Wellness

Mindfulness Promotes Sleep Awareness to Tackle Stress, Promote Wellbeing

Sleep Awareness Week (March 14-20) is a great time to talk about having better sleep habits but it’s a conversation to have all year through. Mindfulness.com, the world’s leading mindfulness platform, offers daily support for stress, sleep and wellbeing, featuring thoughtfully curated content.

When you look at worldwide statistics on the topic, you quickly realize how important sleep awareness and mindfulness are:

• Sleep represents a third of every person’s life and it has a tremendous impact on how we live, function and perform during the other two-thirds of our lives. (American Sleep Apnea Association) • Sleep problems, whether in the form of medical disorders or related to work schedules and a 24/7 lifestyle, are pervasive. In America, 70% of adults report that they obtain insufficient sleep at least one night a month, and 11% report insufficient sleep every night. • It is estimated that sleep-related problems affect 50-70 million Americans of all ages and socioeconomic classes. • An estimated 30% of Americans are regularly sleep deprived. • Forty-three percent of Americans say stress has caused them to lie awake at night at least once a month. • The odds of being sleep deprived (less than 6 hours a night for adults) has increased significantly over the past 30 years as the lines between work and home have become blurred and digital technology has firmly become part of our lifestyles. National data shows that poor sleep health is a common problem with 25% of U.S. adults reporting insufficient sleep or rest at least 15 out of every 30 days. (ASAA)

Benefits of Mindfulness on Sleep:

• The practice of Mindfulness, designed with a focus on sleep, provides an opportunity to create the mental space needed to allow sleep to come back. • Mindfulness improves regulation of stress and increases a sense of calm that results in a better ability to sleep. • Mindfulness meditation is a form of mental fitness. It’s a way that you can grow areas of your brain responsible for wellbeing and productivity and shrink areas of the brain responsible for stress and suffering.

How to Use Mindfulness for Sleep:

Try a body scan meditation - Body scans are effective both during daily activities and when trying to fall asleep. Find a comfortable position and start by noticing sensations in your body and breathing. Focus on your deep breathing, in and out. Then, starting with your toes or the top of your head, note how your body feels, scanning your way through it. Meditate daily - Maintain a regular mindfulness meditation practice to help you sleep. It doesn’t have to be right before bed. Some mindfulness exercises can be done with your eyes open, while walking, or even with other people. In fact, mindfulness offers us an enormous treasure chest of tools and strategies to help untangle anxious feelings so we can access calm and mental clarity.

(Images:Unsplash)

Here’s to a healthier sleep routine that promotes overall wellbeing and positivity in your life!

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