The best sort of sleep is a sleep of quality rather than quantity.
So there's no pressure,
No rush.
We're just taking our time and preparing for the best sleep possible.
Gently moving into a restful position with eyes closed and as warm and as comfortable as you can be.
Taking a moment to notice the breath,
Allowing a few deeper breaths and letting the out breath last longer than the in breath.
As we breathe out we naturally relax,
So let's be mindful of that.
Breathing in and as we breathe out,
Intentionally relaxing the body.
Moving into a more natural rhythm of breathing now.
Now let's notice the mind.
A restless mind can also be an anxious or a worried mind.
If the mind is agitated it often makes itself known as we release our thinking from the day's activities and go to bed.
A restless mind surfacing as we prepare for sleep can lead to more dispersion as we mentally try and fix things up.
At bedtime a restless mind is often a symptom of too much blue screen time in the evening.
Nature puts us to sleep at dusk with red light and wakes us at sunrise with dawns of blue light.
Too much blue light in the evening can reduce our ability to bring the body into a sleep state naturally.
So what to do?
Here's a little technique that may help accept and manage concerns rather than trying to avoid or suppress them as we move ourselves towards sleep.
We're going to place them somewhere,
Simply putting them away while you sleep until you can take them up again tomorrow if you choose to.
Imagine where that place could be.
Maybe a room in the house or the garden.
My own imagined space for settling worries and concerns is a kitchen.
At night I place big worries carefully in a cupboard and take my time shutting the door and putting a catch on it.
Anything I'm a bit anxious or concerned about I put in pots on the stove,
Mostly with lids on and some things I toss straight into the rubbish bin.
Go on.
And while you do this little exercise try keeping a tiny bit of your attention on your breath as you breathe in and out and your belly lifts and falls.
Making sure there's nothing you've forgotten to put away for the night.
Good.
And now gently adjusting and moving into a more restful position.
Taking a deep breath and relaxing and softening the muscles of your body as you breathe out.
Allowing a gentle attention to stay with the breath.
Allowing any thoughts,
Sounds or sensations to come and go.
Not being caught by anything,
Just allowing it all to drift and disperse as you move towards sleep.
Your attention resting gently on the breath,
Your body,
The sounds of my voice.
Knowing you can let go of it all at any time.
Just resting with the breath,
Just breathing for a few moments now.
Realising the rhythm and the flow of the breath.
Maybe saying gently in your mind,
In,
Out.
Notice the pause between the in breath and the out breath.
Notice how the body slumps on the out breath as it relaxes.
Notice how the body gets heavier.
Feel your toes,
Noticing any sensations.
Feel your feet,
Let them be open and relaxed.
Your calves,
Thighs,
Both legs nicely heavy.
Softening,
Releasing,
Relaxing any tension with each out breath.
Allowing the hips and lower body to relax.
And now your belly,
Chest and upper body.
Each out breath,
Softening,
Releasing,
Relaxing.
Hands,
Arms,
Softening,
Heavy.
Shoulders,
Neck,
Comfortable.
Eyes,
Eye sockets,
Forehead,
Cheeks,
Jaw,
Face.
Muscles soft and relaxed.
Gently aware of the whole body as you breathe in and as you breathe out.
Letting all tension go with each out breath.
All is well.
Breathing more and gently,
Gently drifting in to sleep.
Breathing more and gently,
Gently drifting in to sleep.
Breathing more and gently,
Gently drifting in to sleep.
Breathing more and gently,
Gently drifting in to sleep.
