Insomnia

[buscon]

Thanks to meditation my insomnia is getting better, but still not solved: when it happens again it compromises all my meditation work and I would like to solve this problem.

 

My insomnia problem started 5 years ago when I had a really stressful situation: I was in a new city, noisy room, lot of time in front of a computer, no exercise at all. I had almost 2 month of continuously torturing insomnia. It was a bad period for me, and I "trained" my body and my mind to insomnia: insomnia is actually the paranoia of not sleeping. After that I found a better situation, and I started again to sleep with a normal rhythmus. Yet insomnia came up every now and then.

 

Nowadays, insomnia still there sometimes, not because I'm living a stressful situation - on the contrary I'm rather relaxed - but because my mind had experience very bad moments through insomnia. So it happens, especially when I have an important appointment next day, that my monkey mind starts to remind me of the risk of insomnia: it's a process that bild up tension in my mind, and ends up in real insomnia. This process it's exactly the opposite of meditation: with meditation we try to clean our mind, the insomnia obsession add bad energy to your life.

 

Now, I've realized all this just lately, thanks even to my meditation practice. The problem is now quite clear: I've insomnia not because of my current situation, but because of a body-mind conditioning happened when I had insomnia.

How can I cure this problem with meditation ? I'm sure it's the only way, but I don't really know how. Even if I do a good well focused meditation, the insomnia worry still there....

 

Any help is heartly appreciated.

[Apech]

Hi,

 

When I was looking into lucid dreaming techniques I found this which actually helped me with insomnia as well.

 

Lucid Dreaming

 

Cheers

 

A.

[RyanO]

I've heard the triple warmer healing sound "Heeeee" (Chia) can be useful for insomnia. It helps move stuck chi from the head, which can cause insomnia, down through the body and into the earth. I don't usually have problems with insomnia though so I haven't tried it with that intent.

 

Sufficient physical activity during the day is important.

 

One shouldn't 'try' too hard to fall asleep. It should happen naturally. If it doesn't, no big deal, just see it as extra meditation time

Edited February 26, 2010 by RyanO

[buscon]

I've heard the triple warmer healing sound "Heeeee" (Chia) can be useful for insomnia. It helps move stuck chi from the head, which can cause insomnia, down through the body and into the earth. I don't usually have problems with insomnia though so I haven't tried it with that intent.

 

Sufficient physical activity during the day is important.

 

One shouldn't 'try' too hard to fall asleep. It should happen naturally. If it doesn't, no big deal, just see it as extra meditation time

 

Thank you both for your advices

 

I'll try with the triple warmer healing sound and see what happen.

 

Phisical activity I'm doing a lot, that's even why my insomnia is going better, but sometimes little difference.

 

I should probably really learn to meditate instead of going to bed, even if I feel tired. Which meditation do you advice in these cases ? I mean, when I go to bed is because I'm tired and it's difficult to keep concentration meditating.

 

Cheers

Edited February 26, 2010 by buscon

[RyanO]

Haha yeah I don't like that 'tired but can't fall asleep' feeling either.

 

I'm not sure about serious cases of insomnia. But in general I would say to relax the mind and trust the body. It has an intelligence of its own and our monkey mind can get in the way of that.

 

As far as what meditation to do, perhaps a lying Inner Smile would be nice. Instead of tossing and turning, just lie on your back and gently smile with your whole body. Don't worry about getting enough sleep. Pretend that the time you spend consciously relaxing is just as restful as deep sleep. This might help quell some anxiety. Just a thought.

[Bum Grasshopper]

Entrain your brainwaves to SRM frequencies (12- 14hz). You can do so by listening to brainwave entrainment tracks while you meditate. More info and a free two week trial can be found here: Nero Programmer !!

[elmer]

binaural beats for brain entrainment help the brain "resonate" at the brain wave frequency that occurs during sleep, alertness, relaxation, or concentration. binaural beats are all over the internet for free... you shouldn't have to pay for it. many of them MUST be listened to via headphones, as each ear listens to a different frequency and the brain "combines" these 2 frequencies together to get the frequency appropriate for sleep, concentration, relaxation, etc...

 

this may be helpful to use during either meditation or just prior to sleep. although it doesn't get rid of your supposed "cause" of your insomnia- the worry/anxiety of becoming insomnic again, it is a good "prop" so you will have something to physically resort to when dealing with the worry.

[buscon]

[soaring crane]

Ciao Buscon!

 

Just some different ideas to consider...

 

 

I'm wondering if your adrenal glands (Nebennieren) aren't in survival mode and contributing to the problem. The description of how your insomnia started would be a pretty classic scenario for this. Overactive adrenal glands are very common and cause a lot of misery for people, the symptoms can be very wide-ranging.

