Deep sleep meditation can alleviate stress, boost productivity, maintain your health and improve memory. Get our recommended guided sleep meditation audio …
Every human being requires sleep after a long day, but it does not always come easy. You might feel exhausted and in the mood for some shuteye, but once you get into the sheets, thoughts start racing through your mind, and you can’t sleep.
It’s not uncommon for stress to interfere with sleep, particularly when you have a lot on your mind. However, if it happens regularly and you need sleep aids to get the rest that you require, then you may want to explore sleep meditation.
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Deep Sleep Meditation, What is It?
Chances are you have heard sleep meditation being recommended for individuals finding it hard to sleep, but what is it exactly?
Sleep meditation is a technique or practice that induces a deep relaxation state, while being alert or awake, usually before you sleep. It is ideally referred to as Yoga Nidra, and it’s used by people who want their mind to be relaxed holistically.
Modern sleep meditation uses guided meditation in the form of audio recordings you listen to as you sleep, such as the Mind Movies Matrix sleep meditation. These recordings are famous among people who need to meditate but require assistance in getting into a relaxed state.
Sleep Meditation vs. Being Asleep, What’s The Difference?
When you are asleep, the nervous system is usually inactive, and during the REM (Rapid Eye Movement) stage of sleep, your consciousness is virtually suspended. However, sleep meditation is a mild relaxing technique that happens when you’re entirely awake, and your consciousness is still functional.
The Benefits of Deep Sleep Meditation
Alleviates Stress
When your body hasn’t had adequate sleep, it goes into a state of stress. This results in an increase in the production of stress hormones, thus leading to more difficulty in sleeping and high blood pressure.
Stress might appear as a natural part of our day to day hectic lives, but it can still be reduced through deep and regular sleep. Practices that help induce relaxation like deep sleep meditation can certainly help alleviate the effects of stress, thus enabling you to sleep faster and deeper.
Boosts Your Mood
The body also processes your emotions when you are asleep. However, it requires adequate time in order to recognize and react in the right manner.
Cutting your sleep short results in more negative emotions as the body finds it challenging to produce happy hormones (serotonin). In the worst case, it could result in mood disorders such as panic attacks, anxiety, and depression.
Refreshing sleep can certainly make your body feel more energized and alert for the following day. It is just like pushing the reset button after a bad day, thus helping you stay calm and boost your outlook.
Helps You Shed Weight
Sleep doesn’t directly affect weight loss, but it regulates appetite control hormones. As a matter of fact, studies show that people who sleep less than 7 hours per night are more likely to be overweight.
That’s because inadequate slumber gets in the way of leptin and ghrelin production, hormones that are responsible for controlling your appetite and craving for high-calorie and unhealthy foods. When the level of these hormones reduces, you are more likely to stick to an unhealthy diet.
Also, sleep deprivation means you’re exhausted and are less likely to feel the urge to move or to work out. This can result in an increase in weight. Getting adequate sleep, combined with the right exercise and diet, will certainly help you manage your weight.
Boosts The Immune System and Encourages Body Repair
Sleep is mandatory for rest plus recovery. It helps the body repair sustained damage through the day as well as boosting the immune system.
Your body is continually exposed to stress, UV rays, and other harmful elements throughout the day. Workouts like weightlifting, running, and other activities that are strenuous ideally wear down the body.
During sleep, your body releases more protein molecules, which are the building blocks of the cells. This results in the recovery of the muscles. The protein molecules ideally enhance your body’s ability to ward off infections. It strengthens the immune system, a task that can’t be accomplished when you’re not asleep.
As such, it is imperative to sleep for at least 7 hours the next time you feel worn down. Deep sleep meditation is one of the best techniques that ascertain you get the rest and recovery that you need. It enables you to leverage the time you’re asleep.
Improves Memory
Lack of deep sleep ideally results in issues with memory and learning. More often than not, individuals with sleep deficiency have trouble staying focused and learning new things. They ideally find it hard to store memories and remember information for later use.
That’s because during sleep, your body process events that occurred during the day and makes the connections between feelings, sensory input, memories, and things that they occurred in. All this occurs in a process known as memory consolidation. It’s important for the body to make these links and memory, something that’s impossible without deep sleep.
As you can see, there are numerous benefits that come with deep sleep meditation. So, why not try it today?
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