HowDoWhy

In Part 1, I talked about conditioning. The focus here was on not repeating the bad habits that lead to a continuing rut of insomnia. Part 2 introduced stress, why we must endure it and, essentially, how to address it head on to prevent it from perpetuating a cycle of lost sleep. This, the final Part 3, will provide a batch of proven methods to beat insomnia. All of these options work to varying degrees but you’ll need three things to get the best results; an open mind, commitment and consistency. Pick a method and try it for at least a week (medication/therapy should obviously be given more time and your physician will guide you there). If one method doesn’t work, try another. Just keep an open mind, commit to success and be consistent.

Exercise - Aside from a slew of potential health benefits, a regular exercise routine will help you sleep. I particularly recommend repetitive motion exercises such as rowing, running, walking or swimming.  The benefit to these is that the consistent, rhythmic motions allow you to switch your brain to auto-pilot during which time your conscious and unconscious are free to mull over those stress issues that have made it tough to sleep. Shoot for a minimum of 20 minutes but, ideally, 30 minutes or more. Do not, however, exercise right before bed as it will actually energize you for a time. Just try to fit it in at some point during the day.

Visualization - An often recommended method for dealing with stress (and insomnia by extension) is visualization. When you can’t turn off your brain, try embracing each issue your mind is mulling over. Taxes, for example. Visualize you are on a beach and write the word TAXES in the sand, then imagine a wave rolling in and washing the word away. Still nagging you? Write it again and let the ocean wash it away again until it feels like less and less of a problem. Click continue below for 3 detailed and extensive visualization methods that get me through the worst of just about anything in my life.

Warm Milk - Milk, like turkey, contains chemicals that promote drowsiness.

Vacation - Get away for a while, both from work and home. Sometimes a change of setting is all it takes to break the cycle of insomnia. If you find yourself fighting for sleep on returning home, you definitely need to get a handle on what’s causing stress in your life.

Lay Off The Juice - No caffeine or caffeinated beverages before bed. Juice or water only starting 3-4 hours before you intend to go to sleep.

Avoid Avoidance - Don’t ignore the message your brain is telling you. If you’ve identified stress as the culprit in your insomnia, resolve the issues causing you stress. Fix the problem. Manage expectations at work. Get a new job. Study for your exam. Resolve conflicts with your spouse or friend. Map out where you are and where you want to be. Set goals. If you keep avoiding the conflict, it will continue to nag you into one sleepless night after another.

Be Naughty - Sex or masturbation can do wonders. Don’t judge. Don’t tune out. Both are natural. If your religion or morality precludes doing either, that’s fine. Try another option. But for those without such restrictions, recognize that you have biological needs and either of those solutions relieve stress, enhance relaxation and, let’s face it, just make you feel better.

Take Your Medicine - Speak to a physician. Your insomnia may be rooted in a chemical imbalance. There are a slew of drugs available to help you sleep. It isn’t my preferred option, but neither is a slow decent in sleep-deprived insanity.

Therapy - Consider therapy. There is no shame in this. If you can’t get to the root of your stress on your own, professional guidance might help you figure out what’s causing you so much pain. Sometimes we need an external, objective opinion to help us find the source of our problems.

Meditation - Once shunned by western medicine, meditation is now a much accepted means of accomplishing anything from athletic success to good mental health. I am speaking from personal experience. It works, if you’ll let it. There are many great methods available and they are too numerous for me to list here but Learning Meditation (a Forbes “best of the web” winner) is a fantastic resource and has many options for you to try.

If you’d like to learn three fantastically successful methods to aid in physical and mental relaxation, please read on.

Relax Physically - I learned a great relaxation technique early in life. I depend on it to get me through migraines and the occasional bout of insomnia when physical tension born of stress is clearly a cause. The process is simple. Crawl into bed, on your back, and take a slow, deep breath, counting to five as you inhale. Hold the breath for a count of five then exhale to the count of five. Repeat this two more times. Next, make yourself aware of your feet. Curl your toes tightly and hold for a count of 5. Then relax your feet but imagine them curled for another count of 5. Relax. Now bend your toes upwards towards your chin and hold for 5, release and visualize the same thing for a count of 5. Relax. You should really feel the muscles stretching and relaxing with each of these and all subsequent steps. You’ll repeat this from your toes all the way up to your face as follows.

• Toes curled away (like making a fist with your foot)
• Toes flexed towards face
• Whole foot flexed away (as they would be if you were standing on your toes. (you should feel this in your calves)
• Whole foot flexed towards face (you should feel this in your shins)
• Thigh’s flexed (as if trying to bend leg in the wrong direction)   
• Butt flexed (big muscle group. Don’t ignore it)
• Hold a crunch for 5 to flex abs
• Arch your back (lower back)
• Hold arms out in front of you and push your palms together hard (chest)
• Try to touch your shoulder blades together (upper back)
• Hold a shoulder shrug
• Make tight fists
• Spread fingers wide
• Flex forearms
• Biceps
• Triceps (back of arms)
• Raise your head off pillow (neck)
• Finally, scrunch your face up in a silly expression to flex the facial muscles.

