There have been many studies and techniques tested, like meditation, with the one and only purpose of helping reduce the symptoms of almost any kind of sleeping disorder; like insomnia. This condition affects more than 30% of the American population, principally adults, although children are not excluded.

Let’s start by defining what exactly consists of this specific disorder; and this is an issue that avoid people from falling or staying asleep; the severity of this situation will consist of what is or are the main causes of it; however, there is one in particular that repeats constantly when it comes of this type of circumstance, and that is stress.

Benefits of practicing regularly meditation techniques

Suffering from a lot of stress or having to go through a lot of tension provokes several sleeping disorders; most of them lead to serious health complications along with all kinds of emotional issues like anxiety and depression. And even though this situation could be treated with the use of specific medications (always prescribed by a sleeping professional); there is also an effective way of managing this disorder, which is meditation.

Meditation has been practiced in different cultures for many years now to help with insomnia disorders; and it is even considered a tradition for most people. This is one of the best relaxation techniques which has great benefits, some of them are:

• Reduces stress and therefore anxiety
• Heals and restores emotional health
• Decreases blood pressure
• Improves the sleeping cycle

With plenty of types of meditation techniques, there are some that have proven major efficiency in healing people who suffer from chronic insomnia; and it is always important to remember that most of the time, these types of alternative treatments take longer in manifest positive results; however, that doesn’t mean they are not effective enough as medications.

Types of meditation techniques to treat insomnia

There are over nine most frequent types of meditation, all of them are great choices to practice; nevertheless, it will depend on the kind of concentration each person provides in order to have successful results. Here are only 3 of the easiest kinds of meditation that everyone could start with:

• Mindfulness meditation

This particular type of meditation is ideal for someone that has never practice these kinds of exercises before; the first step we should do is being in a comfortable environment with our eyes close and let all our thoughts to start wondering; the key to this exercise is to not judge any of them and only be aware of what kind of patterns we tend to follow that are leading us to suffer from insomnia disorder.

The practice of this exercise is a perfect way of knowing exactly what goes around our minds; and start changing any negative perceptions we might have and convert them into pleasant ideas. Eventually, you will have the opportunity to notice that all that stress and anxiety will start disappearing and it will be a lot easier to sleep without any worries on your mind.

• Progressive relaxation

The habit of practicing this exercise constantly, every time before you go to sleep is a great way of inducing your mind and body into a completely peaceful mood. This kind of meditation helps reducing insomnia symptoms, because it consists in tightening and relaxing slowly each muscle we have; one after the other until you have moved around through every part of your body relieving all tension; getting ready to sleep as soon as you finished.

A fundamental aspect to consider is to set up a comfortable bedroom with warm enjoyable bedclothes and pillows, so we can achieve a better relaxation result.

• Visualization meditation

Here in this technique, it is highly important to engage all of our five senses; and it is all about imagining where we would like to be; it could be either a place or a situation that involves us achieving a personal goal. The main purpose of this practice is to increment our motivation and promote positive thoughts; that way we will reduce any kind of emotional disorder like depression, stress, or anxiety.

It is mainly important to involve our feelings in this exercise and visualize only optimistic ideas; if we practice this technique right before we go to sleep, we will be able to be calm and relax to start resting.

No matter which technique you choose, keep in mind that all of them will allow you to achieve a maximum relaxation mood. Thanks to meditation our heart rhythm slows down and while we are breathing the stress hormone, cortisol, lowers its levels, which will help us to enjoy a deeper REM phase when we sleep.