The importance of sleep is known to most (except my kids of course) and the implications that lack of sleep has on our mental health and immune system has been well documented. We know that having not enough sleep can make us feel grumpy, groggy and eventually even make us ill. Enough sleep makes us feel energetic, positive and full of vitality.
Switch off devices a couple of hours before bed - (even half an hour) and notice if you feel any improvement on your sleep the next day. Plug your phone to charge in another room so that if you wake up in the early hours you cant reach for your device and instead fall back into a sleep.
Try these bedtime breathing patterns and see which works best for you.
Count your exhalations, from 5 down to 1 and start again when you reach 1. When your mind wonders you simply return your awareness to the counting down. Do this 5 -10 times
Another option is to breath in and exhale slowly whilst relaxing all of the muscles in your body at the same time. This activates the rest and digest part of the nervous system. The exhale can be 1.5 or 2 times longer than the inhale. Make sure your breath still feels relatively comfortable otherwise you’ll feel more stressed and agitated, rather than less so.
Finally only do this when you can breathe easily and comfortably through your left nostril. The left side of our body represents the moon channel; the more cooling and introverted aspects of ourselves. The right side represents the sun channel with more heating and extroverted characteristics. In this technique, lie on your right side, and with your right thumb block your right nostril. As you breathe in and out of your left nostril, feel how you are cooling and calming your body. Do this for 10 -15 repetitions and come back to your natural breath.
Alternative option
Alternate nostril breathing
Another option is to sit up on the side of the bed with your soles of the feet on the floor. Close the right nostril with your thumb and inhale through the left nostril, next close the left nostril with your ring and little finger and exhale out through the right nostril. Repeat, inhaling through the left nostril while closing the right and exhaling through the right nostril while closing the left.
Explore these techniques until you will find one that works best for you .
Let me know how you get on.
Happy sleeping tribe.
Love, Bernie
Comments