Sleeping Meditation
A Guide to Calm Your Mind at Night
Jay Majumdar
About
The “Sleeping Meditation” project is a free service to help people better their sleep wellness habits and develop a short sleep hygiene routine for a better night’s rest. Studies show that a practice of meditation can improve tonight's sleep quality and tomorrow's cognitive and biological abilities.
Sleeping is very important for your psychological and physical wellbeing. Studies indicate that over half (56%) of Americans suffered from sleep problems over the pervious year. Poor sleep can lead to a whole host of issues ranging from social issues like lack of motivation, lack of emotional control, and poor cognitive functioning. In addition, poor sleep can increase serious health risks like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and all-cause mortality.
Sleeping better can mitigate these risks, and provide you with a greater sense of wellbeing.
Science of Meditation and Sleep
There have been a variety of different studies published on the benefits of meditation practices and quality of sleep. These studies include: “Meditation and its regulatory role on sleep”, “Mindfulness Meditation and Improvement in Sleep Quality and Daytime Impairment Among Older Adults With Sleep Disturbances,” and “Practitioners of Vipassana meditation exhibit enhanced slow wave sleep and REM sleep states across different age groups.”
According to these studies, benefits of meditation practice include:
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Increased regulation of blood flow to executive regions during sleep
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Down regulation of the HPA axis reducing stress
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Positive global synchronization between the body and psyche
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Improvement in sleep quality and reduction of sleep-related daytime impairment in the elderly
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Enhanced slow wave and REM sleep, the sleep patterns important for rest and the consolidation of memories
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Enhancement of melatonin secretion, which aids sleep maintenance and increases sleep quality
Share Your Experience
Have these meditations helped your sleep? Share with us!
