Sleep Techniques

Having problems sleeping or simply unable to switch of from thoughts keeping you up at night?  Then you might like to try some relaxation techniques from the field of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.  Primarily used for treating stress and anxiety, their calming effects also make then incredibly effective at helping you sleep. 

We have much more control over our physiology then we realise and with these simple techniques you can help to unlock your bodies inbuilt relaxation response.  In this five minute recording I will take you through four simple steps to a better night sleep.  

These relaxation techniques together work to: 

·       lower blood pressure and heart rate, calming down the body helping to drift of more easily into sleep. 

·       Calm down the central nervous system by deactivating our fght and flight response and switching on our rest and repair mode. 

·       Reorientate attention away from those thoughts keeping you awake at night, helping to bring stillness and sense of calm to the mind. 

·       Lower arousal levels by releasing any tension or stress that’s manifested itself in the body. 

·       Create a sense of self agency as you develop your ability to relax the body

So if you are in bed and unable to get to sleep just put on this recording and allow the calming and relaxing effects to guide you into a deep and blissful sleep. 

Continue reading below to find out how and why these techniques work. 

Step 1 - Just Breath

The first step is simply to take some deep relaxing breaths.  Breathing deep into the diaphragm helps to calm down the central nervous system, triggering the body’s natural relaxation response.   

The key here is to make the outbreath that bit longer than the inbreath, this helps to activate the bodies rest and repair mode.  In reverse the inbreath activates our fight and flight response hence why we will naturally take a sharp intake of breath when we are taken by shock or surprise but slowly breath out when we take a sigh of relief. 

For those new to this type of breathing it is recommended to start with four rounds of breath in the beginning, building up to 8 and done at a pace that is right for you. 

Step 2 – Release the tension

Hunched shoulders, clenched jaw and a frown are common ways in which stress manifests in the body.  Our body becomes incredibly tense but by scanning our body, identifying and releasing tension, this lower arousal levels helping you drift more easily into sleep. 

We start at the top of the head and then systematically work down through each key muscle group, becoming aware of any tension stored and then letting this go of this on the exhale. 

By practicing this overtime we start to become more attuned to our bodies, to spot when we are stressed so we can release the tension from the body.    

Step 3 – Total Body Relaxation

This builds on the previous step to take the body to an even deeper level of relaxation.   This time the focus is on cultivating the feelings that accompany a deeply relaxed state. 

This starts by bringing our attention to the arms and repeating ‘My arms are heavy, warm loose and limp and I am completely relaxed three times.  This is repeated for the legs and finally to finally bring the focus to the entire body and repeating ‘I am calm and relaxed’. 

This step is based on autogenic training a relaxation technique used for a range of anxiety disorders as well as treating insomnia.  This works to induce a state of relaxation deep into the body, acting as form of self-regulation. 

Step 4 – Back to breath

The final step brings us full circle as the focus comes back to our breath.  This time we are just allowing the breath to rise and fall at its own natural pace, all the while keeping the attention on the breath for a count of ten. 

Once you’ve reached ten or you find yourself too relaxed to continue counting, just allow your mind to wander and soon enough you will find yourself drifting off to sleep.

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