Mindfulness for Sleep

The past 12 months has been pretty turbulent for most of us so it is not surprising that the incidence of people reporting issues with sleep has increased. Here in the UK, 1 in 3 adults report having issues with sleep.

Sleep not only plays an important part in our mental health and well-being but also influences all of the major systems in our body. When we are sleep deprived our behaviour and mood becomes unpredictable and our thinking becomes erratic and unreliable. As our body becomes more and more exhausted the likelihood of us becoming sick increases.

Sleep is one of the first things to be affected when we are under stress. We either struggle to get off to sleep in the first instance as our minds won’t shut down, or we wake in the night and are unable to get back to sleep, as our thinking mind kicks in as soon as we awaken.

Striving for sleep and trying to force it just makes getting to sleep and staying asleep more of a challenge, what we resist persists. The more we try and force ourselves to sleep, the more we actually think about it, the less likely we are of getting to sleep.

Scientific studies have shown that the 8 week MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Course) that we run can be helpful in alleviating issues related to sleep. Our Mindfulness for Sleep workshop gives a flavour of how mindfulness can help with sleep and some helpful tips on sleep hygiene and bedtime routines. The workshop includes a short breath practice and a body scan. Participants on our 8 week courses often mention falling asleep or almost falling asleep during the meditation practices, particularly the body scan, so they are great practices to try at bedtime.

To book onto our Sleep Workshop please visit the booking page.