Home > Insomnia > Internal Sleep Disturbance

Insomnia, in most cases, is more of a psychological phenomena than anything else. That's because the #1 cause of sleep disorder is not external or environmental disturbance, but rather internal disturbance. Worry, anxiety, anger, frustration, tension, apprehension, stress, and most other emotional adversity stimulates mental and physiological activity in a way that severely interferes with the relaxation required to fall asleep.

Sleep disturbing emotions are most frequently based on stress, worry, or anxiety thoughts, and related internal dialog. The problem is that when we focus on such thoughts, stress hormones like adrenaline are produced. Adrenaline secretion, commonly associated with the fight or flight response, is a survival mechanism that heightens physiological processes in the face of danger. This is a natural instinct and served our prehistoric ancestors very well to get ready to fight or flee when threatened by attack. And today we still benefit from this reaction in physically dangerous situations. But in modern times we have a much greater diversity of worries and concerns occupying our minds. Unfortunately, our brain misinterprets many of these and releases stress hormones, often when not really of practical use. Among other things, adrenaline causes your heart rate to increase and muscles to tense, creating a heightened state of awareness in which it’s very difficult to fall asleep. Moreover, unlike physical danger which usually passes in a relatively short time, worries, stress, and anxiety stick in our minds for extended periods, with the restless adrenaline effect feeling especially magnified while lying in bed.

If you pay attention to the process of falling asleep, you’ll notice that the point of transition between wakefulness and sleep is characterized by a cessation of thought and a resulting relaxation - a letting go of emotional stress, and spiraling into unconsciousness. Learning to intentionally subdue our perpetual internal dialog is a powerful key to that doorway of relaxation, and a crucial step to overcoming insomnia, as it is that internal dialog that is causing restless emotions. Subduing thoughts, being able to calm and still your mind is the major secret to sleeping well.

There are various ways to achieve this goal. If you’ve had long term sleep problems, chances are that you’ve developed a HABIT of dwelling on sleep disturbing thoughts, and we'll work on that in just a moment. However, if you’ve just started having trouble, take a look at the conditions in your life that are currently causing stress. The mental exercises that we'll perform will definitely help, but taking action to get your issues under control is obviously a good idea as well. For example, if you’re having problems at work, learning how to cope internally will be beneficial, but taking constructive action to improve the work situation might be the real long term answer.

Now for the rest of us. The perpetual thinkers. Dwelling on all the things we have to do, how we’re going to cope - so accustomed to worry, anxiety, nervousness, stress, frustration, or other feelings that we accept them as nothing unusual. Well, they're definitely not anything unusual in our culture, but they're also not necessary to hold in our minds all of the time, especially when we’re trying to get some sleep. They serve absolutely no constructive purpose at that time.

So how do we reverse the patterns of worry, stress, anxiety and other mental habits that cause restlessness at night? For starters, I suggest using the exercises from Part 1 during your day and about hour before going to sleep in order to get comfortable with your overall body energies and settle your mind. Observe and reflect to your body energies until you feel that you're able to tolerate and even be comfortable with their presence. Not only does this have the therapeutic effect of reducing emotional overwhelm, but such tolerance also makes us insomniacs much less likely to worry about and stay awake at night thinking about whatever it is that's causing us to feel that way.

Do you sometimes wake up in the middle of the night with your heart pounding, your mind racing with thoughts? When this happens, even if you don't know what the cause is, apply your Part 1 skills to the sensations. Put your awareness on that restless feeling and mentally be with it, know that you can handle it as you observe it. Do this for as long as you need. There may even be an underlying fear that you won't be able to get rid of the restlessness. If that's the case, then be with that fear sensation - make that energy the target of your observation. Remember that your goal is not to dissolve the adverse emotions, but in bringing your conscious awareness to inner energy, you’ll notice anxiety, stress, anger, frustration, and other adverse emotions becoming less serious, less overwhelming. The more you practice doing this, the greater the benefits become.

GENERATING THE ENERGIES OF RESTFUL SLEEP

Next, before you go to sleep or even as you're lying in bed, try self-generating the feelings of well-being that you were introduced to in the audio program. Find the energy that you'd expect to feel if all those things that you might be worrying about had already resolved themselves - know and feel that everything will be okay. Let any other thoughts just float away. If there's something extremely important that you need to attend to or want to write down so that you'll remember in the morning, go ahead and do that; But then remind yourself that the most important thing for you to do while you're in bed is to get some good rest. And practice letting go of any other thoughts - just keep your mind focused on generating feelings of well-being with a knowing that everything in your world is now going your way - that anything you could possibly worry about is going to work out fine. Feel yourself as a magnet of good luck and good fortune, radiating with optimism. Financial issues, relationship issues, they're all just working themselves out. You know that the universe will take care of all your needs, and will never give you more than you can handle.

Remember that the feeling, not the thought, is what matters. Generate the feeling of well-being, and let any thoughts just float away as you immerse your awareness in the expansion of that energy within you. Please take a few moments to try this now.

If you’re a long time insomniac, just the thought of getting in bed can create feelings of dread about another sleepless night. But try performing the above exercises for the next few nights and see what happens. Don't be surprised if you start falling asleep within minutes of getting in bed. Once your mind learns to associate your new feelings of well-being with lying in bed, you'll find this approach much more effective that any sleeping pill you could ever imagine. I'm speaking from experience.

This self-generating of emotional energy is probably new to you, and may seem a bit awkward at first. But it's a very powerful skill that gets easier with practice. Since internal dialog or just about any type of thought interferes with sleep, learning to self generate energies - free of thought - is great practice for getting yourself into a sleep-conducive mindset and body energy.

