Trouble Sleeping? Try Meditation

Trouble Sleeping? Try Meditation – Many American adults have trouble falling and then staying asleep. But the results of a clinical trial, published in the journal, JAMA Internal Medicine, show that mindfulness meditation might help.

The trial recruited 50 adults with moderate sleep problems and assigned them to two programs. One program taught the adults to establish a good sleep ritual, such as going to bed at the same time every day, and avoiding caffeine and alcohol before bed time. The other program taught the participants mindfulness meditation – being aware of thoughts and feelings that go through the mind without judgment.

At the end of the trial period of one year, participants who went through the mindful meditation program under the guidance of a teacher, experienced greater improvements in sleep quality and reduction in insomnia, fatigue, and depression.

According to the lead study author, David S. Black, meditation can calm the brain’s arousal systems and is a safe and healthy way to fall asleep, when compared to sleep medication that’s used in mainstream medicine. Prescription sleeping pills can have severe side effects. Potential side-effects of these sleep drugs could include dizziness, gastrointestinal problems like diarrhea and nausea, severe allergic reaction, prolonged drowsiness, sleep-driving, and memory problems.

Black recommends going through a formal course in mindful meditation as the best approach to dealing with insomnia.

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