3 simple breathing practices to help you get to sleep (and stay asleep)
In addition to my 6 tips for a good night’s sleep, here’s some sleep-supporting breath practices to add to your wind down routine.
Abdominal breathing
Using a count with abdominal breathing
Progressive Muscle Relaxation
1. Abdominal breathing with a long exhale, into your mattress
This is also known as ‘belly breathing’ or ‘diaphragmatic breathing’.
Why do it?
Fills your lungs fully by directing the breath deep into the lungs.
Regulates the breath
Regulates the nervous system (NS) by activating the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest arm of NS)
Oxygenates your body
Gives your mind something to rest its attention on
Helps your body relax and your mind to follow.
How to do it:
Place your hands on your belly with your fingers facing each other, and your middle fingers gently touching
Breathe in and direct your breath into your belly. As your belly expands, your middle fingers will have a little bit of space between them
Breathe out, the belly contracts and relaxes. Your middle fingers will come back to touch
Now begin to lengthen your exhalation, to be longer than your inhalation
2. Using a count (with abdominal breathing)
Why do it?
Adding the counting provides an additional point of focus for your attention.
How to do it:
Start with abdominal breathing as explained above
Next, count your breaths – up to 10 (1, 2, 3, ….. 10).
Place the count during your exhalation (the out breath)
As you exhale, imagine sinking into the mattress
As you imagine sinking into the mattress, visualise your belly button, along with your spine drawing down, into the middle of the mattress, or even further.
Use each fingers as a guide in your count. ie for your first breath, press down slightly with your right thumb as you breathe out. For the second breath, press the index finger down to mark the count. Continue with each finger marking a breath, on your right hand, then on your left hand, finishing with your left little finger (total of 10 breaths)
Repeat this 10 times (total 100 breaths)
If you’re still awake after this (~ 15 – 20 minutes) – get up and do a quiet activity, make a cup of hot water or milk, or read until you’re feeling sleepy, then repeat this practice again.
3. Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR)
Why do it?
PMR is a relaxation technique which works by practising tensing specific groups of muscles and then releasing them along with your breath.
In the exercise, you experience the feeling of physical tension and then the contrast of releasing the tension.
Research has shown PMR to be helpful for sleep and improving sleep quality, by inducing relaxation and reducing anxiety.
How to do it:
In this practice you will:
Systematically move attention through your body
Create tension in a muscle group and hold the tension as you inhale and then hold the breath for a moment
Slowly release the muscle group and release your breath
Take a couple of slow breaths before moving on to the next muscle group
In this practice you typically start at the feet, although you can just as easily start at the head. I’ve recorded a practice for you here.
You can find a useful standard PMR script at Therapistaid.com here.
If your sleep issues are ongoing, book in to see your General Practitioner for a check up and further support options.
If you’d like tailored support for sleep, please get in touch for 1:1 counselling or mindfulness meditation. We can work together on an individualised approach to your needs, with strategies that suit you and your lifestyle.
Along with individual counselling and meditation sessions I offer corporate mindfulness and wellbeing workshops and programs both in person and online.