Darrick Robles Are you looking for ways to improve your sleep quality? Try meditating. Meditating not only helps to recharge your batteries during the day, but also tackles one of the biggest sleep-robbers of all: the ever-present stress.
Useful stress relief in pandemic times
Especially in stressful times like these, good sleep can become a real challenge. Relaxation and rest are all the more important. Of course, you cannot replace sleep with meditation. After all, these are 2 completely different states of consciousness. However, remember that you can only sleep when you are really tired. When meditating, you can give yourself a targeted and conscious break at any time to lower your stress level. Given the current news situation, it’s definitely a good idea!
Why good sleep is important
During sleep, the body dedicates itself to regeneration – it is not for nothing that we spend about a third of our lives in bed. Cell renewal is in full swing: damaged cells are repaired and new cells are formed. Information recorded during the day is transferred to long-term memory. If you sleep well, you have more energy during the day. In addition, a restful night lowers blood pressure, strengthens the immune system, regulates metabolism and ensures hormonal balance.
What is meditation?
It is not easy to explain meditation briefly. Basically, it’s a kind of state of consciousness, like waking or sleeping. As a spiritual practice, meditation is an exercise in concentration, which sounds more strenuous than it is. In everyday life, meditation can be a conscious pause for the mind to gather and recover. Meditation is practiced in many cultures and religions around the world.
The benefits of meditating
Meditation allows you to find inner peace – a basic requirement for really restful sleep. At the same time, meditation can not only reduce stress, but also prevent it. The mind is freed from emotional baggage. This makes your sleep deeper and calmer.
Stress and insomnia are often mutually dependent – a classic vicious circle. Meditation helps to break through it. This also reduces the risk of anxiety, depression or chronic fatigue, i.e. complaints that can arise from a lack of sleep.
Just learn to meditate
Learning to meditate is easy. Ideally, you take a moment each day to do a meditation. There are many different techniques and traditions. At its core, it is always about mindfulness: being completely with yourself and in the moment, no matter what thoughts and feelings are pressing you. Focusing on your own breathing is a helpful starting point and anchor for meditation, especially for beginners. If you find your mind wandering from the breath, just notice it and bring your attention back to the breath.
5 steps to meditation
- Choose a place where you won’t be disturbed for a while.
- Sit comfortably. You can leave your eyes open or close them, just as you like.
- Follow your breath: consciously breathe in (belly bulges) and out again (belly flattens).
- Observe the flow of your thoughts without judging or acting.
- A few minutes are enough to get started. You can gradually increase the duration later.
Daily workout for night rest
Of course, meditation doesn’t work as quickly as, for example, a sleeping pill, especially in the beginning. It takes a while before you notice changes – but it’s worth it! Develop a routine by meditating regularly, e.g. B. every morning right after getting up. In this way you create a solid basis for a good and healthy sleep in the long term.
