My favourite comedian Groucho Marx was a lifelong insomniac. He tried most things to help
him sleep, but apparently to little avail. ‘I can sleep anywhere but in bed,’
he once exclaimed.
According to a 2015 study
published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, mindfulness
meditation is one of the most powerful tools for improving your sleep ... and the quality of your sleep.
In the
study, 49 adults, all of whom reported having sleep troubles prior to being
enrolled in the study, were split into two groups. One group was instructed to
complete a mindfulness meditation program while the other simply attended sleep
education classes which mostly focused on instructing the participants on
various ways to improve their sleep habits. Each group participated in their
respective programs for six weeks. By the end, the results showed that those who
were meditating experienced less insomnia, fatigue, and depression compared to
those who weren't practising mindfulness meditation.
The results confirm a 2008 study which
demonstrated that wellbeing and mindfulness are positively associated with
sleep quality and with a morning circadian preference. Results from a sample of
305 undergraduates revealed positive associations among measures of emotional,
psychological, and social well-being, mindfulness, sleep quality and
morningness (that is, the characteristic of
being most active and alert during the morning).
As I see it, there are two
elements of mindfulness that are helpful in dealing with insomnia—choiceless
awareness and non-resistance. You can’t sleep? Don’t resist it. Stop fighting
against it, for whatever we resist persists. Simply be aware—non-selectively
aware—of whatever passes through your mind. Watch it. Observe it. Don’t fight
against it. Give those mental movies no power, by being only barely attentive to their content. Let it pass … for it will. And let it go. Try this—and you will be
amazed at the difference it makes.
Studies:
Black D S, O’Reilly G A, Olmstead R, Breen E C, and Irwin M R. ‘Mindfulness
Meditation and Improvement in Sleep Quality and Daytime Impairment Among Older
Adults With Sleep Disturbances: A Randomized Clinical
Trial.’ JAMA Intern Med. 2015;175(4):494-501.
doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2014.8081
Howell A J, Digdon N L,
Buro K, and Sheptycki
A R. ‘Relations among mindfulness, well-being, and sleep.’
(2008) Personality and Individual Differences, 2008;45(8):773-777. doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2008.08.005
