At no one-size-fits-all answer to achieving better sleep exists; however, natural remedies may provide solutions. Regular exercise; maintaining a cool, dark and quiet sleeping space; using soothing herbs (such as valerian root); practicing mindfulness meditation and/or using acupuncture/acupressure can all help regulate energy channels for improved restful slumber.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture involves inserting hair-thin needles into specific points on the body to open energy pathways and promote natural flow throughout. Achieving this may also aid sleep.
Acupuncture can help combat pain–often the cause of insomnia–by stimulating endorphin production within the brain, naturally painkilling chemicals that release endorphins to provide pain relief. Acupuncture may also reset cortisol levels to decrease stress, keeping you awake in the process; additionally, it encourages serotonin release to calm anxiety which is another frequent insomnia symptom.
Research has proven that acupuncture can effectively treat both short and long-term insomnia. It’s an ideal alternative to traditional sleep medications, which often come with severe side effects and addiction risks; some studies even found acupuncture to be just as effective for treating insomnia long term as drugs!
Acupuncture can be especially useful in treating issues that prevent you from sleeping well, such as anxiety, chronic pain and menopause. Furthermore, it can even improve the quality of sleep for those suffering from common sleeping disorders, like sleep apnea. Acupuncture helps prevent collapsed upper respiratory muscles to allow regular breathing during your nightly rest period. In addition, Acupuncture amplifies other strategies used to promote good sleeping such as regular bedtimes (no screens before bed and no caffeine or alcohol), exercise routines as well mindfulness/stress reduction strategies.
Acupressure
Acupressure is an ancient healing practice that can be utilized at home to promote better nighttime rest. Acupressure uses finger pressure applied gently on specific points on the body to restore energy balance, ease tension and pain relief, support healing and promote overall well-being. When applied for sleeping purposes specifically, acupressure stimulates natural pain-relief chemicals released by your body while simultaneously resetting cortisol levels to lower stress and calming your mind; all key factors for helping you relax into a peaceful sleep cycle and feel rested upon awakening!
Implementing acupressure into your bedtime ritual can provide your body with consistency it needs in order to fully relax and drift off peacefully on its own. Acupressure also offers you a chance to focus on slowing down and cultivating stillness – two important keys for creating calm before bed.
Try massaging Shenmen on the inside of your wrist crease, three finger widths below your little finger. Doing this may promote serenity in your mental state and help relieve anxiety, promote relaxation and aid insomnia.
At the center of your eyebrow area is Acupoint Yintang. Gently massaging or rubbing this point helps calm the mind, ease neck stiffness and decrease eye strain while relieving headaches, sinus congestion, anxiety and depression. Regular stimulation of this point also increases natural production of serotonin which reduces feelings of depression and anxiety while alleviating sleep apnea by strengthening respiratory muscles and keeping tongue from collapsing into airway while sleeping – for those experiencing persistent insomnia or sleep apnea medical evaluation should be undertaken by healthcare professional as soon as possible.
Meditation
Meditation is a complementary medicine designed to relax deeply, which in turn improves sleep. Meditation also relieves stress and anxiety that often lead to poor quality restful slumber, according to research. Research also suggests that mediation may lower cortisol levels (which contributes to stress response), while increasing levels of melatonin, an important sleep-regulating hormone.
Sleep meditation techniques include various kinds of mindfulness meditation such as diaphragmatic breathing and progressive muscle relaxation. Mindfulness focuses on being present with no judgement and without expectations for what comes next; you can choose either guided or unguided forms, often used in counseling and therapy settings.
Diaphragmatic breathing is a type of breath meditation involving slow, deep inhalations and exhalation through the nose, helping relax chest, belly and rib cage muscles to relieve stress and make sleeping easier at night. Progressive muscle relaxation uses similar principles by tensing and relaxing one body part at a time before moving on to the next – and can quickly release tension and anxiety within minutes!
Visualizing is another form of sleep meditation, in which you focus on relaxing images while letting go of anxious or repetitive thoughts. While often practiced religiously through prayer, visualizing can also be done more secularly – perhaps you imagine seeing and hearing scenes such as an ocean beach, sunny forest or crackling fireplace as part of this relaxation technique.
Yoga
Eden Energy Medicine was pioneered by Donna Eden as a gentle yet powerful approach to healing that works with your natural energies and helps activate your innate self-healing process. When your energies are functioning well, they leave you feeling energized and balanced; when they become disrupted or misdirected they manifest as pain or illness. Eden Energy Medicine uses ancient healing traditions with modern techniques in order to balance and heal these energy patterns within you body.
One of the most effective techniques is Yoga Nidra, which emphasizes deep relaxation. This practice helps calm nerves while activating delta brainwaves – these correspond with deep sleep and REM dreaming – as well as stimulating pineal gland secreting melatonin which regulates your circadian rhythm and balances menstrual cycles as well as providing stress and anxiety relief.
If you’re new to energy medicine, start slowly by developing a routine. Just a few minutes every day can make a big difference – I suggest starting with either the EMYoga Wake Ups or one of the yoga nidra videos below; plus take our quick five element quiz so you can gain more insight into your energy and how it manifests in your life.
