Do you even have problems falling asleep or staying asleep?
This is a very common experience; most people will at some point have difficulty in this area.
So, what keeps us awake? Well usually our thoughts do! – Our thinking about the past or our worrying about the future, these thoughts are usually related to scarcity or loss in some way – or, more precisely, our fear of these things. Not enough of this or not enough of that, not being good enough, not having enough, not getting or having something we want or need. Because we have such a strong built-in survival mechanism our brains naturally respond to scarcity as a threat and react accordingly by releasing stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenalin. The trouble is, when we are trying to get to sleep, even a little of these neurohormones can be enough to keep us from our sleep. Most often what triggers the release of these chemicals is not actually our circumstance but our perception of them.
Quick skills to help overcome insomnia
What is needed here is an antidote to the fear or the worry of scarcity, what is needed is a change of focus. Rather than focusing on what we don’t have or what we might lose, the idea here is to focus on what we do have, what we can be grateful for.
Gratitude is a wonderful antidote to worry – by taking the time to focus on what we are grateful for, and how much we do have will help to switch off the sympathetic nervous system (responsible for our anxiety – fight/flight/freeze response), and switch on the parasympathetic nervous system (responsible for our return to normal and to a state of calm).
Try to list in your head all the things you have, all the things you love and are blessed with. Try to count them – as you do this your brain can begin to relax enough for you to fall asleep. Although this focusing will not change your circumstances, it will change your perception of them. Getting a good night’s sleep will help your whole-body health and help you to deal with the next day and whatever it brings far more effectively. Try to get into the habit of doing this before you go to bed each night and your body will begin to appreciate your more relaxed state of being.
Your body craves calmness and peace – you can be grateful for that, too!
