#HealthIssue: Things You Could Do, When You Find It Hard To Sleep.
USE YOUR FIVE SENSES
When you are visualising your happy place make it as vivid as possible.
“Experience it through what you see, hear, taste, touch and smell, moving through the scene on a journey for the senses,” says Dr Tania Ahern ( cbt-insomnia.co.uk ).
“By constantly cycling through all the senses, it leaves little room to get stuck and distracted back to worrying.”
Visualise a happy place rather than dwelling on worries
THINK OF GOOD THINGS
Replay your day and count your blessings. Every night, write down three good things that went well and what caused them.
“This activity literally trains our brains to start noticing what’s right, not just what’s wrong,” says psychologist Vanessa King, author of 10 Keys to Happier Living (published by Headline). “Being in a grateful state of mind seems to help us get to sleep quicker, sleep longer and better.”
PLAY MIND GAMES
Give your brain a mental exercise to do to focus away from your worries.
“By actively directing our thoughts in a specific, controlled way, we can fall asleep quicker,” says it Alejandra Sarmiento, ( alejandrasarmiento.net )
“Count back from 100 – or 1,000 – in groups of three. The rhythmic pattern of counting is very soothing. It slows our breath and our attention is focused on the present.”
Do mental exercises to distract your brain
INTERRUPT THOUGHTS
“If your mind is being hijacked in bed by unproductive worries, try saying a neutral word like ‘the’ repeatedly every five seconds,” says Dr Ahern.
“Engaging the part of the brain called the Broca’s area helps disengage the area responsible for all that internal worry dialogue. Repeat the word until the worries are extinguished and you’ll be in a better frame of mind for sleep.”
SING A LULLABY
You may feel daft, but singing yourself a childhood lullaby that holds positive associations with dropping off to sleep can trigger the same relaxed and “safe” state of mind in you as an adult.
Added bonus? “Any stress and anxiety that may be stopping you from sleeping is often held in the jaw and neck – singing naturally encourages the jaw to loosen and may promote a more relaxed state,” says music therapist Daniel Thomas ( wearechroma.com ).
DO A BRAIN DUMP
You may already have heard the advice to dump down any worries that need to be addressed in a notebook at your bedside so you can give your mind permission to stop fretting over them and sleep peacefully.
But adding potential solutions to your problems in that notepad is probably a better tactic.
A study at Louisiana State University found that subjects asked to write down both their worries and how they might tackle them showed less “pre-sleep cognitive arousal” (repetitive worrying) than those who just jotted down their worries.
LOOK UP
Close your eyes and look up to your “third eye” – the point between your eyebrows. Research by meditation expert Jose Silva and psychiatrist Dr Herbert Spiegel found that when you roll your eyes upwards to an angle of around 20 degrees, it slows down your active (beta) brain waves to more relaxed (alpha) brain waves that induce sleep.
BREATHE 4-7-8
Dr Andrew Weil from the University of Arizona describes this technique as a natural tranquiliser.
Keeping the tongue behind the upper front teeth throughout, first exhale through your mouth making a “whoosh” sound. Then close your mouth and inhale through the nose for a count of four. Hold your breath for a count of seven, then “whoosh” out through the mouth for a count of eight. Repeat three times and you should be calm enough to nod off.
PUT LEGS UP THE WALL
Yoga can help improve sleep quality (Image: Getty)
A Harvard University study found that insomniacs who practiced yoga every day for eight weeks improved their sleep quality.
“Yoga is a wonderful tool to use before bed as it calms the nervous system,” says Dr Ramlakhan. Lie on the floor with your legs and buttocks up against the wall. Hold for as long as is comfortable.
