3001: Can't Sleep - Create Your Own Guided Meditation for Peace and Rest by Ingrid Y. Helander on Self-Guided Meditation

[00:00:00] This is Optimal Living Daily, episode 3001, Can't Sleep? Create Your Own Guided Meditation for Peace and Rest by Ingrid Y. Helander of IngridYHelanderLMFT.com And I'm Justin Malik. Welcome back to our Sunday bonus episode where we get to hear from another podcast where we read to you.

[00:00:20] And today's comes from my brother show, Optimal Health Daily. If you'd like more about fitness, nutrition, diet, and anything health related, you can find Optimal Health Daily wherever you get your podcasts. And you can even submit your own questions and have them answered on Friday editions of

[00:00:38] the show. You can send a health related question to healthatoldpodcast.com and then listen into that show on Fridays. Again, that's Optimal Health Daily. But with that, let's get right to the bonus episode as we optimize your life. Can't Sleep?

[00:00:58] Create Your Own Guided Meditation for Peace and Rest by Ingrid Y. Helander of Ingrid Y. HelanderLMFT.com Can't Sleep and Racing with Worry? I heard a wonderful quote the other day about worrying in the middle of the night.

[00:01:15] Quote, sleepless worry is creativity all dressed up with nowhere to go. End quote. I think this is true. There you are wanting peace and rest and the body and mind becomes super active. Thoughts explode and have nowhere to go.

[00:01:30] For some of us, our mind's default setting is to worry. Since it's dark and quiet, the worry can get very loud and animated. It sometimes feels very scary or emotional. Actually sleep problems tend to increase in the spring.

[00:01:45] When you wake up with worried thoughts, one of the worst things that happens is you tell yourself that you don't or can't sleep. This thought sets up an anxiety loop. You wake feeling worried. And then you worry more because you can't sleep.

[00:02:00] Knowing you need sleep, you feel more worry and begin to fret and panic. Usually anger or fear follow. And then the body and mind are fully engaged and wide awake. Uh oh. What can you do with sleepless nights and a worried mind?

[00:02:16] I suggest guiding yourself through your own meditation. Of course there are many great meditations available to you right on your phone. You may find one that is exactly to your liking. If worry is simply creativity with nowhere to go,

[00:02:31] why not use that creativity to make your own form of meditation? Here are a few ideas to get you started. You can try them alone or in combination. Huh, that's interesting. I've been using this self-guided meditation a lot lately when I have worry during the night.

[00:02:49] First I recognize that there's a part of me that at night is likely to take any fears and insecurities from the daytime and bundle them into some pretty freaked out scary ideas at night. After this part has actually woken me, I just take a pause and think,

[00:03:05] huh, that's interesting or yeah, that's pretty nuts. Or, ooh, yep, scary stuff. I acknowledge that there's a part of me that worries but with a tone that says, I see you, I get it. But I'm not buying into all that you're saying.

[00:03:21] Then I bring in just 10% more recognition that it is very late and I'm very tired and of course no part of me can think very clearly right now. Next comes a couple of gentle breaths and a reminder that in the morning, things will likely feel clearer.

[00:03:37] I sigh deeply, sweetly pat my own head and send it back to bed. Rest is always possible. Even though your mind feels worry and your body may be joining in the activity, rest is still possible. Remind yourself that this is true. Here's how to turn this idea

[00:03:56] into a self-guided meditation. Notice that your body is lying in your bed. Make it as comfortably inert as possible. Feel how flat your body is on your mattress. Notice the slight indentations where your weight presses into the mattress. See how heavy your body can feel.

[00:04:15] Enjoy the idea that you are lucky enough to be awake and appreciate the luxuriousness of just laying around with nothing to do. Breathe in saying, this is my body at rest or I am at rest. Remind yourself that a body at rest like this

[00:04:34] can repair itself and get refreshed. It does not require you to sleep to do so. Allow your eyelids to rest as well. Let your eyes experience this nice resting position. See how heavy they can feel in their sockets. Eyes in the dark are resting. Remind them.

[00:04:52] You can take this as far as you like, guiding each little part of your body to experience a sense of being at rest, calm and without movement or expectation. Breathe. You may not be sleeping soundly but tonight you choose to rest. My mind can play.

[00:05:10] If you really have a lot of thought and worry, why not use the time to let your mind play? Again, as long as your body is at rest, it'll be all right. Now let your mind slow enough to simply play instead of worry.

[00:05:24] This may take a little practice but it can actually be quite fun. Instead of sending your mind angry messages about how you need to get up early and how you'll feel rotten and you never sleep anymore and so on, ask it what it would rather think about

[00:05:38] now that it has some time. Then create your thought. Keep it slow and easy. Remind your mind that you are in rest mode but you can let it play a bit. Breathe and offer some options. Maybe your mind would like to find a great memory from your past.

[00:05:55] Let it know that only the best moments are reserved for late night thinking. Perhaps a fun story with you as the star would amuse your creative part. How about a fun fantasy? Worried about money? Imagine you are rolling at it. Worried about your kids?

[00:06:11] Make the best story you can imagine about them. Want a new partner? Create that person in your mind's eye. Redecorate your living room. Imagine a new career. Recall every book you've ever read. Keep breathing slowly. Keep the body at rest.

[00:06:27] Drop agendas and allow the mind to simply play. Guide yourself gently and with a positive mindset. This is resting. Honestly, whenever I use this self-guided meditation idea, I almost wish I could stay awake a little longer. You just listened to the post titled Can't Sleep?

[00:06:49] Create your own guided meditation for peace and rest by Ingrid Y. Helender of IngridYHelenderLMFT.com. Dr. Neal here for my commentary. My students would often tell me about their issues falling asleep, especially around exam time. So basically like right now, I would say to them,

[00:07:10] I'm gonna use my psychic abilities and predict that this is what happens when you're trying to fall asleep. Your head hits the pillow and all of the stressful thoughts and annoying experiences you had during the day rise to the surface of your mind

[00:07:25] and then you can't stop thinking about those things which then prevents you from being able to fall asleep. And nearly every time you wanna know how they responded, they said, yes, how did you know that? And I tell them because most everyone experiences this, even me.

[00:07:43] Today's author Ingrid would have predicted the same. So maybe we need to find a way to deal with these thoughts before our heads hit the pillow. Journaling can help with this, but let's say we forget to do this. Well then Ingrid's tips are perfect.

[00:07:58] What happens when you're laying in bed and you cannot get to sleep? For me, I find that allowing my mind to play helps me fall asleep. This is something I recently realized. This is something new that I've been trying

[00:08:11] and I'm such a nerd that I will start imagining I'm learning chords to a complicated song on my guitar. A song I've always wanted to learn like classical gas by Mason William. This taps into the need for my brain to feel creative and yet it somehow feels calming

[00:08:27] and I know it doesn't seem like it, but somehow it is. This may not work for you though. That's why Ingrid mentioned so many other options. Just try one of them. The one that sounded most interesting to you. The one where you said, ooh, I like that idea.

[00:08:42] That's where you start. Sleep well. All right, that'll do it for the Saturday episode. I hope you're having a great weekend if you're listening in real time and I'll be back here tomorrow as usual where your optimal life awaits.