3am and you can’t sleep? Ugh. This post is for you.
This post isn’t about WHY you wake up and can’t get back to sleep at 3 in the morning, or HOW to stop waking up at 3 am every morning. (That stuff will be in the upcoming additional posts in this series.)
This post about one of my long-time, reliable “THE FIRST THING IS THIS: YOU NEED TO SLEEP” recommendations — because sleep is such a bottom-line linchpin in health, mood, work performance, brain function, safety, and even relationships.
Here it is — actually, here SHE is: Belleruth Naparstek.
I used to refer to Belleruth as the Queen of guided imagery for her amazing, empirically-driven work on helping people use the power of this technique, using the mind to help the body. I’ve since elevated her to Empress, because she’s just. that. good.
Over the years, she’s developed an extensive, well-researched audio library covering many of the things that can ail us — but for this post, it’s all about sleep.
So, here’s the link to her extremely helpful audio (downloadable right away), Guided Meditation for Healthful Sleep. (By the way, that’s not an affiliate link or anything. I just really think we’d ALL be better off if more of us slept better!)
It’s not just meditation.
Don’t let the title fool you — it’s not just meditation. As she says, “To heal your body, it helps to use your head.” She uses imagery and more to use your mind to help your body, and your body to help your brain get to sleep. Focussing on breath and heart rate, using your (guided) imagination to train your body to let go of muscle tension, and more — she incorporates them all seamlessly. Even the background music (which can sound kinda New-Age-y) was specifically composed and researched to help.
I went back and looked at the success rate for patients to whom I’ve recommended this when they’ve had a hard time sleeping. Going back over close to 20 years, it’s an astonishing 96%. Yep – ninety-six percent of patients who used it found it helpful for falling asleep, sleeping better, and waking up more refreshed.
(Note that my personal and professional use of Belleruth’s other recordings goes back to when they were sold on cassette tapes… I’ve been a fan of her work for years!)
Now, go to sleep! 🙂
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And, when it’s not 3am and you want to read more about ways to help yourself sleep better, try these posts:
