TueNighter Elisa is in need of some “serious unwinding after a hectic day” and has asked for your help! Along with meditation and sleep app recommendations, she’s seeking your top tips for finding inner Zen and catching those precious Zzzzs. Whether it's a chill playlist, a refreshing activity, or any other cool trick you've got up your sleeve, we're all ears!
Jun 12, 2023Liked by Margit Detweiler, Liz Thompson
I’ve started doing Yoga with Adriene on YouTube a couple of nights a week. She has episodes from 10 minutes to 30 minutes, so you can find lengths and foci that you like. I always feel so much better and ready to rest after I do them
Jun 12, 2023Liked by Margit Detweiler, Liz Thompson
I find journalling very helpful either pre or post meditation. Just getting everything out of my head before sleep, it's amazing what comes out as I get into the flow of writing, sometimes a few lines, sometimes a few pages.
Jun 12, 2023Liked by Margit Detweiler, Liz Thompson
I have been using the Headspace app for years now, and I love it. There are different meditations, sleep music, and even sleep stories that work like magic.
I guess it depends on what works for your brain, but I have been lulled to sleep for years with the Classic Tales Podcast--he reads stories from the public domain and his voice is so soothing! The spiral-bound book Yoga in Bed features gentle illustrated stretches, perfect for a quiet practice in the morning or at night. And when my monkey brain is way, way too active, I listen to music by Liquid Mind (Chuck Wild). Instant Zen!
I use Dateline. I go to its channel on Peacock, set my TV timer. I'm typically asleep by the time I put the remote on the nightstand. If not, it's usually a show I know, so I can "watch" it with my eyes closed. xo
I use the Ten Percent Happier app nearly every night. They have a lot of guided sleep meditations from meditation teachers with nice voices. They sound like real, kind people (they are) instead of robots. Pleasant, calming voices are essential for me.
I had a period where I suffered from restless leg syndrome when I went to bed. Cutting out gluten fixed that problem so just mentioning it as diet can impact sleep.
Next discovered I held a lot of tension in my quads so started to do a quad stretch while laying in bed. For a while that would put me out 30 seconds after I stretched. Fascinating to learn how tension in the body affects sleep. That trick isn’t as effective anymore but I still use it from time to time.
Lately I’ve been using the yoga nidra for sleep meditation on Insight Timer others have mentioned. It’s by Jennifer Piercy. I don’t know what magic is in that audio but no matter how restless I am I rarely stay awake to the end of that recording. It’s magic.
I share all this to say I find sleep challenges require curiosity and experimentation. It’s an opportunity to learn a lot about yourself.
I don’t do it much anymore but I used to have serious sleeping problems. One of my issues was a brain full of thoughts so I taught myself a technique...it’s morbid but here goes: lie on your back and pretend....you’re in a coma. You can’t move. But someone is sitting next to you holding your hand, concentrate on that. Next, maybe they say some things, casual at first but soon it might be more important....back to the hand, do you feel it? Now they’re talking about you, all nice, affirmative things of course. HAND. Soon you will start to drift off dreaming of affirmations and love...into a sleep coma.
I have chronic sleep issues but some things have worked well!
tried Insight Timer but mostly was overwhelmed. Though, like Kai above, Jennifer Piercey’s Yoga Nidra was a go-to for me. As was a yoga nidra but in Portuguese! Turned out that not understanding the language helped my brain let go while following the general intonation and mellowness.
I’ve had success with a story podcast where a guy tells a story in a soothing voice, but it doesn’t go anywhere? His delivery is engaging enough but the content not so.
Mostly I’ve used Sleep Cycle. Some of the narratives have worked really well (there was one I never ever got through, I was always asleep before the end), and I also have a few fave soundscapes on there that like. It became my staple because it has a slow wake alarm and honestly that was a game changer for waking up better.
