How can meditation help solve sleep deprivation?

Many people do not get quality sleep or enough sleep, which could be a great risk to their health, wellbeing, and productivity.

Studies show that one of every three adults does not sleep enough. However, no one can ascertain the exact amount of sleep a person needs because it varies from person to person. It is accepted that an adult should aim to get at least 7-8 hours of sleep each night. 

Disturbance during sleeping might be frustrating occasionally but consistent sleep deprivation can impede productivity at work, capacity to operate daily, health, and overall wellbeing.

Effects of sleep deprivation on the body

• Problem focusing and remembering
• Reduces sex drive: sleep deprivation lowers testosterone levels which can lower libido.
• Mood swings and irritability

Meditation has a good physiological and behavioural influence on your body. The major benefit is that it may relax your body, which aids in the removal of stressed sensations that cause tension in various regions of the body.

Meditation has the immediate impact of slowing down the heart rate as you focus on your breathing. By taking deep breaths via your nose and holding them for a few seconds before gently expelling, you are also transporting oxygen to the lowest recesses of your lungs, which are frequently depleted of oxygen during regular breathing. 

Supporting meditation practices with aromatherapy can help to set an ambience that helps you achieve a deeper meditative state. Like any ritual it helps you to focus.

How to Meditate

Establishing a meditation habit, on the other hand, requires discipline. You'll be more likely to get the advantages of meditation if you make time for it. Below are the fundamental meditation practices.

• Calm your mind and take a deep breath. Deeply exhale and inhale slowly but make sure you concentrate on your breathing.
• Whenever a thought did arise, try to get over it and revert your attention to your breathing.
• Consider a peaceful location. Sit or lie down on a comfortable couch or bed, whichever seems most natural. 

Be gentle with yourself as you experiment with meditation for sleep. Meditation practice is exactly that: a practice. Before you go to bed, spend three to five minutes meditating. Gradually extend the duration to 15 to 20 minutes. It will take some practice to learn how to calm your thoughts.

The benefit of meditation on sleep

Here are the health benefits of meditation for sleep:

• Anxiety management: Mindfulness meditation reduced anxiety symptoms in individuals, enhanced positive self-statements, and improved stress reactivity and coping, according to research.
• Improves emotional well-being: Studies show that those who practice meditation exercise have fewer negative thoughts in reaction to viewing unpleasant imagery.
• People who meditate regularly reported fewer symptoms of depression.
• Mindfulness-based meditation has been shown to prolong sleep and reduce the severity of insomnia in people who practice regularly.
• Reduces blood pressure: High blood pressure also has a significant contribution to atherosclerosis, or artery narrowing, which could also increase the risk of heart attack or a stroke. Meditation appears to lower blood pressure by calming neural signals that synchronise heart function, blood vessel tension, and the "defence" response, which raises alertness in stressful situations. 

Meditation is widely accepted throughout the world as a method of increasing self-awareness and well-being. Meditation practice allows us to gain mental clarity, develop compassion and empathy, form meaningful connections with others, focus on gratitude in our lives, explore and work through our fears, and strengthen the all-important mind-body connection.

Your body responds favorably to meditation in both physiological and behavioral ways. The main advantage is that it might relax your body, which helps to get rid of stressed-out feelings that cause tension in different parts of the body. A compact meditation essential oil roller refill helps you to carry your essential oil with you anytime, anywhere, even during your meditation. Using aromatherapy to support your meditation routines can help you create a setting that will allow you to enter a deeper state of meditation. Like any ritual, it aids in concentration.

When incorporated into a bedtime routine, meditation can help prepare the body and brain for a better night's sleep.

Source: https://www.sleepfoundation.org/insomnia/treatment/meditation