 

Question - how's your resting pulse? And your pulse in general? What does it do when you stand up quickly? How long does it take for it to settle down after exercise? And when you're lying in bed "trying" to sleep? Does it jump up?

 

Healing/soothing overtaxed adrenals is kind of built in to virtually all Qigong plans. That's because they're so closely related to the kidneys.

 

What about your diet? Have you ever tested yourself for carbohydrate intolerance? If you're carb-intolerant, it'll affect your sleep patterns for sure. Do you stick to whole foods and mostly vegetarian with plenty of healthy oils and vegetarian proteins? Switching to that kind of Speiseplan could have almost instant effects, really.

[Tao of Pooh]

I would suggest Ki-breathing every night for 15 minutes just before going to bed. It is a very clensing technique which was born out of Misogi.

link to;

http://ki-aikido.net/KASHIWAYA/Excerpts.html#HowToKiBreathing

 

Another technique is to use Usui Reiki hand positions while laying in bed. By the time you get to the belly you will be a sleep ;-) Always start with the head first and keep ur palms in each position for approx 3-5 minutes.

http://healing.about.com/od/reiki/ss/selfreikihands.htm

 

Good luck

[Bum Grasshopper]

[buscon]

 

Question - how's your resting pulse? And your pulse in general? What does it do when you stand up quickly? How long does it take for it to settle down after exercise? And when you're lying in bed "trying" to sleep? Does it jump up?

 

What about your diet? Have you ever tested yourself for carbohydrate intolerance? If you're carb-intolerant, it'll affect your sleep patterns for sure. Do you stick to whole foods and mostly vegetarian with plenty of healthy oils and vegetarian proteins? Switching to that kind of Speiseplan could have almost instant effects, really.

 

I don't know so much about my pulse... I'll try to more into it and let you know.

 

About diet, I eat quite well: a lot of whole grains like oat, barley, rice, sometimes meat (mainly organic), vegetables, fruits. If don't have any special appointment next morning, everything's fine and I sleep very well - especially since I'm doing qigong.

So I don't think it's a diet problem.

 

 

I would suggest Ki-breathing every night for 15 minutes just before going to bed. It is a very clensing technique which was born out of Misogi.

link to;

http://ki-aikido.net/KASHIWAYA/Excerpts.html#HowToKiBreathing

 

Another technique is to use Usui Reiki hand positions while laying in bed. By the time you get to the belly you will be a sleep ;-) Always start with the head first and keep ur palms in each position for approx 3-5 minutes.

http://healing.about.com/od/reiki/ss/selfreikihands.htm

 

Good luck

 

Thanks for the tips, I'll try them out

 

Sensory Motor Rythm, or SRM is high alpha/ low beta 12-14hz and controls your brain's sleep patterns amoungst other things. My bet is that you have suppresed this band during your insomnia phase. Use it any time, paticulary just before bed. It is not for sleep induction, rather to train your brain to sleep normaly.

 

If you wish, you can do a delta session as a sleep induction session while you lay in bed.

 

Good explanation, thanks a lot. I'll try both frequencies and report back.

 

 

Great support in a difficult moment, thank you all

[immortal_sister]

qigong would definitely help. there are many qigong forms out there specifically for sleep/insomnia, though i think most of them you would need to learn directly from a teacher.

 

i have one other recommendation. make your bedroom completely dark. do this by completely covering your bedroom windows from any outside light. remove any light sources in your room, such as alarm clocks, cell phones, etc. you ideally want your room to be pitch black, to the point where you cannot see your hands when you hold them up in front of you.

why? because your body requires a certain amount of melatonin in order to regulate your circadian rhythm properly. your pineal gland depends on darkness to send out signals for melatonin production. if your pineal gland (yes, your third eye, it has been scientifically proven to react to light) is exposed to light, it can affect melatonin production. this can also affect health negatively in a number of other ways, but thats a whole other discussion. long story short, if you are doing other things to work on curing your insomnia, this will be helpful too. i know it sounds like a lot of work, but its really worth it.

it can also be helpful to try to reduce your exposure to artificial light after 9pm. either use fewer lights, or use candlelight in the hours leading up to your bedtime. this allows your body to receive the signal that it will be time for you to fall asleep soon. melatonin production should normally slowly start around 9pm, but this is often not the case for city folk who are exposed to light 24/7.

Edited February 28, 2010 by immortal_sister

[buscon]

qigong would definitely help. there are many qigong forms out there specifically for sleep/insomnia, though i think most of them you would need to learn directly from a teacher.