I also play a puzzle on my phone that is simply connecting colored dots. Doing that paired with a Sleep Cycle soundscape gives my brain something to do without getting it riled up. It’s like I’m funneling the mental energy in an opposite direction from my physical energy until the gap is so wide I fall in (and asleep).
I’ve started doing Yoga with Adriene on YouTube a couple of nights a week. She has episodes from 10 minutes to 30 minutes, so you can find lengths and foci that you like. I always feel so much better and ready to rest after I do them
I find journalling very helpful either pre or post meditation. Just getting everything out of my head before sleep, it's amazing what comes out as I get into the flow of writing, sometimes a few lines, sometimes a few pages.
I have been using the Headspace app for years now, and I love it. There are different meditations, sleep music, and even sleep stories that work like magic.
I use Insight Timer. It is a free app with many options for meditation.
I guess it depends on what works for your brain, but I have been lulled to sleep for years with the Classic Tales Podcast--he reads stories from the public domain and his voice is so soothing! The spiral-bound book Yoga in Bed features gentle illustrated stretches, perfect for a quiet practice in the morning or at night. And when my monkey brain is way, way too active, I listen to music by Liquid Mind (Chuck Wild). Instant Zen!
I like the Calm app - there are a variety of sleep stories and soundscapes. It also has meditations but I haven't used those.
Sleep Wave. Starts off interesting and gets increasingly more boring. Puts my nine year old to sleep in 10 min:)
I use Dateline. I go to its channel on Peacock, set my TV timer. I'm typically asleep by the time I put the remote on the nightstand. If not, it's usually a show I know, so I can "watch" it with my eyes closed. xo
I use the Ten Percent Happier app nearly every night. They have a lot of guided sleep meditations from meditation teachers with nice voices. They sound like real, kind people (they are) instead of robots. Pleasant, calming voices are essential for me.
I had a period where I suffered from restless leg syndrome when I went to bed. Cutting out gluten fixed that problem so just mentioning it as diet can impact sleep.
Next discovered I held a lot of tension in my quads so started to do a quad stretch while laying in bed. For a while that would put me out 30 seconds after I stretched. Fascinating to learn how tension in the body affects sleep. That trick isn’t as effective anymore but I still use it from time to time.
Lately I’ve been using the yoga nidra for sleep meditation on Insight Timer others have mentioned. It’s by Jennifer Piercy. I don’t know what magic is in that audio but no matter how restless I am I rarely stay awake to the end of that recording. It’s magic.
I share all this to say I find sleep challenges require curiosity and experimentation. It’s an opportunity to learn a lot about yourself.
I don’t do it much anymore but I used to have serious sleeping problems. One of my issues was a brain full of thoughts so I taught myself a technique...it’s morbid but here goes: lie on your back and pretend....you’re in a coma. You can’t move. But someone is sitting next to you holding your hand, concentrate on that. Next, maybe they say some things, casual at first but soon it might be more important....back to the hand, do you feel it? Now they’re talking about you, all nice, affirmative things of course. HAND. Soon you will start to drift off dreaming of affirmations and love...into a sleep coma.
I have chronic sleep issues but some things have worked well!
tried Insight Timer but mostly was overwhelmed. Though, like Kai above, Jennifer Piercey’s Yoga Nidra was a go-to for me. As was a yoga nidra but in Portuguese! Turned out that not understanding the language helped my brain let go while following the general intonation and mellowness.
I’ve had success with a story podcast where a guy tells a story in a soothing voice, but it doesn’t go anywhere? His delivery is engaging enough but the content not so.
Mostly I’ve used Sleep Cycle. Some of the narratives have worked really well (there was one I never ever got through, I was always asleep before the end), and I also have a few fave soundscapes on there that like. It became my staple because it has a slow wake alarm and honestly that was a game changer for waking up better.
I also play a puzzle on my phone that is simply connecting colored dots. Doing that paired with a Sleep Cycle soundscape gives my brain something to do without getting it riled up. It’s like I’m funneling the mental energy in an opposite direction from my physical energy until the gap is so wide I fall in (and asleep).