As we age, we sleep less and less hours even if we urge ourselves to sleep eight hours a day. It is alright if we sleep only four to six hours a day provided that we fall into deep sleep fast, and that we go back to sleep immediately after waking up in the middle of the night. As long as we feel energized and refreshed upon waking up the next morning, we have enough sleep.
The average time to fall asleep is about twenty minutes, but many of us really struggle to drift off for much longer than twenty minutes due to bad habits, stress, racing thoughts, busy schedules, technology stimulation, poor sleep environments, and more.
Since getting enough sleep every night is so crucial to our overall health, establishing a healthy sleep routine and finding sleep-promoting techniques that work for us should be a top priority. As practitioners of health preservation that follows Nature, we tend to forget over-the-counter sleep aids and melatonin supplements.
Instead, we train ourselves to fall asleep in just a few minutes naturally with our relaxation method. And, while we sleep, we sleep deeply without being disturbed by environmental factors such as sound, light and movement.
01 Preparing for sleep in general
As practitioners of health preservation, we always try to sleep at a specific hour, say ten in the evening, and not later than eleven in the evening. Then we should do something before bedtime to ease into sleep at ten or eleven in the evening. What should we do? It depends on the circumstances and each individual.
In general, we should find calming activities to do at night before bedtime to help us unwind, chill out, and cue our mind and body that it’s sleep time. Finding some less stimulating activities at night is a great way to wind down if we are not ready to get into bed.
Some routines may include a combination of things like folding laundry, preparing meals, reading relaxing books, listening to relaxing music, and doing stretching exercises. A mix of helpful to-dos will put our mind at ease about the following morning, and ways to unplug and relax before hitting the sheets.
These should not include scrolling social media or watching a streaming series. Is watching a horror movie in the middle of the night a good practice for preparing to sleep?
We should find the strategies and methods that work best for each of us by the trial and errors method. They do not apply to everyone the same way.
02 Preparing for sleep using deep breathing
Our process involves a combination of mind-body relaxation techniques, including deep breathing, visualization, body-scanning, and muscle relaxation. It does take some practice (so don’t get discouraged if you’re not picture-perfect on night one.)
For the technique you’ll lie still and intentionally, progressively relax each muscle group, one by one, while focusing on slow, calming breaths. These strategies help activate the body’s relaxation response, which helps reduce stress and tension, and generally promotes a calm and relaxed state of being.
Using breathing techniques, especially deep-breathing exercises that emphasize a slower and longer exhale, can help activate your parasympathetic nervous system and let your body shift into its relaxed, rest-and-digest state. Let us review the Mustang Tuna Technique that we have discussed elsewhere. It is very effective for de-stressing and falling asleep fast.
As you are moving through this technique, be slow, gentle, and intentional with each step. Remember to breathe slowly and deeply, paying attention to every inhale and exhale.
Get in a comfortable position, preferably lying in bed so you are ready to drift off.
Inhale slowly and evenly, counting from one to nine, so you are inhaling the air in nine evenly spaced pieces of cloud (or smoothing over nine pieces of stringed beads.) while moving the air to the diaphragm (the dantian acupoint). At the end of inhaling, swallow your saliva and straighten your waist at the same time. Now hold your breath briefly. Exhale slowing, deeping, and evenly. This is one cycle of deep breathing. Repeat the breathing until you drift into deep sleep.
Note: If you want to reduce any pain or repair any body damage, you may perform the restrain-your-urination and contract-your-anus action for nine counts after holding your breath and before your exhaling. If you only want to drift into deep sleep fast, then forget this routine.
Read more: Mustang Tuna Technique.
03 Preparing for sleep using meditation
In the beginning of the deep breathing exercise, do the following meditation exercise simultaneouly.
Begin by relaxing your facial muscles. Relax your jaw. Release any tension in your eyebrows. (If you have uneasiness in your mind, you will unknowingly knit your eyebrows.)
Next relax your shoulders, then arms, and hands.
Move your attention to your midsection and stomach. Relax your belly muscles.
Then relax your thighs, your feet, and your toes.
With each breath, focus on letting your body feel heavy. Picture your body sinking down into your bed.
Continue focusing on your inhale and slow exhale all the time. Eventually you will drift into sleep.
Note: If you need to learn more about our form of meditation, read about it elsewhere by searching for the category Mustang Jingzuo Technique.
Read more: Mustang Jingzuo Technique.
04 What to do waking up
While you sleep, you have not taken your dose of water and have not moved properly for six to eight hours. Your body needs a fix. Many of the bad feelings we associate with getting up from bed can be tied to lack of mobility and dehydration. Here is what you need to do.
01 Do a good stretch while in bed. Get your blood moving through the veins.
02 Get up slowly. Drink a glass of clean, pure water, preferably warm water.
03 Do the Mustang Qiyang Technique which is designed to wake up your senses and increase your energy and blood circulation.
04 Do one or more deep breathing exercises from the Mustang Tuna Technique suite.
05 D one or more stretching exercises from the Mustang Shenzhan Technique suite.
06 Do house cleaning or take a walk.
This is designed to wake up the energy circulation system so that you will feel energized and refreshed.
That’s about it. It can lead to a much quicker waking up time, and we bet many people wouldn’t be so desperate to get to that caffeine rush. In fact, coffee may be making the problem worse by treating the symptoms rather than the causes of hard mornings. But that’s a topic for another time.
The stretch-and-drink process will make your first few minutes of waking up healthier because it improves blood and energy circulation.
Read more about sleep, sleeplessness, and insomnia.
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