Part of the problem that those with insomnia experience is that once awake, even if there wasn't initially intrusive thinking or rumination, the mere thought, "oh no, I'm losing sleep" can be enough to begin a cascade of disruptive thinking that results in prolonged wakefulness. This progression of thinking and worrying becomes a ruminative pattern that worsens the sleeplessness.
How meditation works for those of us who have insomnia is that it helps to stop the thinking that can prolong the episode of sleeplessness by allowing the mind to settle. It also can help to reduce the anxiety associated with losing sleep. I've heard other insomnia sufferers say that the worry about sleeplessness can be as bad as the actual event of not sleeping.
How do we begin, then, to work with the mind that can either prevent us from falling asleep in the first place, or awaken us once we've settled down into a nice and cozy night's rest?
We begin by practicing meditation during our waking hours. While that may seem obvious, it's amazing how many of us don't think about fixing the broken sink until it's really broken, or going to the doctor until our symptoms are out of control. In the same way, if we wait until we're bug-eyed awake during the middle of the night, trying to practice at that point might be ineffective at best. So, begin practicing meditation during your waking hours. You may even find that if you're tired enough, you'll get drowsy while practicing. If this occurs, go lie down and take a nap.
As we become familiar with meditation practice, it's important to apply our practice to as many different situations as possible, sharpening our ability to practice under less than perfect circumstances. So, we practice under all circumstances, getting used to working with our mind informally.
As you're falling asleep, turn this process into meditation practice. After you've settled down, begin your meditation practice and continue until you fall asleep. If you haven't fallen asleep after 30 minutes, get out of bed, and do whatever it is that you do when you can't sleep, for example read a book, watch TV, have some hot milk. Then, when you come back to bed, begin your practice again.
If you wake up in the middle of the night, like I do, begin meditation practice immediately. Sometimes this can result in your falling asleep almost immediately. But if this doesn't happen, then do what you did at bedtime; practice meditating until you fall asleep or until 30 minutes have passed.
Insomnia is no fun! I have been visited by this "unwelcome guest" for the better part of my life. I can't say that meditation practice always gets me back to sleep. What I can say is that by practicing meditation during periods of insomnia, my meditation practice gets stronger during other parts of my day and my life. So, sometimes insomnia is a bonus - I get to practice!
For tips on how to get started with a meditation practice and other handy tips, check out some of the other posts and handy links on this site. You'll find information on how to learn to meditate, integrate meditation into your daily life, and even some of the great research being done on meditation. Enjoy!
Comments
Taking a nap if you start to fall asleep in meditation is probably a good tactic for someone with insomnia so that they can get some of the rest they need. In general, isn't feeling sleepy in meditation also a sign of dullness, which might require a different antidote for a practitioner who isn't plagued by insomnia?
Great comment. Yes, as you pointed out, feeling sleepy in meditation can also be a sign of dullness, which indeed requires a different antidote. In the context of insomnia, as in this discussion, sleepiness while practicing during the day can be the result of sleep-deprivati on. In that case, following the needs of the body - to make up for lost sleep - taking a nap may be the most prudent thing to do.
I've actually addressed the challenge of sleepiness in a post on another blog, bit.ly/owoz2b, on another site. In that post, I wrote: "While this may sound strange, the sleepiness that we encounter during our meditation is no more real or substantial than our thoughts are. With thoughts, if we allow them to simply rise without grasping onto them, they’ll simply fade away, back into our mind. In the same way, assuming that we aren’t sleep deprived and sometimes even if we are, when sleepiness occurs during meditation, if we simply allow it to “be,” without fighting it, returning our attention to our breath or an object of focus, the sleepiness can fade away as quickly as it came."
Hope that helps.
Sometimes, specially on Mondays and Tuesdays, I get insomnia.
I have tried different approaches to the wild state of my mind, different practices, some work right away, sometimes.
Specially one about putting my attention in parts of the body. Also , labeling thoughts and emotions is very good.
I have found that at one point it is better to just go to " Water if you don't stir it will become clear......"
Some days ago I got a really bad case. The environment at home is unusual, since our sons are on vacation , so they get up late, and are pretty excited by 11: 00 pm, time when the hens, and myself , long ago are up in a tree trying to sleep.
That day I had had a couple of beers, and around 6 pm, a cup of strong coffee, because of a visit. This is a very bad combination .
Then , after trying most anything , around 2:00, I choosed to get up of bed just as if it was my normal waking time.
