Close your eyes and take three deep breaths — in and out, in and out, in and out. Do you feel relaxed? Most likely, you do. That’s because the techniques associated with meditation often promote full-body calmness and relaxation.
As such, implementing a bedtime meditation practice may be the nightly habit you need to sleep more soundly since it prepares your mind and body for rest. Plus, it’s free, easy, and requires no special equipment — just find a comfortable spot, relax your body and sink into a tranquil bliss.
If you’re ready to give bedtime meditation a try, you’ve come to the right place. This guide will provide you with tips on how to meditate before bed and choose the right meditation practices for your needs.
Tip 1: Choose Your Meditation Style
There are many different types of meditation, but not all meditation forms are appropriate for bedtime practice.
The first step to learning how to meditate before bed is finding a meditation style that promotes full-body relaxation.
The Sleep Foundation suggests using one of four types of meditation for improved sleep.
1. Mindfulness Meditation
Incorporating a mindfulness meditation practice is ideal for those who struggle to relax their minds as they drift off to sleep. Mindful meditation requires you to focus on the present moment, requiring you to turn your attention to the sensations of your:
- Body
- Breath
- Thoughts (then, letting them pass)
Breath work is also incorporated into this type of meditation technique. By focusing on breathing deeply, you become aware of your brain and body and focus solely on the air moving in and out of your lungs. Over time, you’ll become more adept at:
- Releasing negative thoughts
- Slowing a racing mind
- Calming your body and brain
2. Body Scan Meditation
Another practice that may be effective for sleep improvement is body scan meditation. To try body scan meditation for better sleep, there are a few steps to follow:
- Lie down in a comfortable position with your eyes closed
- Bring your attention to your body and shut out any other thoughts
- Take a few deep breaths to help you relax
- Focus on your body parts one-by-one, beginning with your feet and moving to your head
- Take a moment to notice how each body part feels before moving up to the next part
This practice acts as an inventory of your body and how it feels. It also takes your attention off unwanted thoughts that keep you lying awake.
3. Guided Imagery Meditation
If you’re new to meditation or you simply prefer a more controlled practice, guided meditation may work for you. In guided imagery meditation, you follow instructions on a recording, which paints an image for you to move through — whether that’s walking through a sunny field or opening a door into a mystery room.
This type of meditation is ideal for beginners or those who find it difficult to calm their thoughts during medication because a guide helps you navigate the process and keep your mind focused.
There are several places you can find guided meditations to follow:
- A subscription service
- An app
- A meditation podcast
- A website specializing in meditation
- YouTube
Outside of subscribing to a specific service, you won’t have to pay for a quality guided meditation — many are widely available for free.
4. Deep Breathing
If you struggle with any of the other sleep meditation methods, you might want to start with a simple deep breathing exercise before you dive into a deep meditation. A simple deep breathing technique involves breathing in for four seconds, holding your breath for 7 seconds, and breathing out for 8 seconds.
This technique helps your body relax and your mind focus.
Tip 2: Find a Quiet Place to Practice
Another key to mastering bedtime meditation is choosing the right space to practice. An ideal meditation spot should be:
- Quiet – Unwelcome noise can interrupt your meditation practice. Seek out a place that is free from distracting noises. You may even want to use a white noise machine if it helps you block out ambient noises from around your house.
- Comfortable – Comfort is another key component of a successful meditation session. For a pre-bedtime practice, comfort may mean sitting or lying down. You can experiment with both to find the position that best suits you.
- Distraction-free – Keep your meditation space free from other distractions. If you use your phone as a tool for guided meditation, turn down the brightness to keep your space dim. This will also prevent the sleep inhibiting effects of blue light from negatively impacting your bedtime routine.
Remember, meditation is all about relaxation. Setting aside a dim, quiet, and comfortable place conducive to relaxing is a must for meditation success.
Tip 3: Be Patient With Your Progress
Becoming a meditation pro takes time. It may take up to a full month of daily practice to get the hang of the skill. Once you harness the techniques needed to focus on your practice fully, you might find that the quality of your sleep improves.
