Many people often seek out meditation to help them resolve their sleep issues. Most people are after a quick fix and want something here and now to help them with their sleep, but unfortunately, most of those solutions may or may not work, depending on your mind. In this post, we will cover the different types of meditation for sleep.
Why can't I sleep properly?
It's 100% related to your mind! The reason is actually very simple - you have tens of thousands of thoughts stored in your mind, and they just bubble up in your mind, uninvited. Have you ever lay there trying to sleep, and trying to just still your mind? It's next to impossible! It's because of all of those thoughts you have built up over your life time. It's simply mind constipation, and never once, have we learnt how to clean our mind and let go of all the stored up thoughts. This is what insomnia is, this is why you stress and you can't sleep, this is why thoughts just bubble over continuously. There is a great article by Perth Meditation which covers the science of it and some general tips for how to sleep better, so you can check it out here.
How can meditation help with sleep?
Meditation is for the mind, and because sleep is to do with the mind, it's only natural that people resort to meditation as a solution to their sleeping problems. It is by far the most natural solution. Meditation is a way to take control of the mind. Currently, wouldn't you agree that you are a slave to your mind? Do you sit there late at night wanting to keep thinking and stressing and worrying? Are you able to simply switch it off? It's because the false self has taken over your mind and just produces countless thoughts. So meditation is a way of taking control, and becoming the master of your mind.
But there are different types of meditations which will have varying degrees of effectiveness. We have an excellent article that covers the different types of meditations, and you can have a read of it here. This will help with some context for the next part.
How to sleep better with the right meditation
As our previous article outlines, there are 2 types of meditations - there is calming and there is emptying. A calming meditation, if you are lucky, may work for you. This can come in the form of sounds from nature, like a fire, waves, or rain, or some form of guided meditation with a relaxing voice. Both of these are attempting to induce a sense of calm, and this might work, but it really depends on how just how active your mind is. You can check out this YouTube playlist for some of this type of meditation.
The far better option is to deal with the root cause, which is the tens of thousands of thoughts. Most people with sleep issues who come to us, have already "tried everything" and have already tried the other types of meditation, but to no avail. That's when we introduce this amazing method of simply discarding your thoughts.
As you reflect on your life lived, and systematically eliminate those stored up thoughts, naturally you begin to sleep better! It's those countless thoughts which we have accumulated over a life time that are producing the stresses and worries, preventing us from sleeping. Maybe it's just innocent random thoughts which keep you up? Whatever it is, it's all coming from those accumulated thoughts. When you move your body properly throughout the day and expel that stored up energy, and get rid of your mind, which is the stress itself, you can and will sleep deeply!
How do I know meditation will help with my sleep?
We can tell you over and over again, but it's best coming from some people who've turned their sleep around by meditating. One of the most inspiring stories is David, from Auckland Meditation who spent many years on incredibly powerful sleeping pills. Simply by following this method and discarding, he was able eventually come off his sleep medication completely. No more fogginess and after effects from sleep medication! Just waking up with a pure and clean mind, and being able to sleep on whim - isn't this an incredibly amazing thing?
Mumbi, a Lawyer from Perth Meditation, is another person who has benefited tremendously from meditation, especially with her sleep. She says:
I had a very monkey mind. My mind never rested - ever! Never ever! I remember I would just be thinking to the early hours of the morning - couldn't sleep well because I was just constantly thinking. And now - that has gone! I never thought it would go! It just almost feels like, that there's no way you can see the thinking will go. How could it go? But it did go! It went.
Some of our students here at Brisbane Meditation have also been experiencing the benefits of a clear mind, leading to better sleep. In just 3 days, one of our members who has diligently been meditating has already said she's had the best sleep of her life.
If you'd like to learn more, you can book a free introduction and we can explain it all to you in more detail. How long will you wait until you fix the problem?