Sunrise and sunset are Laws of Nature, as are sleep and wakefulness. The ancients placed great importance on the study of sleep phenomena, believing that sleep related closely to the growth and repair of the human body, and that it prolonged life. However, the fast pace of modern society often means that people sacrifice sleep. For many people, getting good-quality sleep on a regular basis is a difficult task. Sleep disorders have become a root cause of many diseases. Read on to find out how to overcome insomnia and get the rest your mind and body need.
Insomnia
The National Sleep Foundation recommends that adults get seven to nine hours of sleep every night, but nearly 75 percent of the American adults surveyed admitted that they had suffered from insomnia in the past year, and more than 23 percent suffered from chronic insomnia (“Insomnia and the Performance of US Workers: Results From the America Insomnia Survey,” 2011).
If you have frequently experienced difficulty sleeping at night and have struggled to wake up in the morning for a month, then you are suffering from insomnia. The main cause of insomnia is psychological stress. Sudden changes in family life, interpersonal stress, and career or academic pressure can all trigger insomnia. The condition usually disappears with the easing of stressful events but can turn into chronic insomnia or other psychiatric disorders, such as anxiety or depression, if the stressful situation is not resolved for a long period of time. Other chronic conditions, such as pain, heart failure and chronic lung disease may also affect sleep quality over the long term.
People experiencing insomnia typically lack energy and suffer depression. When this sleep disorder persists, it can lead to deadly diseases, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer. Also, depression is closely associated with insomnia. Based on the “Tucson Epidemiological Study of Airway Obstructive Disease” (1972), the mortality rate of patients suffering from insomnia over six years is 58 percent higher than that of people who don’t experience insomnia. Also, in an article published by Ronald Kessler from Harvard Medical School, workplace errors caused by insomnia cost U.S. companies at least 63.2 billion dollars a year (2011).
New Ways to Overcome Insomnia
Treating insomnia with medications comes with side effects and health concerns. A progressive type of treatment that features the essence of Buddhist meditation as the core while drawing lessons from Western psychology has shown great success in the treatment of insomnia. Mindfulness meditation therapy is recognized by the medical community as a powerful means of promoting healthy sleep patterns.
Meditation can promote the transformation and wellbeing of people’s bodies and minds, and the achievement of spiritual enlightenment. For alleviating mental stress, meditation has a unique effect. Modern psychologists believe that people do not like to accept “impermanence” and are obsessed with obtaining specific results. When things go against their wishes, stress and negative emotions arise (“Mindfulness in Medicine,” Ludwig and Kabat-Zinn, 2008). Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, the founder of “Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction” (MBSR), believes that the concept of Zen should guide people to “focus on the present” and “accept reality [impermanence]” instead of judging and avoiding negative thoughts. Looking at and paying attention to one’s own problems with a curious and compassionate attitude helps people gradually recover from negative emotions and pressure. (“Mindful Sleep,” Dr. John Cline, 2014.) So, can this method of consciousness training cure insomnia?
Fix the Brain and Improve Sleep Quality
Insomnia sufferers face a common challenge: The greater the urge to fall asleep, the harder it is to do so. We may categorize sleeping and eating as instinctive human behaviors, but unlike eating and other behaviors, sleeping is not controlled by the subjective will of the person, but by the nervous system automatically adjusting to sleep mode. Through neuroimaging and brain scans, scientists studied patients with chronic insomnia and found that some areas (left orbitofrontal cortex, anterior and posterior cuneiform cortex, and gray matter of hippocampus) were significantly reduced in volume compared with normal sleepers due to lack of sleep. And mental stress increases with insomnia, causing the brain cells in these areas to overwork (“Chronic Insomnia and MRI-Measured Hippocampal Volumes: A Pilot Study,” Riemann, Voderholzer, Spiegelhalder, et al., 2007), resulting in damage to the nervous system and an inability to automatically adjust to sleep mode.
