Written by: Virin Gomber, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
A large percentage of people suffer from one sleeping disorder or the other due to disturbed sleeping patterns. One of the biggest reasons is the stress from daily physical, emotional and mental fatigue.
These poor sleeping patterns can result in huge damage to your personal and professional life, eventually causing long-term harm.
The harm from poor sleep patterns
Consistent poor sleep patterns lead to sleep deprivation. These patterns can be caused by stress, depression, and poor eating habits. For most people, stress (physical, mental or emotional) is the major trigger for sleep deprivation.
As little as it may seem, poor sleep patterns are very harmful to your overall health. The decline in health moves from acute to chronic if it is not paid attention to early enough. Here are some immediate effects of poor sleep patterns:
Lack of focus and alertness
Excessive sleepiness during daytime
Impaired memory
Increased chances of accidents.
Reduced quality of life
With continuous sleep deprivation, the health risks get worse leading to the birth of chronic health conditions such as:
Impaired body functions
High blood pressure
Type 2 diabetes
Heart conditions
Obesity
Reduced libido
Premature ageing
Early dementia
Various types of Cancer
It’s important to remember that initially these redundancies happen gradually if the sleeping pattern is not adjusted. And then, the decline can get faster.
How improving your sleep is transformational
Getting good sleep is very important to your health. It is as important as eating a balanced diet or exercising. It improves your health and transforms your entire being.
Improves concentration and productivity
Sleep is essential for many aspects of brain function. Having a good sleep pattern is said to boost your concentration and productivity. It can improve problem-solving abilities and memory.
Poor sleep, on the other hand, has been shown to impair brain function and decision-making abilities. Sleep Deprivation has a negative impact on cognition, concentration, productivity, and performance.
However, getting enough good quality sleep can help children, adolescents, and young adults perform better overall. It has also been shown in adults to improve problem-solving skills and memory performance.
Boost the mind and emotions
When you're sleeping, the unconscious state of mind is activated. During this period, the brain processes your thoughts and how you feel. This helps to discard the unimportant thoughts, making you feel and respond the right way when you're up and active.
Improved sleep patterns reduce the chances of any mood disorders, depression and anxiety. In basic terms, sleep resets your mind back to factory settings, especially when you had a bad day. It refreshes your mind and helps you get prepared to face the challenges of the next day.
Healthier health
Improved sleep quality is definitely a route to healthy living. For example, when you sleep, your blood pressure reduces, causing your blood vessels to rest and relax a bit. When you're sleep-deprived, your blood pressure stays high for a larger percentage of the day. So basically, sleep prevents the risk of heart condition by causing the blood vessels to rest.
Also, sleep helps maintain a steady blood sugar level. It enables the body cells to respond to the uptake of sugar. On the other hand, poor sleep patterns can cause obesity as your body cells are not able to respond to the uptake of sugar.
An improved sleep pattern also keeps your body protected from germs by helping your immune system work effectively. With this, your body is able to ward off sicknesses and destroy harmful bacteria and viruses. If you don't sleep enough, your immune system gets weaker and disempowered.
Meditation to improve sleep pattern
The aim of meditation is to achieve a mentally clear and emotionally stable state of mind. It’s also proven as a powerful solution to unhealthy sleeping patterns and to improving general wellbeing.
A variety of physiological changes occur when you meditate. These modifications can induce good quality sleep by influencing specific bodily processes. Various ongoing researches provide sufficient proof of its effectiveness in helping with sleep.
In a 2015 study published in JAMA Internal Medicine Trusted Source, for example, researchers looked at how mindfulness meditation affected 49 adults with moderate sleep problems. The participants were randomly assigned to either meditation or sleep hygiene education for 6 weeks. At the end of the study, the meditation group was found to have fewer insomnia symptoms and less daytime fatigue.
According to researchers, meditation may help in a variety of ways. Sleep issues are frequently caused by stress and worry, but meditation improves your relaxation response. It also improves control of the autonomic nervous system and strengthens your sleep quality.
