A Guide to Sleep and Meditation  

Sleepopolis shared with Healthy Lombard that oftentimes, anxiety makes its way into our daily lives. It could be the result of work stress, difficult relationships, a sudden move, or a tragedy. And although this anxiety manifests in different ways, one common result is insomnia.

While there are varying medications and traditional therapies available to treat this disorder, a natural remedy worth trying is meditation. Scientific studies have confirmed that the right meditation practices can be effective treatments for stress-induced insomnia (1). In this guide, we cover a few options.

Note: The content on Sleepopolis is meant to be informative in nature, but it shouldn’t take the place of medical advice and supervision from your healthcare provider. If you feel you may be suffering from any sleep disorder or medical condition, please see a trained professional immediately.

The History of Meditation

You’re probably familiar with meditation, even if you’ve never thought about it in the context of insomnia. The origins of meditation can be traced to India, and may extend as far back as 5,000 B.C. Evidence of meditation practices can be found in primitive cave art. For centuries, new strands of meditation began to develop both in Buddhist India and in Taoist China. During the Enlightenment, an intellectual fascination with Buddhism brought meditation into the Western world.

Meditation can be practiced in different ways, but at its heart, it’s all about training awareness and attention, allowing the mind to achieve a state of clarity to connect to one’s deep inner Self (2).

Can Meditation Help You Sleep?

So, mindfulness can help you achieve mental clarity and emotional stability… but can it also help you sleep?

According to scientists, the answer is a resounding yes. For instance, did you know that stress is something your body regulates through brain chemicals, which can be released into the bloodstream? Studies have shown that mindfulness meditation can counteract these chemicals, and in some cases shut down their production altogether (3). This, in turn, causes muscles to become unclenched, and the body as a whole can relax.

In addition, meditation can actually decrease the intensity of brain waves; if you’ve ever felt like you can’t sleep because your mind is racing a mile a minute, meditation may prove the solution you need.

The implications of all this are significant. Meditation does more than help you to sleep better at night; it also minimizes day-time impairment that insomnia creates, allowing the overall quality of life to improve.

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