A bit about sleep
Whatever the cause of your disrupted sleep, most of the keys to supporting yourself are inside you…so take a moment to stop and listen deeply.
We often know what the ‘right things’ are for us or what ‘we need to do’. But if you can’t sleep, chances are that you are a bit wired, your mind is too active and your prana is scattered. And like attracts like. So it’s often hard to make the choices that will put us into a different state. When hyped up, peaceful things may be annoying/repelling. Below you will find some tool that can help.
Sometimes we are pushed so out of balance that we need some support to get to a centered place – help will come, provided you ask for it. (For anyone suffering from insomnia, please get professional help from someone who is able to look at you holistically).
observe yourself
The solution will depend on whats causing the problem – Is it stress based? Are you processing something/going through some life changes? Is your body tired but wired?
Here is a meditation to connect and ask your inner guidance. Grab a pen and paper.
support for processing
It is common for people to wake up in the middle of the night if they have unprocessed emotions, stresses or are going through a lot of changes. We may be suppressing things that our subconscious is refusing to let us ignore. Observe and listen to what your body is telling you. Emotions are energy in motion, let them move through you as you feel and observe them. If we can do this in an unattached way, they tend to dissipate quicker than we expect.
For those who worry a great deal, you can try Byron Katie’s The Work.
disengaging the mind
and coming into the present moment/into the body is the way to go, but can be hard in busy/stressful times. Here are some ways:
Yoga nidra (yogic sleep) can be used to disengage the mind and induce deep relaxation prior to sleep. (It is not recommended to use this technique to fall asleep, as yoga nidra has very beneficial functions of stress management, enhanced learning and harmonisation of the deeper unconscious).
Meditation – I recommend the kirtan kriya to this music or shabad kriya.
You can try sleep hypnosis (meditation and hypnosis takes place in the alpha and theta brain wave state and approaching sleep, we are trying to move from Beta ▹ Alpha ▹ Theta (▹ Delta)).
Mantra can help to organize a scattered and overactive mind.
Watching a show/podcast that bores you works for some people
calming the nervous system
Cortisol levels are supposed to come down in the evening hours, and be at their lowest through the night. When they’re too high from the day, a person will have trouble sleeping through the night. You feel exhausted, but your nervous system is revved up feeling “tired but wired”. It can be hard to steer the mind when you are so exhausted.
Exercise produces hormones like endorphins which eat up the stress hormones. It can be something simple like walking – especially for those who are already exhausted. Relaxation is said to happen best after tension/exertion.
You can lengthen the exhale – try this pranayama: 2 quick short inhales & 1 loong exhale. Optional: suspend the breath out for a moment. When we inhale our heart rate increases. When we exhale it decreases. The exhale and hold on the exhale is linked to the parasympathetic nervous system, which allows you to calm. Segmenting the breath helps to organize a scattered mind.
Left nostril breathing has a calming, cooling effect (stimulating the Ida nadi / energy channel). Close off your right nostril and breath only through your left – expanding the belly as you inhale and gradually slowing down your breath. The mind follows your breath. If you slow down your breath, you slow down you heart rate and your mind.
James has some really great breathing session on his IG and website (there is a free trial period).
One of the quickest ways to stimulate the parasympathetic NS is by stretching out the vagus nerve, which runs from the top of our spine and tongue down to our pelvic floor. You can do this by yawing; lifting your chin up and head back or doing some cat cows.
Herbs
Calming herbs include: valerian root, passiflora and chamomile.
Based on the principles of Ayurvedic herbalism, this tea helps to balance the mind (by balancing Vāta Dosha). And an evening tea.
Being in nature cannot be overstated – it harmonizes us on all levels and helps us to settle and ground.
For those with a Vata nature (people tending to be thin, having dryer skin, restless, active), remember that one can help bring the mind and nervous system back to more steadiness by reducing that which stimulates Vata — i.e. irregular rhythms, excessive workout, exposure to cold/wind, stimulants — and adding more grounding elements into your lifestyle e.g. grounding root vegetables, soups in colder months, routine, pranayama, forest time.
Ayurveda & TCM
If you are familiar with Ayurveda, you may be interested in the Ayurvedic clock – each time of day is associated with a dosha. This can explain the 2nd wind many get around 10/11pm or waking up during the Vata phase (see image). Kapha (water, earth) is more slow and steady. Pitta (fire, water) is fiery, passionate, controlling, transformative. Vata (ether, air) is movement, potential, can be a very active mind.
Vata is also more prominent in autumn and beginning of winter, which can make us feel more restless in body and mind, leading to more irregular sleep.
It’s also interesting to look at the Chinese body clock (see image). In Chinese medicine, energy or qi, moves through the body’s meridians and organs in a 24hour cycle. Every two hours the qi is strongest within a particular organ and its functions within the body. The body, mind and emotions are all linked in Chinese medicine. So, if you wake up at 3am, when liver energy peaks, you may be suffering from Liver Qi stagnation, which could be related to an unhealthy diet, excess alcohol consumption, unresolved anger or high levels of stress. If you consistently wake at 4am – it could be due to an imbalance in your lungs, which is related to grief and sadness, fatigue, or reduced immune function. 11pm is when the liver and gallbladder start to regulate qi, process emotions, balance hormones and detoxify the body.
Other things you can do
A Kundalini yoga kriya for sleep.
Flower essences can be very supportive.
Binaural beats – studies show that these can help to achieve theta brain waves or meditative states.
Acupuncture is a great way to balance the qi within your body to improve sleep and energy and balance emotions.
Magnesium can help and many of us are deficient – here is a good article.
You can do this test to check your neurotransmitters – if for example your Gabba is very low, you can consult a doctor or get a supplement which will help with anxiety and sleep by slowing down brain activity.
Don’t resist having a cry if you need one – even using it as a technique of release. Crying releases endorphins and oxytocin which eat up stress hormones and give you a sense of calm or well-being, which can help you to fall asleep.
Ask yourself how much time you are spending on things you love to do, play, pleasure?
Make it regular All week – we cant catch up on sleep, nor is it something we can accumulate like a fat cell. Our bodies need good quality sleep each night.
Make your room cool – average best is 18°C. Our bodies need to drop by 2° to initiate sleep. (baths help because they relax us but also because the capillaries open causing you to loose a lot of core heat when you get out).
Make it dark – 1h of screen time sets off your melatonin production by 3h. This hormone’s production increases when its dark and is said to play an important part in sleep and regulating our circadian/24-hour internal clock rhythms.
Less alcohol – alcohol and marijuana work as sedatives (central nervous system depressants) and don’t induce natural sleep. They block REM sleep which is important for health and cause us to wake up a lot more during the night, even if you don’t remember it, causing disrupted sleep which won’t leave you rested. Sedation is not sleep.
Lastly, for those night owls, sleep can be seen as a sort of little death. Sometimes we just want to get a few more things done… It can be a practice of surrender. We tend to not put much focus on the closing of a chapter/endings. This time each day can be a good time to practice letting go – of all the things you didn’t get to do. It can, in fact, be a mini preparation for our very last day.