A guided mindfulness practice for bedtime or a nap (Video)

In the video above, our coach expert Sabrina Cadini guides you through a mindfulness practice to improve sleep or just for a midday nap.

We all know that a good night’s sleep is fundamental for our health and well-being, but many people are not getting enough of it, either because they’re too busy and they sacrifice sleep to finish their tasks, or because they can’t fall asleep or stay asleep. Are you one of them?

There can be multiple causes for your poor sleep or insomnia, ranging from blood sugar or hormonal imbalances to a disrupted circadian rhythm (for example if you’re working in shifts or experiencing jet lag); even the wrong mattress can prevent you from sleeping well, but stress and anxiety seem to be the most common factors in poor sleep quality because of our hectic lifestyle, when our mind can’t simply shut off.

Mindfulness has been shown to promote healthy sleep as it helps your brain switch from its “doing” mode to a “being” mode.

When our brain is in “doing” mode, it’s active helping us solve problems, achieve goals, and so on, a very powerful and essential aspect in our everyday life – but it’s also involved in emotion-based problems, and this can include feeling anxious for things that may have happened in the past or thinking about something that will happen in the future, like having a job interview tomorrow, for instance. So, you get stuck in this ruminating process that not only keeps you company during the day but also in the night.

When you’re able to put your brain in the “being” mode, you live in the moment, and you don’t focus on your memories from the past or your worries for the future that bring anxiety.

How do you live in the moment? With mindfulness, paying attention to your body, to your mind, and your surroundings without labeling anything, without judgment.

When you practice mindfulness, you let your thoughts go, you recognize that they’re not the focus of your attention, they just come and go. You see things under a different perspective, less worried and anxious. You also facilitate a relaxation response, not only in your brain, but also in your body because your breathing and heart rate will slow down, your muscles will soften, and your stress hormones will decline. Then, our brain can tell the body to release our sleep hormones such as melatonin and allow us to fall asleep.

Watch the video for a bedtime mindfulness practice that you can follow tonight when you’re ready to rest, or you can also do it during the day if you feel pressured or tired and you’re ready for a nap or for some moments of relaxation.

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