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November/December 2008 Alternative Health
A Good Night's Sleep

by Jan Sadler

If you find that achieving peaceful sleep is a major challenge in your life, you are not alone. Poor sleep is a very common experience, with most adults suffering from insomnia at some time in their lives. Loss of sleep can be the cause of great anxiety and distress, both for the sufferers and for those around them.

Over the years, hundreds of studies on sleep have been made examining brainwave activity during the day and night. Sleep habits and sleep patterns have been carefully recorded and analyzed.

Our brainwaves vary according to what we are doing. During the day, when we are involved in using our logical, thinking mind, our brainwaves make short, very active zigzag-like patterns on the measuring equipment. When we are asleep, our brainwave activity alternates between three basic types of brainwave. The deeper the sleep, the slower the brainwaves, and the bigger and more spaced out are the zigzag patterns.

When we first become drowsy, our muscles relax, our internal body processes begin to quiet down and our brainwaves become slower. This is called light sleep. Much of the night is spent in light sleep. This is how our brain operates when we daydream, visualize or meditate.

As we gradually drift further and further down into the deepest form of sleep, deep sleep, our brainwave patterns are at their slowest. Deep sleep is essential for our body's recovery and restoration from the wear and tear of the previous day's activities. Healing takes place during deep sleep with the release of "growth hormone," which rejuvenates all the cells of our body. Most deep, restorative sleep occurs early in the night.

From time to time during light sleep and deep sleep, brain activity comes into frenzied life as we enter dream sleep or REM sleep (REM stands for rapid eye movement). As we dream, our eyes move rapidly, and this can be observed by anyone watching someone in dream sleep. If you see a dog or cat twitching and their eyelids flickering when they are asleep, they are in REM sleep and are dreaming.

We normally spend about an hour in deep sleep and one to two hours in dream sleep throughout the night. The rest of our sleep is light sleep. If you lose sleep, your body naturally compensates for the sleep loss by taking more deep restorative sleep the next night, although you are unaware that this is taking place.

The question to ask yourself in relation to your sleep is: "How would it be if I was a person who slept peacefully all night?"

Use a short breath-awareness and relaxation technique to lead you into the question:

Take a few minutes or so to sit or lie down quietly where you won't be disturbed. Become aware of your breathing and notice the gentle rise and fall of your body as you breathe in and out. On your next out-breath, let your breath out through your mouth with a slight sigh.

On the next out-breath, imagine the sigh going down from the top of your head to the soles of your feet. As you let all the air go, feel the tension drain away. Now just breathe normally through your nose and think of yourself as being in a typical day of yours ? and then ask yourself, "How would it be if I was a person who slept peacefully all night?"

Imagine yourself acting as if you were a person who did sleep peacefully all night. Watch yourself as you go through your day in this new mode, the mode of a person who sleeps peacefully all night long, without anxiety about sleeping.

Meditate When Wakeful at Night

When you notice that your thoughts are churning around and around, one way of dealing with it is to bring your awareness to your breath, and to do this over and over again, as many times as it takes. If you have discomfort somewhere in your body, you can handle it in the same way, returning to your breath instead of dwelling on the pain.

Anchor your mind in your breath and say stop to thinking. Just be: be in your breath and in the present moment. There is no sense of ignoring or fighting the pain or thoughts. Just have an attitude of "not minding," an acceptance that the pain or thoughts are there, part of your current experience. This attitude will allow the pain or thoughts to drift away and you to become calmer and more relaxed.

Rock-a-Bye

Although vigorous exercise is not recommended near bedtime, there are some physical activities that can help relax you and prepare you for sleep, such as the rock-a-bye. Be careful if you have any physical problems, for example, rocking might not be suitable if you have a back problem. If in doubt, take the advice of your doctor or other health professional. Always make sure you are warm, comfortable and relaxed before starting any stretching exercises.

Try this exercise before you go to bed. Use an exercise mat or soft rug to protect your spine. Don't hurry with this exercise - the idea it to make the whole experience as relaxed as possible. Have the lights low and make sure you are warm and ready for bed.

Sit on the mat or rug and bring your knees up toward you with your hands clasped underneath them. Incline your head toward your knees. Keeping your back rounded, gently rock backward and forward. Rock about six times, and then lie on the floor in a relaxed position and enjoy some deep and slow breaths for a few minutes before going to bed.

It might be a good idea to do some gentle stretching exercises before you try the rocking to make sure your body is flexible and relaxed.

Your confidence in your sleep will grow as you experience more and more nights of peaceful, refreshing sleep.

Excerpted from Jan Sadler's A Good Night's Sleep: A Drug-Free Solution. Sadler is coordinator of the PainSupport website at www.painsupport.co.uk. Her pain, sleep and stress reduction programs have been adopted by hospitals and support groups worldwide. Printed with permission by Healing Arts Press at www.healingartspress.com.