Better sleep isn’t the only benefit of meditation, either. Other positive outcomes of incorporating a daily meditation practice include:
- Improved focus
- Healthy blood pressure
- Enhanced mood
- Reduced feelings of unease
Many of these benefits of meditation may improve the quality of your sleep, too.
How Long Should You Meditate For Improved Sleep?
You might be wondering how much time you need to spend meditating to reap all of these benefits. Everyone is different, and there isn’t a magic number of minutes that’ll ensure better sleep quality. However, some research suggests that 10 to 30 minutes might be appropriate, although shorter sessions may also be effective for sleep improvement.
Tip 4: Focus On Your Breathing
It doesn’t matter which meditation method or methods you choose — focusing on your breath is one of the keys to relaxing your body before sleep. The purpose of turning your focus to your breathing is twofold:
- Mind benefits – Deep breathing refocuses your mind away from racing or negative thoughts. This can help keep them at bay during that period between wakefulness and sleep. As you probably know, this space is where negativity, worries, and other problematic thoughts that keep you up all night thrive.
- Body benefits – When you focus on breathing, your inhales and exhales become more intentional and slower. Slowing breath signals to your body that it’s time to sleep. This helps all of your other body systems get on board with rest time.
Deep breathing can be its own form of meditation or a key factor in achieving the relaxation you desire from other types of meditation.
Tip 5: Follow Up Meditation With a Good Sleeping Environment
The best meditation practice won’t be effective if you don’t have a quality sleeping environment. Set yourself up for blissful meditation and sleep by ensuring your bedroom is:
- Dark
- Comfortable
- Cool
- Quiet
- Free from distractions, like a television or radio
- Reserved for sleeping only
Many people struggle with that last tip — keeping your bedroom a sleep-only space. This means no phone scrolling, television watching, or even reading in bed. While these activities are discouraged, meditation in your bedroom is perfectly fine and may even help to transition you into sleep.
In fact, you might find that making meditation your last activity before you drift off to sleep is the ideal way to end your day. This is especially true if you practice meditation lying down.
Tip 6: Add CBD to Your Meditation and Sleep Routine
Having a complete sleep hygiene routine that includes meditation and other natural sleep remedies can ensure you get the good sleep you need every night. There are many things you can include in your ideal bedtime routine, including:
- Shutting off your phone and all other screens 1 to 2 hours before bed
- Relaxing in a warm bath or shower
- Reading a good book
- Doing a crossword puzzle
- Writing in a journal
- Drinking a cup of herbal tea
- Eating a small snack
- Doing calming yoga for sleep and relaxation
- Meditating
If you’re looking to elevate your meditation practice and drift off into a more restful sleep, CBD may be the perfect counterpart to your routine. A nightly dose of CBD may help you feel calm and relaxed, which can help you drift off more easily. Before you settle in for your meditation practice, try chewing a Sleep Support CBD + CBN Gummy or taking a Sleep Support Tablet.
Then push play on your meditation app, take a deep breath and get ready for some restorative sleep.
Meditate Peacefully With Zebra CBD
Some nights, restful sleep eludes us. Often our minds won’t slow down and let us relax into a deep sleep. Meditation is one of our tips for better sleep that many have used to sleep more soundly. And when paired with a proper sleep environment and a regular bedtime routine, meditation can be extremely powerful.
Incorporating the best CBD products for sleepmight also enhance your ability to achieve restful, healthy sleep. For that, look to Zebra CBD.
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Source:
JAMA Internal Medicine. Mindfulness Meditation and Improvement in Sleep Quality and Daytime Impairment. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2110998
Greater Good Science Center. Body Scan Meditation. https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/body_scan_meditation
Mindworks. How Long Does Meditation Take to Work? https://mindworks.org/blog/how-long-does-meditation-take-to-work/
CDC. Creating a Good Sleep Environment. https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/emres/longhourstraining/environment.html
Building and Environment. A Review of the Environmental Parameters Necessary for an Optimal Sleep Environment. https://data-cene.com/static/pdf/Caddick%20et%20al.%20-%202018%20-%20A%20review%20of%20the%20environmental%20parameters%20necessary%20for%20an%20optimal%20sleep%20environment.pdf