 

i have one other recommendation. make your bedroom completely dark. do this by completely covering your bedroom windows from any outside light. remove any light sources in your room, such as alarm clocks, cell phones, etc. you ideally want your room to be pitch black, to the point where you cannot see your hands when you hold them up in front of you.

why? because your body requires a certain amount of melatonin in order to regulate your circadian rhythm properly. your pineal gland depends on darkness to send out signals for melatonin production. if your pineal gland (yes, your third eye, it has been scientifically proven to react to light) is exposed to light, it can affect melatonin production. this can also affect health negatively in a number of other ways, but thats a whole other discussion. long story short, if you are doing other things to work on curing your insomnia, this will be helpful too. i know it sounds like a lot of work, but its really worth it.

it can also be helpful to try to reduce your exposure to artificial light after 9pm. either use fewer lights, or use candlelight in the hours leading up to your bedtime. this allows your body to receive the signal that it will be time for you to fall asleep soon. melatonin production should normally slowly start around 9pm, but this is often not the case for city folk who are exposed to light 24/7.

 

Can you suggest me a qigong form specific for insomnia ?

 

About darkness you're totally right: unfortunately here in germany shutters for the window don't exist. I have curtains but they aren't really effective: should I pack my windows with some cardboard ?

 

thx for the tips.

[immortal_sister]

Can you suggest me a qigong form specific for insomnia ?

 

About darkness you're totally right: unfortunately here in germany shutters for the window don't exist. I have curtains but they aren't really effective: should I pack my windows with some cardboard ?

 

thx for the tips.

 

i recently went to a seminar with a wonderful qigong teacher name liu he, from the ling gui healing qigong school out in oregon. their lineage teaches a form called sleeping buddha qigong http://www.linggui.o...iu-dongs-method sounds really wonderful and exactly what you are looking for. i know there are teachers certified to teach this form all across the US, but i don't know about germany. its worth doing a search online.

 

i also found this when i was searching for sleep qigong http://www.qigongchinesehealth.com/sleeping_qigong i don't know anything about this teacher, it just seemed interesting, thought i would pass on the link.

 

as for darkness in your room, yes get cardboard, or really thick fabric and cover up your windows completely. i know it sounds like a lot of work, but its really not that complicated. i bought thick black fabric that i doubled up and then nailed over my windows, over my blinds. it works really well. if you have light coming in from under your bedroom door or anything like that, either stuff the bottom of the door to block the light, or turn off lights in the rest of the house.

Edited February 28, 2010 by immortal_sister

[immortal_sister]

oh and by the way, the teacher i mentioned, her brother dr. liu dong lives in france, he practices chinese medicine in paris i believe. they created the ling gui healing qigong school together, from their family's lineage.

 

dr. liu dong must also teach qigong in europe, but there is not much information available about him online. might be worth looking into.

[markern]

Just regular meditative mindfulness of the thoughts that control this should help a lot in stopping them/making them more rational.

[soaring crane]

I don't know so much about my pulse... I'll try to more into it and let you know.

 

If don't have any special appointment next morning, everything's fine and I sleep very well - especially since I'm doing qigong.

So I don't think it's a diet problem.

 

Well, it's all connected. And the worry about the appointment in the morning sends the adrenals (not to keep harping on the one theme, but I've worked through something similar for my own self) into overdrive, and they keep you awake and alert, in survival mode. As far as they're concerned, the appointment may be with a cave bear. The saying, "all fear is the fear of death" applies here

 

See what your pulse does at that time and convince yourself that everything's ok, no need to worry. Talk to your kidneys, ask them to settle down.

 

And hey man, you live in Germany - start a good regimen of Johanniskraut and Baldrian (and of course, Hopfen ). Remember that they take a good 4-6 weeks to start working.

 

The most basic Qigong exercise I know of to aid sleep is "Beating the Heavenly Drum" - do you know how to do that? It's easy, fun, and effective. Actually, all movements that involve invigorating and cleansing the Wind Gate at the base of the skull could help you sleep.

 

- Hey, I just got back from my third Chansi Jin weekend with Frank Ranz, feeling incredibly light and pliable, and motivated to go look at that Daoist School in Berlin

 

 

[Mandrake]

buscon,

seems as if we are sitting in the same boat.

 

I was searching for solutions to this problem some weeks ago. I read some articles about the TCM approach and they recognize quite a few causes for insomnia. Just search for TCM and insomnia and/or check out:

http://www.tcmpage.com/hpinsomnia.html

 

Qigong, as mentioned is also on my list of to do's.

 

Wish you good luck, hope you'll get better!

 

Mandrake

[gendao]

Can you suggest me a qigong form specific for insomnia ?

 

About darkness you're totally right: unfortunately here in germany shutters for the window don't exist. I have curtains but they aren't really effective: should I pack my windows with some cardboard ?

You could also just wear an eyemask or sleep with a pillow over your eyes (like I do, hehe). The main thing is to block blue light from reaching your photoreceptors.

 

Here's some more interesting articles on it:

TCM For Insomnia

33 Secrets to a Good Night's Sleep

Scientists have found increased blood levels of stress hormones in people with chronic insomnia, suggesting that these individuals suffer from sustained, round-the-clock activation of the body's system for responding to stress.

