15 Suggestions for sleeping easier (and more naturally)!

15 Suggestions for sleeping easier (and more naturally)!

This is a collection of over 15 suggestions for easier natural sleep. For years I’ve struggled. Far more so when I’ve had a lot going on in my life. I’ve tried a variety of things and read a lot. This is all from my experimenting and reading. Everything here, in my opinion, is powerful. 

1. Firstly, obviously no caffeine or booze in the last 4-6hours prior to bed. Even afternoon coffee can make it harder to sleep. Alcohol wise… many people think it can help them sleep but I strongly doubt this. If it does help you fall asleep it will not necessarily improve the quality of your life or sleep.
2. In the last hour before bed. No phones, screens of any variety. Nothing that can speed up the heartbeat or over stimulate the brain. (Sex maybe, but not screens)
3. Try a teaspoon of raw honey (licking it straight off a spoon), or a warm lemon, ginger, honey drink (if using raw honey which is far healthier, putting it in boiling water will kill the best stuff in it).
4.  Ensure you’re fully hydrated before going to sleep.
5. Try this Qi Gong, evening routine by Lee Holden to bring down and centre your energy. Takes 10 minutes. or for those in China just download it here.
6. Alternatively, meditate. Or read an old fashion hard copy book. Fiction is great. Anything is far better than a screen.
7. When going to bed, try this simple meditation. Lying on your back, slowly count each breath on the way out. Slowing down your breathing, your mind will probably wonder. Keep bringing it back till you can roughly count to 20.
8. Then lie on your right side. The right side is healthier according to traditional Eastern Sciences. Feel free to drift asleep here. Or gently block your right nostril and count 10 more breaths through your left nostril. Loosening your hold and your posture.
9. If you haven’t gently drifted off, catch your dream images as they appear. You should really be out of your head now, feeling light with dreams starting. If may not have had enough time to unwind an hour or so ago. Although your best dream time is in maybe 5-6 hours time, you can catch yourself in light dreams and enjoy them.
10. If you like, read a book like Andrew Holecek, Dream Yoga or Stephen LaBerge, Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming.
11. You could also use this time to listen to a more relaxing audiobook. I find books with Meditations great for drifting asleep gently on planes and if you don’t fully drift, you get the benefits of the meditation and stillness of mind. My favourites might include, Robert Augustus Masters or Debbie Ford.
12. Your body is a temple. Worship it. Your bed and sleep should, therefore, be worshipped as well. Think not of sleep as closing off the waking world but of opening up the rejuvenation, the recovery, the deepening, the dream, the deep clear light world. In the west I believe we often cling onto the light of day, (or thoughts/thinking) and perceive that there is so much more to think about, to sort out, to process, we don’t want to sleep. Some part of us, perhaps an unconscious part, may think that the sleep time is a waste time so our brains keep ticking over. Yet really, the reality which is rarely known in the west is that after the conscious brain (or ego) switches off, the deeper mind(s) switch on. What Buddhism often call the Dharmakaya, or simply Buddha Nature becomes illuminated. And this is always present but masked by the ego or conscious thinking. Buddha Nature is something meditators often look for in the day, yet it can also be found in our sleep as well.
13. If all this doesn’t work, are you waking up to late? Perhaps try waking up at 5 or 6 am every morning.
14. Try setting an alarm clock to signal the start of your night routine. For example, have it at 9 pm to remind you to start getting ready for bed.
15. Ensure your bed is used only for sleep (and sex). Don’t rely on sex or release as a means for getting to sleep. Release is so much better than that! It’s ok. I’ve been there. But tying sex/release to bed is liking tying alcohol to sleep. It’s not healthy to ‘need’ release to sleep.