Meditation and Insomnia

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Meditation and Insomnia

Postby woody » Mon Jan 14, 2008 8:19 am

Hi-
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to use meditation, either Embryonic or another strategy to help with insomnia? I have attempted to use Embryonic style meditation with Buddhist breathing and it actually energized me making falling asleep more difficult. I welcome any ideas.
Thanks
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Postby joeblast » Mon Jan 14, 2008 9:43 am

try not to make it so active, slow stuff down...that helps for me!
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Postby Inga » Mon Jan 14, 2008 10:04 am

Hi Woody,

There have been threads about insomnia before, it might be worth searching the archive. I do not have luck using meditation either to fall asleep, but I do use rhythmic breathing and a cycle of tensing and relaxing muscles. Lying flat in the place you intend to sleep start by slowing your breathing, breathing through your nose, listen to the pattern of it. Then start with your muscles. Begin at the base, clenching your toes while you slowly breathe in to the count of three. Hold that breath, hold the clench and count slowly to three. Breath out, again counting to three. Next flex the ankles repeating the whole process up your body in any order that works for you. Sometimes I stop at shoulders, sometimes I do my face as well, then work back down again. Repeat as many times as you like. Two cycles are usually enough for me. I often combine it with a warm drink (green tea or warm milk) or after a warm bath. Good luck, lack of sleep is a nightmare (pun intended). But for me I think giving my brain the task of counting to threes and my body the mini muscle massage seems to be the right combination. Maybe you'll find a variation that works for you. I hope so!

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Postby woody » Mon Jan 14, 2008 12:11 pm

Inga and Joeblast-
Great suggestions. Both make a lot of sense. I'll give them a try tonight. Thanks
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Postby Inga » Mon Jan 14, 2008 2:24 pm

Ah, best wishes. I just reread my post and I should have clarified that when exhaling one also unclenches or relaxes the flexed muscle. But you probably figured that out. Do let us know if you find any other techniques which work for you. I am always on the look out for insomnia cures. I have some combinations of essential oils which work for me, but that is an investment, try the free version first : )
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Postby joeblast » Wed Jan 16, 2008 7:40 am

woody, do you have anything specific that you feel is hindering you getting to sleep?
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Postby Yue » Fri Jan 18, 2008 11:55 pm

Woody,

I also have insomnia, and I have found that buddhist embryonic breathing works if you focus on the lower dan tian and, like Joeblast said, do it very slowly. From what I understand it leads qi to the lower dan tian and relaxes other areas of the body.
Anything goes.
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Postby Dvivid » Sat Jan 19, 2008 10:48 am

Remember: embryonic breathing is not "easy". If you build a lot of energy and can't hold the center in your head. You're going to be awake.

Train calming the mind more frequently. Start relaxing earlier in the evening. get to bed by 10 and get 8 hours of sleep to have healthy proper hormone activity.

Also, burn the calories you consume, before bedtime.

Calories = energy.
"Avoid Prejudice, Be Objective in Your Judgement, Be Scientific, Be Logical and Make Sense, Do Not Ignore Prior Experience." - Dr. Yang

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Postby Dvivid » Sun Jan 20, 2008 1:23 pm

AND: this is related:

Mobile phone radiation wrecks your sleep.

Phone makers' own scientists discover that bedtime use can lead to headaches, confusion and depression.

By Geoffrey Lean, Environment Editor
Published: 20 January 2008

Radiation from mobile phones delays and reduces sleep, and causes headaches and confusion, according to a new study.

The research, sponsored by the mobile phone companies themselves, shows that using the handsets before bed causes people to take longer to reach the deeper stages of sleep and to spend less time in them, interfering with the body's ability to repair damage suffered during the day.

The findings are especially alarming for children and teenagers, most of whom – surveys suggest – use their phones late at night and who especially need sleep. Their failure to get enough can lead to mood and personality changes, ADHD-like symptoms, depression, lack of concentration and poor academic performance.

The study – carried out by scientists from the blue-chip Karolinska Institute and Uppsala University in Sweden and from Wayne State University in Michigan, USA – is thought to be the most comprehensive of its kind.

Published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Progress in Electromagnetics Research Symposium and funded by the Mobile Manufacturers Forum, representing the main handset companies, it has caused serious concern among top sleep experts, one of whom said that there was now "more than sufficient evidence" to show that the radiation "affects deep sleep".

The scientists studied 35 men and 36 women aged between 18 and 45. Some were exposed to radiation that exactly mimicked what is received when using mobile phones; others were placed in precisely the same conditions, but given only "sham" exposure, receiving no radiation at all.

The people who had received the radiation took longer to enter the first of the deeper stages of sleep, and spent less time in the deepest one. The scientists concluded: "The study indicates that during laboratory exposure to 884 MHz wireless signals components of sleep believed to be important for recovery from daily wear and tear are adversely affected."