Meditation for insomnia can help you sleep better by reducing anxiety, depression, and stress. A meta-analysis of over 200 studies found that meditation can improve mental health.
It helps to get the body ready for sleep by slowing your heart rate and reducing the levels of the stress hormone cortisol in your body, both of which occur naturally when you sleep. Meditation can also cause theta brainwaves, which are similar to those experienced when falling asleep.
Integrating meditation for better sleep
You can integrate meditation into your daily routine for better sleep by adopting any of these techniques:
Guided Meditation: It is usually a session led by another person's voice, and is ideal for beginners. Guided sleep meditations often include soothing sleep music and may prompt you to use visualization techniques.
Mindfulness: This highly proven meditation modality offers a range of different activities that help you become centred in the present moment. It focuses on breathing and remaining present while emphasizing a non-judgmental approach to distracting thoughts and emotions. For example, focus on the rhythm of your breath while counting to ten full breaths to practice mindfulness meditation (a full breath consists of one inhale and one exhale). When you reach ten breaths, begin again at one. Allow any part of your body to relax if you notice it to be tense. If your mind wanders to thoughts or emotions, simply take note and gently return to the task at hand.
Body Scan: This is a type of mindfulness meditation and can also be a guided activity. It entails performing a mental scan of every part of your body. This practice assists you in becoming more aware of physical sensations, recognizing tension in your body, and encouraging muscle relaxation. To begin a body scan meditation, lie on your back, take a few deep breaths, and close your eyes. Pay attention to how your body feels pressed against the bed while maintaining a consistent and natural breathing pattern. Begin at the top of your head and work your way down to your toes. As you reach each body part, notice how it feels and, if necessary, relax it. If your mind wanders to other thoughts, bring it back to your body.
After choosing the meditation technique that is suitable for you, ensure to have some basic understanding of the technique and stay consistent with it. Practising a daily routine will help you experience a sea-change in your sleeping pattern.
Apart from having a consistent meditation routine, good sleep hygiene also serves as the foundation for your healthy sleep pattern and allows you to get restful sleep on a consistent basis.
Sleep hygiene entails a variety of habits that are conducive to consistently getting good sleep. Keeping a regular sleep schedule, establishing a bedtime routine, and avoiding midday caffeine and alcohol are all examples of good sleep hygiene.
Transform your life by determining the technique that works best for you and combine it with healthy sleep hygiene to maximise your sleep time.
I hope this article has been of value to you and helped you to shift your perspective at some level. Please feel free to get in touch to share your thoughts – I’d love to hear from you.
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Virin Gomber, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Virin Gomber is a leading Mindfulness Success Coach, Speaker, and Author.
Following a successful corporate career that left him with stress and burnout, he learned, created, and mastered highly effective Mindfulness strategies to boost his balance and personal performance. Since then, he has integrated Quantum Physics, Neuroscience, and Positive Psychology principles to craft a unique blend for his Mindfulness success system.
Dedicated to helping people become top achievers, the core of his work is with entrepreneurs, CEOs, professionals, and driven individuals to support them to achieve peak performance, balance and happiness.
He offers more than a decade of Success Coaching, corporate training, and 25+ years of Mindfulness experience.
Virin has co-authored an Amazon bestseller, “The Missing Piece in Self Love,” appeared on TV shows, and contributed to numerous global online magazines.
His ‘WHY’: To empower people to create accomplished personal skills to achieve next-level success and happiness.
References:
Sleep Health: Can We Define It? Does It Matter? https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3902880
The effect of mindfulness meditation on sleep quality: a systematic review and meta analysis of randomized controlled trials. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6557693/
Can a meditation app help my sleep? A cross-sectional survey of Calm users. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0257518
Mindfulness meditation helps fight insomnia, improves sleep. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/mindfulness-meditation-helps-fight-insomnia-improves-sleep-201502187726
