as outlined by Michael J. Breus, Ph.D., aka The Sleep Doctor:
- A clinical trial of 49 adults with moderate levels of sleep disturbance found mindfulness practices led to significant improvements to sleep. The adults in this study who received mindfulness-based treatment for sleep experienced improvements to insomnia symptoms, daytime fatigue, and to depression.
- Another recent trial of 54 adults with chronic insomnia found that both mindfulness-based stress therapy and mindfulness-based treatment for sleep disorders led to significant sleep gains, including reductions in total wake times, reducing insomnia severity, and lowering pre-sleep arousal levels. Both of these forms of mindfulness therapy demonstrated lasting, durable improvements to sleep.
- Sleep quality improved significantly among a group of older adults (ages 75 and up) who participated in mindfulness-based stress therapy, according to a 2015 study.
- The use of mindfulness practices predicts both sleep quality and a circadian preference for mornings, as well as psychological well being, according to research.
The Pathway to Mindfulness approach
The basis of all our classes is instruction in meditation, which includes breathing techniques to focus your attention during meditation and, in the case of our clients with sleep disorders, instruction on the science of sleep, sleep hygiene and specific behavioral therapy.
Our program lasts 8 weeks. Yes, it is not a quick fix, but our clients find that gradually, over these eight weeks, they begin to increase their sleep time each night.
Through education and meditation instruction, our clients learn to respond to episodes of sleeplessness rather than to react, an important distinction and the basis of why meditation is so effective.