OTHER SLEEP ENERGIES

You can also try generating other positive energies that might be associated with restful sleep. Joy, appreciation, passion, contentment, gratitude, relief, hopefulness, anything that creates positive expectation. Joy of things going right for you. Contentment that you've become a peaceful sleeper; appreciation of your new ability to fall asleep quickly; gratitude for your ability to sleep well.

For practice now, try for a moment to self-generate the emotion of joy in your body, without the interference of thought or internal dialog. If you have any trouble, think of a past experience that made you feel joyful, and feel the energy of it. Then continue mentally willing and expanding that feeling of joy within yourself.

Then, transfer that feeling of joy onto the fact that you are now attaining quick, deep, and restful sleep every night. Hold an inner knowing that you’re going to get a wonderful sleep, while continuing to will the energy. In effect, you're converting the energy of past joy into joy about the fact that you're now sleeping great.

Once your mind is trained to expect and know that you’ll be sleeping well, actual sleep comes much easier. Genuinely know that you're going to sleep well, and you will. Remember to immerse your focus on the expansion of the energy about your great sleep, and just let any other thoughts that come into your mind float away.

Ultimately your goal is to be producing more constructive feelings all the time - not just when lying in bed, but also during the day. The real secret to achieving deep restful sleep at night is to find deep satisfaction and appreciation in every moment of your day. So whenever you notice anxiety or negative emotions arising, take a moment to correct the underlying thought causing it and make an effort to self-generate an improved energy. Try to appreciate things in life, no matter how small; generate the energy of appreciation as often as possible, even if only for a few seconds at a time. You might try generating the energies of joy and positive expectation about things to come. This will help get your focus off of worry about the future, and prevent anxiety from arising.

In looking for positive energies to generate, remember that "positive" simply means that it makes you feel better in any way, and for our purposes, sleep better in any way. Even if it makes you feel just a little bit more relaxed or more content, then it's positive. Think of what you'd want your best, most trusted, most supportive friend to say to you and how that would make you feel. Then self-generate that feeling for yourself. We love when a trusted friend tells us that everything is going to be okay, that everything is going to work out fine. Well, the truth is that it is. So tell this to yourself - and then generate that secure feeling for yourself.

This energy shift may be difficult at first. Negative thinking and energy expansion is a habitual behavior that takes some time to reverse. But as you put more and more effort into generating positive energies, even if for just a few seconds at a time, the practice will eventually become second nature.

MORE SLEEP TIPS

1] Before doing your mental exercises, take a few minutes to write down all the things you need to do afterwards, things you might think about while doing the exercise that you’d worry about forgetting. Likewise, if you tend to wake up at night remembering and worrying about things that you have to do, get in the habit of writing such a list at night before you go to bed - and then put it aside until morning.

2] If you tend to become frustrated when you can't fall asleep, realize that pushing the process only creates stress energies that increase your heart rate and interfere with rest. Let those feelings be there if they come, observe and accept them the way we discussed, but then gently move your awareness back to generating well-being or other positive energies. If you can instead slow your thought processes and let your mind float while generating such energies, you'll already be giving your mind and body a wonderful rest - even if you don't fall asleep all night. So you can release your attachment to the need for sleep, and let it come or not - know that you'll be fine either way. Ironically, this mindset will probably result in the same worry-free non-attachment to sleep that allows children to drift into dream state so easily.

3] Some people ask whether it’s a good idea to read or get up when they can’t sleep. In general, my answer is no. The reason you’re trying to sleep is because you want to rest your mind and body. Even if you happen to get no sleep at all, when practicing the methods you’re learning now, you'll still be re-energizing your body and renewing your mind even if you lie awake all night doing it. In learning this process, you’ve eliminated the need to worry about loss of sleep. So don't try to force yourself to sleep. Such mental strain only interferes with the process. Be like a child, not worrying whether you’ll fall asleep or not. Adopt an attitude of acceptance and contentment with whatever happens, and just let it come. Know that your body is an amazingly strong system and you’ll still be able to function fine even if you receive less sleep than you’d like - especially now that you have this energy awareness exercise to perform while in bed. Ironically, it’s exactly such letting go and non-resistance that will invite the sleep you desire.

4] Even if you have trouble practicing these methods every night, at the very least work on emptying your mind of thoughts and concerns while you're in bed, and just let your mind drift freely. Practice valuing the importance of sleep and make a conscious decision that while in bed you'll not consider any non-emergency thoughts as important enough to disturb the time you've reserved for resting your mind.

CONSCIOUS DREAMING

The final mental exercise I’d like to speak about is one I call "Conscious Dreaming". Next time you’re having trouble sleeping, after you’ve stilled your mind using the energy awareness and energy generating techniques, try simply relaxing and visualizing yourself in a fairy tale like dream, in your minds eye. Personally, and this may sound corny, but I start by imagining myself flying through the clouds with my soulmate, looking down on a castle in the mountains, walking along a magical river, and so on. Think of the most comforting and relaxing images you can conjure up and let yourself effortlessly float into them, kind of like a child's imagination drifts away from distractions and into sleep while being told a bedtime story. This conscious dream creation is a very soothing method of getting your mind off of internal dialog, and inducing sleep. Imagine all your senses immersed in the dream. Colors, sounds, smells, and feelings. Rather than flying through the clouds, your ideal may be sitting on a warm beach, walking through a flower field with your children, strolling hand in hand with a loved one, et cetera.

You don’t need to try hard to visualize the images, just let them float effortlessly through your carefree, thought-free mind. Like a free-flowing slideshow. Rather than putting effort into creating the images, just observe them as they self-generate in your mind. Once again, being in this free-flowing mental state creates the internal environment for renewal and rejuvenation to take place even without actual sleep. However, if done properly your conscious dreaming will probably make the transition into unconscious dreaming within a relatively short time. Just let it come.
 

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