 

For this reason, the researchers suggest, doctors who treat insomnia should go beyond improving the quality or quantity of their patients' sleep and seek to reduce this hyperarousal, which is a risk factor for both psychiatric and medical illness.

 

Investigators monitored the sleep of 11 patients with insomnia and 13 people without sleep disturbances (the "control" group). Blood was collected every 30 minutes for 24 hours, and levels of stress hormones -- adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and cortisol were monitored.

 

Average levels of both hormones were significantly higher in the insomniacs than in the control group.

 

They found that the insomniacs with the highest degree of sleep disturbance secreted the highest amount of cortisol, particularly in the evening and nighttime hours," Vgontzas said in a prepared statement. This means that insomniacs are experiencing hormonal changes in their bodies, which prevents them from sleeping.

Overall, sounds like a condition that could have a number of causes..

[immortal_sister]

You could also just wear an eyemask or sleep with a pillow over your eyes (like I do, hehe). The main thing is to block blue light from reaching your photoreceptors.

 

Here's some more interesting articles on it:

TCM For Insomnia

33 Secrets to a Good Night's SleepOverall, sounds like a condition that could have a number of causes..

 

yes, an eyemask or pillow can work, but make sure it covers your third eye.

[buscon]

Just regular meditative mindfulness of the thoughts that control this should help a lot in stopping them/making them more rational.

 

I meditate every day, it helped a lot: I feel like nearer to the source of the problem.

 

Well, it's all connected. And the worry about the appointment in the morning sends the adrenals (not to keep harping on the one theme, but I've worked through something similar for my own self) into overdrive, and they keep you awake and alert, in survival mode. As far as they're concerned, the appointment may be with a cave bear. The saying, "all fear is the fear of death" applies here

 

See what your pulse does at that time and convince yourself that everything's ok, no need to worry. Talk to your kidneys, ask them to settle down.

 

And hey man, you live in Germany - start a good regimen of Johanniskraut and Baldrian (and of course, Hopfen ). Remember that they take a good 4-6 weeks to start working.

 

The most basic Qigong exercise I know of to aid sleep is "Beating the Heavenly Drum" - do you know how to do that? It's easy, fun, and effective. Actually, all movements that involve invigorating and cleansing the Wind Gate at the base of the skull could help you sleep.

 

- Hey, I just got back from my third Chansi Jin weekend with Frank Ranz, feeling incredibly light and pliable, and motivated to go look at that Daoist School in Berlin

 

I monitored my pulse and yeah, of course there's some imbalance but not so much: I mean, some fast pulsing without feeling anxious, but it disappear in little time. Still I don't sleep, even if my pulse is normal.

Through qigong I've learned to calm myself, and it helped with insomnia.

 

Johanniskraut and Baldrian are helpful, I used them in the past, but lately I feel better not using any help like that. if I do that it makes my 'paranoia' about sleeping bigger, looking for a trick to fall asleep, and it gets worst with the time. Acupressure is effective too and doesn't create this looking-for-smt-to-sleep effect.

 

about the qigong form "Beating the Heavenly Drum", I didn't know it, I've found some info on the internet - do you have a good link/manual to suggest me ?

 

buscon,

seems as if we are sitting in the same boat.

 

I was searching for solutions to this problem some weeks ago. I read some articles about the TCM approach and they recognize quite a few causes for insomnia. Just search for TCM and insomnia and/or check out:

http://www.tcmpage.com/hpinsomnia.html

 

Qigong, as mentioned is also on my list of to do's.

 

Wish you good luck, hope you'll get better!

 

Mandrake

 

hi Mandrake, you know what I mean when I say insomnia...

Are you doing qigong everyday or are you planning to ?

It has been very helpful to me, so start as soon as you can!

 

Good luck too!

You could also just wear an eyemask or sleep with a pillow over your eyes (like I do, hehe). The main thing is to block blue light from reaching your photoreceptors.

 

Here's some more interesting articles on it:

TCM For Insomnia

33 Secrets to a Good Night's SleepOverall, sounds like a condition that could have a number of causes..

 

An eyemask is a great idea, I was looking for one today but didn't find it. I'll try again tomorrow or build one by myself

[markern]

Maybe the stress eraser can help. There is a thread about it here on page on or two. It seems to do some quite profound things that regular breathing practices or meditation takes a very long time to do.

[buscon]

Maybe the stress eraser can help. There is a thread about it here on page on or two. It seems to do some quite profound things that regular breathing practices or meditation takes a very long time to do.

 

yeah, sounds really good, but at the moment I haven't much money.

Anyway it's getting better: today I had to wake up early and I slept very well after a good meditation session

[soaring crane]