Put off the house alarm, went down , set a washing machine load ( as I usually do to be more awake to meditate ) , back upstairs, did my morning practices, went to the shower, etc., got down , set the breakfast table, etc, and arranged everything for the business day. ( After the 2008 crisis I moved the business home to save money and to not to get too broken )
Then , I think a little after 4 , I reset the alarm clock, to 6:15 ( as everything was ready, I was going to sleep late ! )
It worked well, just to acept the situation, do useful things, be relaxed and then go back to bed with " Water...."
Anyway, everything is impermanent !
I will warn you, if you don't want to divorce , or get into trouble, better meditate, and don't bother your wife if YOU cannot sleep.
It was funny, and I realized somethings from it.
I don't get your response to Sandra. Thoughts arise and fade within the mind whether we grasp at them or not. Grasping or lack thereof has nothing to do with this process.
Meditating in order to remove a state we don't like such as sleepiness also seems to be rather antithetical to the ultimate purpose of meditation. Instead isn't the point to not get caught up in feeling sleepy while meditating and instead to remain simply present and aware in the face of whatever arises?
I think if we look for different causes of insomnia, one source might be in the line of this quote from one of Sandra's :
"Why is our mind so agitated anyway? Traditionally, it is said that agitation arises from attachment. In other words, we have a lot on our mind because we have quite a lot of attachment to people, places, possessions, ideas, and outcomes."
and /or
"When all else fails, sometimes we just need to relax before we can enter into meditation. Listening to music, taking a warm bath, or stretching might help take off the edge. A brisk walk might dispel the physical agitation that's accumulated in your body. Reflecting on an inspiring quotation may inject a dose of inspiration or perspective. Changing your environment and meditating in nature, for example, may be just what the doctor ordered.
In meditation, you can't force your mind to calm down so there's no point in making mind the enemy. By understanding your mind and skillfully using these tips, you can create an auspicious atmosphere so that mind will gradually settle on its own accord and agitation will be just a long lost memory. "
By the way, after a week of a lot of nervous tension, last night I went to bed at 9, and slept until 6 : 45. I have been sleeping more or less well lately.
best wishes for all, and good sleep.
E.
If it hasn't become some kind of patological condition, and ven in that case, insomnia might be some kind of agitation.
Hmm, sorry if I wasn't clear. I have noticed for myself, and have had many others say the same, that grasping at or aversion to sleepiness can actually make the sleepiness worse, that the "action" or process of fighting sleepiness can worsen the feeling of sleepiness. So, in that way, the grasping or aversion to the state of sleepiness that I have experienced actually does have to do with whether or not it persists. And, in my experience, simply allowing the sleeplessness to arise does not, for some strange reason, always result in immediately "fading away." In my experience, sometimes it persists through the entire night when I "simply remain present and aware" of it.
In terms of meditating to remove the state of insomnia, there are numerous causes of insomnia, some of which are less affected by meditation. Sorry if I gave the impression that this is the purpose of meditation. In fact, I advocated not trying to meditate to "cure" insomnia, but rather using it as an opportunity to practice, as a way to work with the free time during insomnia. I've had many great and lengthy practice sessions during the wee hours of the night; the "bonus
Thanks for your thoughts.
Thanks so much for taking time to reply. Your clarification is certainly helpful.
But I wonder why you keep expecting meditation to cure or cause the experience of sleeplessness to "fade away." Or that you find it curious that meditation doesn't result in some kind of immediate result. Maybe that is something you should ponder a bit...
My point about grasping wasn't whether or not grasping will reduce our suffering while being unable to sleep. I was only taking issue with the assertion a thought rising from the mind and fading beck into it has any thing at all to do with grasping.
I guess the point being made here is a bit subtle. Thoughts such as "I feel sleepless" certainly fade the moment we think of them, that is simply how thoughts occur, they rise and they disappear. There is no buddhist teaching that says otherwise.
Sleeplessness doesn't rise separate from a thought about being sleepless. So usually we just have a series of thought that are about how we are sleepless.
Let's take a different example for a moment. Let's say I have a really bad cold. I have the thought: "Gee I am really sick." Then because my nose is still running and I am coughing I continue to have thoughts like I am sooo sick. Meditation won't cure the cold or make the cough go away. But it certainly can transform the constant dialog around the cold. And at the very least will reduce the suffering or at least lead us to be ok in the miserableness of a bad cold.
Hope this helps!
Cheers,
MM
Being present while writing this.
The question for me is : How do we regulate ourselves ? By " administrating " our inner state and energies through the practices ? This is , to be in the state of presence, how do we do ? Attirudes, practices ?
Pills ?
Is it important what we do the rest of the time, not just right there when is an emergency ?
best wishes,
E.
RSS feed for comments to this post