With that said, can consciousness training repair the damaged parts of the brain? Studies have found that changes in our consciousness and thinking trigger changes in the brain. For example, when people consciously practice gratitude, they are more likely to get higher levels of the neurotransmitter flow associated with feedback (a specific chemical that acts as a “messenger” in the nervous, muscular and sensory systems, helping to deliver specific chemical matters). People who practice meditation regularly have measurable thickness in some key areas of their brains. For example, the “insula” is one such area; it is associated with “intrasensory effect,” regulating the state of the body and deep sensations and thus allowing the practitioner to stay in a state of high awareness. Another key area is the prefrontal cortex, which controls attention and emotional regulation. This is the part where the deep focus of meditation strengthens its neuronal base. Also, a study conducted by Dr. Rick Hanson in 2012 showed that meditation practices may slow down the loss of brain cells. When the researchers compared images of the brains of practitioners and nonpractitioners for the “age” and “thickness,” as well as the somatosensory cortex of the brain, signs of shrinkage were discovered in those of the nonpractitioners.
The most valuable aspect of these studies is that they help us to recognize self-regulation and the plasticity of our brain. Therefore, with proper meditation training, we can repair and reshape the brain, and a well-developed mind will help change everything, including emotions, stress control and insomnia.
Meditation therapy has been integrated into a number of specific treatments for insomnia, supplemented by behavior modification and medication. For example, the meditation and sleep therapy designed by the University of Massachusetts Medical School was tested by 102 insomnia sufferers: 58 percent of them showed significant improvement, and 91 percent said that their dosage of medication (sleeping pills) had been reduced by more than half, or they had completely gotten rid of the dependence on medication. After six months, 60 percent of them said that the therapy was continually effective. A similar study was conducted at the University of Minnesota Health Research Center. Patients treated with meditation therapy for chronic insomnia fell asleep faster and deeper without any adverse effects compared with patients in the control group who took sleeping pills. (“Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Versus Pharmacotherapy for Chronic Primary Insomnia: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial,” Gross, Kreitzer, Reilly-Spong, et al., 2011)
Freedom From Insomnia
A Bodhi Meditation practitioner, An Hwan from Busan, South Korea, shared her experience of healing insomnia. After the sudden death of her loved one, she was unable to sleep deeply for more than two decades. Although her body seemed to be resting, her brain was still actively thinking. This chronic “false sleep” state meant she was exhausted during the day. Insomnia contributed to several health issues affecting her liver and thyroid. The side effects of the drugs prescribed by her doctor eventually worsened her condition and she had to stop taking them. In 2012, she participated in the Health & Happiness Retreat at Bodhi Meditation Center in Busan, South Korea. Through regular practice of The Meditation of Greater Illumination (GI), she found that the “false sleep” condition improved and she could fall asleep faster. She could sleep soundly for at least one or two hours a day. With further practice, her condition continued to improve.
Wanghui Chen from Malaysia had been suffering from insomnia for three years. He could only sleep for three hours a night and his sleep quality was poor. He needed two to three hours to fall asleep and was easily awakened. He suffered daily headaches, listlessness and brain fog. In November 2013, he attended the 8.5-Day Health & Happiness Retreat. After completing the first day’s practices, he fell asleep quickly that night and slept soundly for seven hours. In less than seven days, he was able to put his sleeping pills away. Now he wakes up every day feeling refreshed and remains energized even if he forgoes an afternoon nap.
Studies have found that the repair speed of meditation for brain nerves is closely related to the meditation time. (“Mindfulness Meditation and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia: A Naturalistic 12-Month Follow-up,” Ong, Shapiro, Manber, 2009) Therefore, long-term regular meditation practices or intensive meditation training can strengthen and accelerate this process.
In addition, it is crucial to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Generally, the length of sleep should be kept within seven to nine hours, it’s important to be asleep during the hours of 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. The best time to get up is around 4 a.m. to 5 a.m.
Being aware of and actively responding to natural signals from the body can gradually help people return to a state of self-regulation. Believe and listen to your body. As the mind calms and relaxes, sleep will happen naturally. May a good night’s sleep bring you a day full of energy.
