Can't seem to fall asleep? Try practising mindfulness

Most of us have probably experienced a night or two where we just can’t seem to fall asleep. — AFP

The amount of sleep that an adult needs varies from person to person.

On average, the recommended amount of sleep for an adult is between seven to eight hours a night.

At some point in time, many of us may experience nights when we find it hard to fall asleep, to stay asleep, or to fall back asleep again after being woken up in the middle of the night.

We then find ourselves waking up the next morning feeling tired.

Some people may experience these sleepless nights for days or weeks, or an even longer period (e.g. a month or more).

If your sleeplessness makes it hard for you to continue functioning as usual during the day, you need to see your doctor to find out the reason for this problem.

Good bedtime habits

Maintaining good sleep habits or practising sleep hygiene is one of the steps you can take to encourage good sleep.

It is important to keep your daily bedtime and wake-up time consistent, even during weekends.

To maintain the consistency of your daily sleep-wake internal body clock, try to avoid or limit the number of hours that you nap, and try to keep active during the day.

Try to avoid taking a large meal, spicy food, caffeine and alcohol, as well as smoking and excessive exercising, just before bedtime.

A dark bedroom that has a comfortable, cool temperature is conducive for sleeping.

Getting into a relaxing routine, such as taking a shower, light reading and listening to relaxing music before going to sleep, can promote sleep.

Turn off your electronic devices – or at least avoid looking at them and scrolling through your emails/social media/news feeds/etc – and avoid watching TV shows before bedtime.

Blue light from these electronic devices are found to stop the production of melatonin, a hormone that makes you sleepy.

Therefore, exposure to blue light from electronic devices reduces your body’s preparedness to sleep.

Practise mindfulness

Oftentimes, an inability to fall asleep is due to the many thoughts, worries or stresses that can’t stop occupying our mind. — TNS

There are bound to be nights where you find yourself struggling to fall asleep, regardless of what you do (or don’t do).

These are the nights where you find that you cannot fall asleep, no matter how hard you try to force yourself to do so.

In fact, you may find that the more you try to force yourself to sleep, the more difficult it is to fall asleep.

Then you find yourself getting more stressed as the time passes and it’s getting nearer to wake-up time, but you still haven’t even slept yet.

But if you aim to remain more settled and to shift your focus away from the thoughts in your mind, you are more likely to fall asleep.

In a situation where you find it difficult to fall asleep, mindfulness practice encourages us to shift from striving to sleep to just being with whatever is there at that moment.

American molecular biologist and mindfulness expert Professor Emeritus Dr Jon Kabat-Zinn stated that mindfulness is “an awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally.”

In the process of trying to fall asleep, we may sometimes get lost in our thoughts about the past and/or the future, which are often related to worrying.

Mindfulness encourages us to shift our attention from our neverending thinking patterns to simply noticing how we feel at that moment.

It takes some practice to shift our attention away from worrying about the past and the future to focusing on the present moment.

One mindfulness practice would be to acknowledge what we feel in our mind and body, and accept it as it is.

This can be challenging, but possible to do with regular practice.

Being aware

When spending hours in bed fighting to fall asleep, practising mindful awareness can be very helpful in encouraging sleep.

When you are lying on a bed, trying to sleep, there may be thoughts that run through your mind.

You may be worrying about all the problems that you have been facing, or you could be running through your plans for the next day, and so on.

In mindfulness practice, you need to firstly, just simply be aware of all those thoughts and allow them to be there as they are, without pushing them away or struggling over them.

Then, see if you can shift your attention to whatever feeling that you may have at that moment.

There may be sadness, anger or frustration due to the many problems that we face daily.

Simply be aware of the emotion(s) that you are feeling.

Then try to identify how your body feels at that moment.

The sensation in our body can sometimes be the reflection of our feelings.

Be aware of the deep tiredness in our legs, or sensations such as pain, numbness or heaviness around the legs, lower back, spine, shoulders, hands and face.

Do spend some time noticing the sensations in your body and explore these feelings with a sense of curiosity and kindness.

Accept whatever feelings that you may have at that moment.

Next, guide your attention to wherever you can feel your breath on or in your body.

Perhaps start noticing the air that you can feel at the tip of your nose, and try to take note of each inhalation and exhalation as it passes in and out of your nose.

You can pay attention to the movement of your chest or abdomen with each inhalation and exhalation.

Appreciate that each inhalation and exhalation is unique, and is something valuable that is present in all living beings.

The breath can be a good reminder of the present moment and can be used as a tool to bring stability to our mind and body if we choose to become aware of it.

Noticing the breath in this way can be challenging for some of us, as the focus can often be hijacked by our thoughts.

Do not worry when this happens. See if you can track where the mind has wandered and gently bring your focus back to your breathing.

Spend some time appreciating each breath that you take and try to bring a sense of kindness and gratitude into your focus.

Finally, once again feel your whole body as you lie on the bed and allow the mind to simply be with whatever is present at that moment.

Mindfulness can help us shift our focus from struggling to fall asleep to just being in the moment, which will help us to relax. — Filepic

A therapeutic practice

Mindfulness practice can be very therapeutic if practised regularly.

Let us start the day by simply taking a pause and being aware of each moment.

Awareness of the beauty in each moment can bring so much joy and contentment to our life.

While rushing through our daily life, we are often lost in thoughts of what is next and miss all the enjoyment of the present moment.

It can be as simple as noticing the smile on our child’s face, noticing a beautiful sunrise or sunset, and enjoying the hot shower that washes away the long day.

If we could pause for a moment and try to notice the beauty around us, this could help us shift from difficult and disturbing thoughts to simply sensing and enjoying the moment.

Associate Professor Dr Christina Liew Siaw Cheok is the academic lead for Clinical Competencies and Dr Thurkadevi Munikanan, a certified Mindful-Gym trainer and lecturer in Psychiatry at the Perdana University Graduate School of Medicine. This article is courtesy of Perdana University. For more information, email [e-mail]. The information provided is for educational and communication purposes only, and it should not be construed as personal medical advice. Information published in this article is not intended to replace, supplant or augment a consultation with a health professional regarding the reader’s own medical care. The Star disclaims all responsibility for any losses, damage to property or personal injury suffered directly or indirectly from reliance on such information.