The embarrassed Mobile Manufacturers Forum played down the results, insisting – at apparent variance with this published conclusion – that its "results were inconclusive" and that "the researchers did not claim that exposure caused sleep disturbance".

But Professor Bengt Arnetz, who led the study, says: "We did find an effect from mobile phones from exposure scenarios that were realistic. This suggests that they have measurable effects on the brain."

He believes that the radiation may activate the brain's stress system, "making people more alert and more focused, and decreasing their ability to wind down and fall asleep".

About half of the people studied believed themselves to be "electrosensitive", reporting symptoms such as headaches and impaired cognitive function from mobile phone use. But they proved to be unable to tell if they had been exposed to the radiation in the test.

This strengthens the conclusion of the study, as it disposes of any suggestion that knowledge of exposure influenced sleeping patterns. Even more significantly, it throws into doubt the relevance of studies the industry relies on to maintain that the radiation has no measurable effects.

A series of them – most notably a recent highly publicised study at Essex University – have similarly found that people claiming to be electrosensitive could not distinguish when the radiation was turned on in laboratory conditions, suggesting that they were not affected.

Critics have attacked the studies' methodology, but the new findings deal them a serious blow. For they show that the radiation did have an effect, even though people could not tell when they were exposed.

It also complements other recent research. A massive study, following 1,656 Belgian teenagers for a year, found most of them used their phones after going to bed. It concluded that those who did this once a week were more than three times – and those who used them more often more than five times – as likely to be "very tired".

Dr Chris Idzikowski, the director of the Edinburgh Sleep Centre, says: "There is now more than sufficient evidence, from a large number of reputable investigators who are finding that mobile phone exposure an hour before sleep adversely affects deep sleep."

Dr William Kohler of the Florida Sleep Institute added: "Anything that disrupts the integrity of your sleep will potentially have adverse consequences in functioning during the day, such as grouchiness, difficulty concentrating, and in children hyperactivity and behaviour problems."


http://news.independent.co.uk/sci_tech/article3353768.ece
"Avoid Prejudice, Be Objective in Your Judgement, Be Scientific, Be Logical and Make Sense, Do Not Ignore Prior Experience." - Dr. Yang

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Postby joeblast » Tue Jan 22, 2008 3:37 pm

Dvivid wrote:Remember: embryonic breathing is not "easy". If you build a lot of energy and can't hold the center in your head. You're going to be awake.

Train calming the mind more frequently. Start relaxing earlier in the evening. get to bed by 10 and get 8 hours of sleep to have healthy proper hormone activity.

Also, burn the calories you consume, before bedtime.

Calories = energy.
Absolutely! Nothing like a good workout earlier in the day to help make you tired enough for sleep.

If EB might be a little too 'active' - take the motions and apply wuji in your intent :)
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additionals on insomnia

Postby ccarlow » Wed Jun 04, 2008 9:46 am

Hi,

There's some good info here. I'd like to add a few points on insomnia. It's important to promote constancy in your lifestyle and life cycles i.e. activity and rest. Understanding Yin and Yang helps. Daytime activity is Yang and Nighttime inactivity is Yin. Activity complements rest. So if you're not physically active enough your sleep cycle will also be off. Also as the day turns into night, get ready for this resting period by reducing activity more importantly any mental activity to promote a smooth transition for sleep.

I do like the muscle relaxing technique but you may want to try 'joint breathing'. I'm not talking about anything you smoke. Focus on each joint in the body - inhale and concentrate on the center of the joint and exhale to release and relax the joint. This is more of a mental exercise than a physical one such as the previously good suggestion regarding muscle relaxation. I use the following sequence: toes, ankles, knees, hips, spine, fingers, wrists, elbows, and shoulders. You can include the 3 dan tians before and after the joints set starting with upper and descending to lower to promote a settling effect in the body. You can also add 4 gates in between the local joints (yongquan - soles of the feet; Laogong - palms).

Often times there's an excess that needs to be release in the body. If you feel uncomfortable drawing it into towards the center line such as using embryonic breathing then lead it out of the body or just keep promoting relaxation to allow the body to balance itself.

The keep is constancy. Be consistent especially if you have irregularities in your lifestyle. Promote smooth transitions from activity to eating and activity and rest allows qi flow to be more regular and all body functions to be regular as well.

One last thing - eating complex carbs for dinner such as brown rice helps produce trypophan which in turn helps produce sertonin - a hormone that helps with the sleep cycle. Tryptophan (an amino acid) can be also found in meat such as turkey but there are other competing amino acids that fight to get across the blood brain barrier to the brain and may block the more needed amino acid - tryptophan for sleep.

And at last I like putting a fresh lavender plant in the bedroom or dried lavender in my pillowcase that has a very relaxing scent.

Good luck!

Ciao,
Chris Carlow
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