Remember to hold each flex for a count of 5, release, visualize holding it for 5, release (mentally) and relax before moving on to the next muscle group. You’ll be amazed at how much tension you really have in your body and how much better you feel after running this sequence.

100 Solutions - A frequent go-to for migraines and stress, the 100 countdown is one of the easiest ways for me to get through a rough time. Crawl into bed and do the 5 count breathing exercise explained in the previous segment. Next tell yourself (mentally, not out loud), “I am going to count down from 100 to 1. I will fall asleep before I get there,” and believe what you are telling yourself. Slowly begin to count down from 100 until you get to 90. Stop there and repeat your objective as if it is becoming a reality. I am relaxing. I can feel the stress drifting away. I am getting sleepier. I’m feeling more peaceful. My problems are becoming insubstantial.

Now slowly count down from 90 to 80. Stop again and repeat your convincing statements (in your mind, not out loud) but with more conviction. I’m more relaxed. The stress is almost gone. I’m really sleepy. I’m surrounded by a feeling of peace. My problems are becoming inconsequential.

80-70. I feel very relaxed. I hardly remember what I was stressed about. I don’t think I can stay awake much longer. I’ve never felt so peaceful. I can barely recall having problems.

70-60. I’ve never been this relaxed before. I am stress free. I’m almost asleep. I only know peace. My life is almost problem-free.

Keep at it. Count slowly. Believe what you are telling yourself. Increase your conviction and belief in your statements the further down you go until they are absolutes. I rarely reach 40 anymore without drifting off into a relaxing slumber unless my wife, dogs or the phone disturbs me. I always wake up feeling well rested and content after using this method.

Special Place - Yeah, “special place” sounds fruity, but it isn’t about being cool or not. It’s about simultaneously taking control of and escaping from your mind. Around the same time I learned how to release physical tension I also learned how to calm my mind. It’s a simple process that becomes progressively more natural and beneficial with practice. Here’s how it’s done.

As with the physical relaxation technique, get in bed, close your eyes, breath in for a count of five, hold your breath for a count of five and exhale for a count of five. Do this three times. Next, picture the color red. If you can’t visualize red, think of red things (Santa suit was my crutch before this became natural) and let the object fill your mental field of vision until all you see is the color red. Hold the image until it is really real to you, as if you’re seeing it with your eyes open. Imagine the color turning into a cloud of red and completely enveloping you. Repeat the process for the colors orange (imagine oranges if you have to), yellow (lemons), green (field of grass), blue (denim or sky) and finally violet (I imagined a violet flower until I could do this without having to rely on an object).

Let the violet mist dissipate and imagine a flight of 21 stairs leading downwards. In your mind’s eye, descend the stairs, counting downward as you go and telling yourself you are relaxing with each step. 20, I feel relaxed. 19, I am in control. 18, I am at peace. And so on until you get to zero.

At the bottom of the stairs, imagine yourself standing before a locked door. There are interesting personality implications for what kind of door you imagine. Very open, trusting people often imagine a glass door or very light door. More cautious or secretive people tend to imagine a heavier door. My door has grown heavier and more iron-bound as I’ve grown older. I’ll worry when it becomes a steel blast door. It doesn’t matter what you imagine though as there’s absolutely nobody around to judge you. This is your door and it leads to your haven. You have a key, the only one in the world, in your pocket. Pull it out, unlock the door and step through.

On the other side of the door is your special place. It can be a secluded beach. It might be your favorite park scene or hiking trail. It could be your childhood bedroom. Mine is a rolling meadow with a single old shade tree (it has the sweetest apples in it when I want it to) and a stone fountain with the purest water in it (a visualization I use to help me with migraines is to drink the water as a cure). The sky is always blue with fluffy clouds, there are always birds and there isn’t a soul around. In the distance is the glimmer of an ocean and I can smell the salt in the air. A soft breeze is gentle, cooling and ever present.

This is a place for you to escape. Let your mind form your ultimate place of relaxation, safety and comfort. You are god here. You can change it to whatever you wish. You hold complete dominion over this place. Every blade of grass, every cloud, every animal, every sight, sound, texture and smell is slave to your wish. My only suggestion, make it peaceful.

While the exercise above sounds awfully flower-powerish, it’s actually grounded in solid psychology. The objective is twofold - it gives you a relaxing escape but, more subtly, the visualization elements teach you to control your mind and put you in a mindset of being in control. That’s precisely what’s lacking from your life when insomnia rules your nights.

I sincerely hope one of the techniques above or one from the previous two posts helps you to find a solution to your insomnia problem and a little peace of mind. Remember that sleep is a vital part of good physical and mental health. Don’t give up, find a solution here or elsewhere and may you have sweet dreams.