You roll over, take a deep breath, and will yourself to sleep. It doesn't work. The harder you try to fall asleep, the more your eyes try to pop open. The more you tell yourself not to think, the faster your thoughts fly.
Come on now. Just relax!
That is far easier said than done, but there are techniques that might help you relax enough to drift off to sleep. No pills, no powders. These are techniques that use the power of your own mind to release the stress and tension that keeps your mind whirling and prevents that much needed sleep.MEDITATION
What is mediation? It's a method of consciously directing your attention to alter your state of consciousness. In other words, it's concentrating so fully on something else that you forget all the things your mind was busy with. What should you concentrate on? Almost anything. A symbol, such as a pendulum or a light. A candle makes an excellent meditation vehicle. Repeated sounds, humming, music, chanting. The throb of a drum.But one of the best methods of meditation is to concentrate on your own breathing. Deep breath in. Hold it. Deep breath out. Get a rhythm going. The idea is to make your mind blank. Try not to think of anything. Thoughts will continue to flutter through your head. Ignore them. Tell them to take a hike. They are not important.
As you continue to meditate, as you practice day by day, you'll feel stress and tension floating away with each exhaled breath.
For more information and help with your mediation techniques, visit the Meditation Station, the web site of the Meditation Society of America. There you'll find help for beginners and experts, hundreds of techniques and even a guided meditation CD that will lead you through several excellent mediation exercises.
