Sleep

Benefits of Meditation

Abbie WLeave a comment

You’ve heard there are many benefits to meditation, but do you believe it? I have to admit, I used to hate meditating….even after going through yoga teacher training. I knew there were benefits, I just didn’t want to sit still and waste valuable time meditating when I could be moving, or reading or a book, or doing just about anything else.

Good news is you don’t have to sit in one place to meditate, you can do a walking meditation. You don’t have to meditate every day to gain the benefits of meditation either. There are a lot of options, from moving meditations, to musical meditations, silent meditations and guided meditations.

This Healthline article includes 12 Science-Based Benefits of Meditation. The benefits that have been personally most beneficial to me are: reduced stress and anxiety, more consistent sleep, and being less reactionary.

Recommended resources:

  • Insight Timer – there are lots of free meditation apps out there, but this is my favorite and as of this writing, I’m on a 91 day streak of using the app. One of the things I like most is the music. When I need to concentrate and get work done I have a few specific tracks saved that always put me in the right mindset.
  • The book Buddha’s Brain – the practical neuroscience of happiness, love & wisdom by Rick Hanson is a great introduction to the science behind meditating and how we can change our thought patterns
  • My recorded meditations: I created a 14 day series of meditations you can sign up to access here. You’ll get an email with a link to the 14 recordings, as well as a few follow up emails. These meditations are free and range from 5 and a half to 13 minutes long, proving you don’t need to commit a lot of time to gain benefits

Behind the scenes of my sleep struggles…

Abbie WLeave a comment

My sleep struggles are not new. I once asked my mom why there were so many pictures of me sleeping in my childhood photo album and her response was because you rarely napped so I took pictures of you sleeping to remind myself you really did sleep. One of my favorite pictures of young Abbie is me sitting on the couch with a book in my lap and my neck at such an odd angle it looks like it could be broken.

Not surprisingly, I still fall asleep reading almost every.single.night.

Then I have to wake up and go to bed…and then try to fall back to sleep.

Then I’ll have a vivid dream and be wide awake wondering what it means….and then try to fall back to sleep.

Next up is stressing about how much more time until the alarm goes off…

If any of this sounds like you, you are not alone! I’ve spent months figuring out what works to help me sleep soundly, and most importantly to be able to get back to sleep. There have been trials and errors. I wish I could tell you the one super secret trick to always being well rested. Sadly there is no one magic cure all.

You are in good company if you can’t fall asleep, or stay asleep. I’ve read many articles looking for the one perfect solution with no luck. The Sleep Foundation has tons of good resources. Reading about the importance of sleep, with exercise and diet for our health made me set on finding a drug free solution.

The basics matter! And you can adapt the basics to you!

  • Don’t eat two hours before bedtime….but experiment with what timing really works for you
  • Limit electronics use to avoid the dreaded “blue light”…personally I prefer to read on my iPad rather than read a paper book with a bright overhead light or lamp on
  • Establish a bedtime routine – journaling, prepping for the next day, meditating, etc
  • Get regular exercise – if I miss too many days of exercise my legs are restless, I can’t fall asleep and I’m crankier than normal
  • Practice meditation and yoga – even if you think it isn’t for you!

I’m finalizing my Yoga for Better Sleep program. In the meantime you can grab my free intro guide, with questions about your current sleep and a bedtime routine checklist.