Ultimately you need to sleep every night for the rest of your life. Achieving this through medication may be beneficial in the short term but in the long term, is it such a good idea to rely on pills for something your body should be able to do naturally – to fall asleep?
In order to understand how to treat insomnia naturally, let’s examine the most common causes. Stress, diet, physical pain and environmental factors can all be to blame for a person’s inability to achieve restful sleep.
Stress and anxiety often manifest as a busy mind, swirling with worries and concerns. A mind that is never still is not conducive to sleep. Identifying your own stress triggers is essential if you are to overcome the effects of stress; however we can work on calming the mind and reducing the physical symptoms of stress regardless of the root cause.
Stress causes a rise in blood pressure and emotional reactions such as mood swings, short temper, nervousness and difficulty concentrating. All of these symptoms can be reduced naturally and easily through acupressure, meditation, mind calming techniques and general relaxation exercises. Acupressure in particular has been shown to reduce the physical and mental symptoms of stress, calming the mind and releasing endorphins into the body to facilitate relaxation and induce sleep.
Physical pain can understandably keep us awake at night. Before reaching for the painkillers, once again consider the magic of acupressure which has been shown to reduce the nerve impulses that cause the sensation of pain.
There is a wonderful acupressure mat (also called Shakti Mat or Nail Mat) that you can rest on before going to bed to help relieve pain, stress, anxiety and the sleep disruption that results from these conditions. This fabric backed mat can be stored away under your pillow during the day and rolled out at night. Lay the mat on your mattress, dim the lights, put some calm music on and relax back onto the acupressure points.
As you lie there, the acupressure points stimulate the body’s meridians, triggering an overall calming and soothing effect. The body’s feel-good hormones, endorphins, are released, reducing feelings of stress and anxiety, promoting relaxation and, yes, sleep.
Nightly sessions of 20 minutes are all it takes to effectively rebalance your system and trigger your natural sleep impulses although you will more than likely find yourself falling asleep on the mat as your sessions continue. This is absolutely fine – an entire night spent sleeping on the mat would recharge your entire body whilst simultaneously rebalancing the emotions and the mind.
In the long run, achieving restful sleep naturally is far better for your overall well being than resorting to medication. Meditation, relaxation, candles, baths, and acupressure are an ideal recipe for a good night’s sleep, and best of all they can all be easily implemented by you at home. Sweet dreams!
An Acupressure Mat can help you sleep, you could try a Specially Written Guided Meditation at the Shakti Mat Meditations website.
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