The question is often asked – how much sleep do we need? There are lots of ideals and beliefs around how much sleep we need, and how this changes due to our age or what we do. I learned a lot about this when I was studying for a diploma in Herbal Medicine.
But I have noticed that it’s not really about how long I sleep, but the quality of sleep that I am getting.
If I go to sleep with unresolved emotional issues, and a million thoughts going through my head, or if I have had a tough day with my daughter and not taken the time to discuss it with her, it really affects the quality of my sleep. I may have the suggested 8 hours sleep but the quality is poor due to the fact that I have so many undealt-with issues.
All of these things that I take to bed with me can be very tiring because on some level my body is still processing them all night long – and when I wake, I feel tired and as if I haven’t really slept at all.
What’s the solution? What changes to sleep and the quality of my sleep have I made?
- First of all, there is no such thing as perfection, so just taking baby steps is a good start. I sometimes forget and just fall asleep in a state of exhaustion, but that is changing with time.
- I have committed to communicating with my family and loved ones so that if anything comes up, it can be dealt with there and then before I go to sleep, rather than brushed under the carpet to be dealt with when there is time. There is never enough time and all these issues just keep building on each other until the pile is massive and much harder to deal with.
- I prepare myself for sleep. I try to not get too excited or do activities that are stimulating my nervous system for a few hours before my sleep time. So no doing accounting or business emails after 5pm! I have recently been taking the time to have a shower – not just to get clean, but as a loving ritual for myself… and I really enjoy it. After my shower it feels great to spend a little time putting cream on my body and giving myself a massage. My skin really needs it as I have neglected it most of my life.
- I make time to wind down, to be with myself and relax. This helps because then I don’t end up in bed wired, feeling like I will never fall asleep.
- When I do go to bed, I put myself to bed as if I were putting a baby to bed. I really take the time to get comfortable, so that my body feels fully supported.
I deserve to love and care for myself fully, and it’s something that I had never really taken time to do. We often give this much care to others and our children but forget to also give that same care and dedication to ourselves.
So I have discovered that it’s not so much “how much sleep do we need?” but how I am living before I go to sleep, and how that affects the quality of my sleep. I learned these simple ways from presentations by Serge Benhayon and Natalie Benhayon, and from my own experimenting and experience.
By Rosie Bason, Mullumbimby, NSW
1,074 Comments
In the last eight days I have become so aware of my need for sleep and the quality of it. I have been coughing on and off all day, and by the time night arrives I am so ready to go to sleep but no, that has not been happening as once my head touches the pillow I start to cough, and cough, and of course sleep is elusive. And if I manage to have a few hours the quality is not what it would normally be. I am starting to feel the effects of the lack of sleep, like being slower to understand something and rather clumsy at times. But I can’t go into stress and worry about it, simply allowing the healing process to unfold and my cough to heal. Then I know that my lovely supportive rhythm of sleep will return!
How I live affects how much sleep I need and now that I am committed to taking more loving care of myself the quality of my sleep has generally improved dramatically and my vitality and zest for life has been transformed. Despite experiencing all of this I have recently been making some less loving choices which have impacted the quality of my sleep and been observing how I am finding it challenging to get back on track despite ‘knowing’ what I need to do.
Sleep has become such a problem for so many. It’s interesting that we don’t look at the problem from the angle of how we live during the day and the quality we live in. If we live in drive, anxiety, stress and emotional angst then it makes sense that the body will have difficulty in winding down and sleeping at night.
What supports me to have a great night’s sleep is to express all that I need to during the day. That way I am not going to bed with things unsaid and therefore nothing to distract me from sleep.
How we sleep is so reflected in how we live our day, take away all stimulants, TV, films, coffee, sugar and emotional upheaval and we have a chance to connect each night to the deep wonder and magic of the universe
Great call ‘So I have discovered that it’s not so much “how much sleep do we need?” but how I am living before I go to sleep, and how that affects the quality of my sleep’ and something I am still very much learning!
And there is this huge difference between sleeping and resting. If I make sure there is rest and space in the day, then the amount of sleep I have had is alot less important than if I am go, go, go. That way of living wears me and my body down and I quickly become exhausted no matter how much sleep I have had.
Great point Simon. I too am making more space for myself and also resting in the day for short periods when my body calls me to do so. This makes a big difference to my overall well being and the quality of sleep I have at night.