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How to Sleep
I have trouble sleeping at night time. I do not seem to sleep until around 3 AM. This messes with my schedule. I try and try to sleep, but I do nothing except for tossing and turning. I try to take hot bath before bed, but to no avail. Any suggestions, Buddhist or otherwise?
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Also, see if there are any forms of light in your room, annoying noises that sort of thing can keep one awake for hours.
a good way to fall asleep for me is to do body scans until im asleep.
feel the left toes, how do they feel like, relax them on the breath out,
feel the left foot, how do it feel like, relax it on the breath out,
do the whole body like this
If you occupy your mind with meditation, relaxation, body scans, you wont have time to start thinking and become anxious about "i have to fall asleep, it's already midnight, i will be tired tomorrow..."
when i begin o think like this, it's a good way to tell that im not doing my job of relaxing, so i can snap out of it and begin relax.
But the general theme here is, is that your mind is probably over-active.
Meditation could help.
But it's also hard to know what could be causing it with so little information...
Maybe you're a serial killer and you can't get sleep cause you feel so guilty for what you have done. In that case I would recommend you to stop the killing & go help people. Helping others can aid in calming the mind.
Sleep issues are common and have many causes, some appear not to have a cause. I have 3 kids with sleep issues and one has been on medcication since 14. It was really realy bad to make that the best option.
I would keep a sleep journal to start, track activity, sleep times, caffeine, etc. and the if the relaxation does not help you wil have something to take to a dr or other helper
It calms you down and the repetition is maybe like counting sheep (which doesn't work...).
If you meditate in bed until you fall asleep that sounds more like it could cause the problem you are talking about.
I've been doing meditation before going to bed for years and its never been an issue.
- Keep a regular sleeping schedule, which includes going to bed AND waking up at a regular time. Oversleep can cause problems with your sleeping pattern. Naps are OK if you need them, but limit them to 30 mins and only earlier in the day.
- Melatonin has proven to be helpful for some people. Your body should produce more melatonin in the evening when it is dark, but being in bright light in the evening and/or in the dark during the day can fool your body into releasing at inappropriate times. I believe Melatonin can be purchased over-the-counter.
- Create a relaxing bed routine... a comfortable bed and room temperature is important, as well as a quiet atmosphere... Meditation fits the bill.
- Eat right and exercise... avoid heavy rich foods a couple hours before bed, as well as alcohol. People also don't realize how caffeine can effect you for up to 12 hours.... this is so true for me as my body is very sensitive to caffeine, and I will have troubles sleeping if I drink coffee after noon. Nicotine is also a stimulant, AND smokers can experience nicotine withdrawals as the night progresses
- Keep anxiety and stress in check... residual stress and anger from the day can keep your mind working. Use the meditation techniques of focusing your attention on your breaths to give your mind a rest.
Yes, when meditating you are trying to stay awake and be aware, but that is a hard thing to do for some people (like me), and they end up getting sleepy. Also, the act of trying to be aware can tire your mind out and then you can fall asleep.
If you have pent-up energy or emotions at the end of the day, that can be worked out by doing some exercise during the day, every day. It's winter, if you can't be outdoors, you can buy some handweights (they're not expensive) and work out at home, or do isometric exercises.
Cutting out desert after dinner may help. You may have insulin resistance, a precursor to diabetes (don't panic, it often doesn't develop into diabetes). And cut down on carbs at dinner. Brown rice instead of white rice. Potatoes are full of natural sugar, and can cause insulin to spike. (I know--they're so GOOD!) Just a suggestion.