A bedtime story for 2a.m. insomnia.

About one in four of us develop a serious sleep issue every year. With the new studies on how sleep impacts everything from our immune systems to brain health, it’s no wonder people look for solutions.  Waking up at 2 a.m. in the morning night after night can feel overwhelming. What can a frustrated non-sleeper do after counting 1,000,000 sheep?

The enemy of sleep? Worry. 

I will never forget a gentleman from years ago who was making a delivery to my newly opened, hospital-based integrative medicine clinic.  He was not a delivery person but the owner of a company that was having some delivery delays. I could tell that he had a lot on his mind as he asked what my unique holistic department offered.  With tired eyes and a fatigued voice, he stated that he was very traditional and had never tried massage, acupuncture, yoga or anything like that. Clearly, my services would normally be at the bottom of his list. But he asked if I had any suggestions for his chronic insomnia because he was at the end of his rope with lack of sleep. 

I offered him a cup of tea and we sat down for a few minutes to chat. He proceeded to tell me that he would fall asleep easily because he was so exhausted but then at 2 o’clock in the morning he would wake up and couldn’t fall back to sleep.  I asked him what he was thinking about when he woke up. He quickly gave a long list: “I’m worried about my business, my employees, my health because I’m not sleeping, my son, my long hours away from home.” “Wow, that must be really hard for you,” I responded.

 Unplugging the stress response.

Then, I shared the body/mind connection concept. I explained that he was able to fall asleep because his body was in a relaxation response and his mind was quiet. Unfortunately, when he woke up at 2 a.m., his busy chattering monkey mind told his body to be in an alert state…a stress response.

We know in medicine that when the body is in the sympathetic nervous system or stress response we cannot sleep.  This physiological explanation made a lot of sense to him. So, I told him about Guided Imagery. This is a very simple practice where someone’s soft voice on a recording helps to quiet the chattering monkey mind so that the body can move into deep relaxation. I had just developed an insomnia guided imagery recording for the Sleep Clinic, so I gave him the cd to try.  (This was before the use of digital downloads!) I told him to listen to it at night as he got into bed and then to replay if he woke up in the middle of the night.

One powerful listening tool.

I was so delighted the next morning when he called to say, with an energetic voice, that he had slept through the entire night after listening to the guided imagery only one time.  He didn’t even have to turn it back on in the middle of the night.  I’m always amazed at the power of the quieted mind to orchestrate the wisdom of the body.  Our bodies are amazing and know what to do when given the permission, in this case to sleep. 

Goodnight moon. Once and for all.

We kept in touch for several years. This gentleman also purchased many guided imagery recordings for friends and family because of his enthusiasm for this simple and successful modality.  For about the first month, he listened to the recording every night. Once in a while, he needed to listen again in the middle of the night, but he told me over the years that he only needed to pull it out periodically for a tune-up!

There is a growing body of research evidence that supports mind-quieting techniques like meditation and guided imagery for sleepless nights. I hope stories like this one encourage people to reach out for less traditional ideas that go beyond over-the-counter insomnia options.

Goodnight stars….Goodnight air…Goodnight noises everywhere!