Insomnia and Meditation
The benefits of mediation have reached far and wide; and more people have been embracing the practice wholeheartedly from every corner of the world. In spite of this, meditation comes with one major challenge and that is keeping alert and focused as you continue to relax and loosen up. Most people have admitted their failure to relax and focus at the same time without falling asleep or letting their thoughts wander far and wide.
The truth is that if you are among this huge number of people who can hardly meditate for a few minutes without surrendering to sweet slumber, then the blame can hardly be placed on you; because meditation when practiced in the appropriate manner can be extremely relaxing to the soul, body and mind. It is therefore not a big wonder why you start feeling sleepy as soon as you begin to relax only to wake up much later feeling silly and sheepish. It is okay to experience this once in a while but if it happens every time you meditate, then something is seriously wrong with the most obvious cause, being lack of enough sleep.
If on the other hand you are practicing meditation for the sole purpose of curing insomnia, then you have nothing to worry about because specialist recommend meditation in such cases. Meditation has been known to cure even the worst cases of insomnia where, even the strongest sedatives and tranquilizers, have failed to work. For all those who suffer from insomnia, it is important to note that continuous use of sedatives, tranquilizers and other drugs that aid sleep, eventually; becomes an addictive behavior and this soon leads to a whole lot of health complications. It is for this reason that meditation is recommended over drugs by specialists who know what they are doing.
However, if lack of sleep is not the issue here, there are a number of steps that you can take to ensure that you remain awake and focused throughout the meditation period, and they are discussed below:
•Get enough sleep through the night - there is no way your body will stay alert and focused during meditation, if it is not getting enough rest. •Eat well balanced meals - this is also another way to ensure that you remain alert and focused when meditating. Overindulging in starch and sugar will only make your body tired and lazy all day long, making it, extremely easy to fall asleep as soon as the mind and body relaxes a little. Drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day will ensure that your body and mind remain energized throughout the day.
•Exercising - engaging in regular physical exercises will do wonders in feeding the body with the necessary energy, to make it through meditation. •Avoid the bedroom - while it is true that mediation can take place anywhere, it is best to avoid the bedroom and other sleeping areas when meditating. This is because the mind usually identifies the bedroom with sleep and may find it hard to keep awake, when you are in a relaxed state of mind. In spite of this, there are people who have no problem with this and usually prefer using their bedrooms, when meditating because this is where they believe to be private enough.
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