Sleepless? Part 1

My patient said, "Doc, I'm having trouble sleeping."

I almost always begin with saying, "First of all, it is true, insomnia may improve if we adopt sleep hygiene strategies."  i.e., practices that help the mind be ready for sleep such as:

• Do the same things every night before bed. Develop a routine. 
• Don't exercise too late in the day.
• Keep the computer off in the late evening.  
• Less stimulation aids relaxation. 
• Keep the room completely dark. Things like that.
• For more see this link: http://bit.ly/1gcjxI3

I've found that people with insomnia are quite often aware of these ideas.  Maybe they are up at night surfing the web, looking for help.  

 

So I'm not surprised when my patients seem unimpressed by sleep hygiene.  I get the feeling that folks want more than tips and techniques when they feel exasperated, and discouraged about the fact that everybody else in the world is probably sleeping fine while they are lying there awake.  It's a lonely feeling. 

And patients don't always want medications for sleep because they feel they will be taking them forever once they start.  The conversation often goes toward how to revoke the power of worrying.  What if people could tap into some sort of Peace, some sort of being Okay, maybe even because of their faith that God is near.  

 

Lord's Prayer Breathing

Lord's Prayer breathing ... for the body and the soul

First How:

This is easy, and below I explain why and when to use this invaluable expression of our knowing that we need more of God.

As you detect tension, stress, pressure or any other fear-laden symptom, pause.

Take only a quick inhale and on the exhale begin speaking the Lord's prayer:
Take three inhales for the entire prayer on the words,

"Our Father ..."
"Give us..."
and "Lead us..."

Prolonging the exhale as you speak the endings to each of the sections is the exact reason that this helps us physically.

Repeating four Lord's prayers this way takes one minute.  That gives us 12 breaths a minute.  Perhaps the optimal normal rate for adults.

Because I've practiced this for many years, I find I am getting just a bit closer to praying without ceasing.  And you can too.


And now Why do this  : (taken from an earlier post on this blog)