How yoga, meditation, and an app each helped me catch some ZZZs.
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| Courtesy of Perri O. Blumberg |
Like many people, I struggle with falling asleep and getting enough rest each night. With all the background noise in modern times, it’s no surprise that roughly one in three American adults don’t get enough shut-eye. There's my inbox, nagging me to finally attend to my 38,113 and counting unread emails. Then, those did I pack lunch/call the dentist/renew my library books? moments join in on the fun. And shoot, did I double-book coffee dates Thursday?
[post_ads]Luckily, we're in 2017, when there are smart pillows designed to deliver the sleep of your dreams, a literal app for counting sheep, but also a huge focus on wellness and all things "natural." I decided to test out technological and "alternative" tactics for getting better sleep. Hippie teas? Herbal concoctions? Tart cherry juice? Where’s a gal to start?
Ultimately, I settled on three straightforward and readily accessible methods: Apple’s Bedtime Alarm, yoga, and meditation. After trying each strategy for a week straight, followed by spending the past two weeks “going rogue” with whichever combination of methods I desired, I may not have my summer camp bunkmate's magical ability to sleep through a volcanic eruption, but I'm much closer to bedtime Zen. Here's what I learned during my experiment.
1.
I have no excuse not to use Apple's Bedtime Alarm.
For one thing, it doesn't even require downloading anything special—it’s simply a tab in the “clock” app of my iPhone. In the app, the “bedtime icon” presents a fun spinning wheel that sets how many hours of slumber you’re aiming for. It also lets you pick how long before bedtime you want a reminder to hit the hay, select a soothing wake-up sound, and choose the days of the week you want to maintain this sleep routine. Click “more history” and you get taken to Apple’s Health App, where your data is securely stored and you can view your weekly sleep analysis.
This simple bedtime tool helped me visualize the number of hours I wanted to slate for sleep, and track how consistent my sleep habits were. Yes, it’s beyond easy (setup took me all of seven seconds), but committing to a bedtime is important. In the same way that we set an alarm for our wake-up time everyday, so too should we be doing the same every night to get into bed. And considering how low-effort the process is, mentally telling myself that this was my “routine” for the week made a big difference.
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Sure, I didn’t drift off each night at my desired 11:25 P.M. bedtime, but having a pleasant-sounding chime play each evening 30 minutes before helped me shift from "sit on the couch and watch Schitt’s Creek" mode to brushing my teeth, changing into PJs, and grabbing a book.
For one thing, it doesn't even require downloading anything special—it’s simply a tab in the “clock” app of my iPhone. In the app, the “bedtime icon” presents a fun spinning wheel that sets how many hours of slumber you’re aiming for. It also lets you pick how long before bedtime you want a reminder to hit the hay, select a soothing wake-up sound, and choose the days of the week you want to maintain this sleep routine. Click “more history” and you get taken to Apple’s Health App, where your data is securely stored and you can view your weekly sleep analysis.
This simple bedtime tool helped me visualize the number of hours I wanted to slate for sleep, and track how consistent my sleep habits were. Yes, it’s beyond easy (setup took me all of seven seconds), but committing to a bedtime is important. In the same way that we set an alarm for our wake-up time everyday, so too should we be doing the same every night to get into bed. And considering how low-effort the process is, mentally telling myself that this was my “routine” for the week made a big difference.
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Sure, I didn’t drift off each night at my desired 11:25 P.M. bedtime, but having a pleasant-sounding chime play each evening 30 minutes before helped me shift from "sit on the couch and watch Schitt’s Creek" mode to brushing my teeth, changing into PJs, and grabbing a book.
2.
Even five minutes of nighttime yoga made a major difference in my sleep.
The idea of Downward Dogging my way into dreamland stressed me out. My week of bedtime yoga intimidated me more than my other two bedtime M.O.s. I love yoga, but I typically practice Bikram, where the heat is really the only thing that shuts my brain down. I worried that yoga before bed might rev me up somehow, but it was the exact opposite. Better yet, I didn't need to carve out time for a 30- or 45-minute routine to see a dramatic difference. I didn't need to buy any fancy programs, either.
Instead, I opted for the free and fabulous YouTube channel, Yoga with Adriene. I tried everything in her wind-down offerings ranging from seven to 20 minutes. I could wear pajamas (read: no sports bra), and the simple sequences really helped to calm my mind and settle into bedtime. The 20-minute videos were great, and certainly helped quiet my chattering brain into a state of deep relaxation, but all it really took was a few minutes of deep stretching and breathing exercises to help me feel ready to sleep.
And on nights when I did bedtime yoga, I found myself achieving a better quality of sleep, feeling more rested in the morning, and sleeping soundly throughout the night with no interruption. Sleep, is, after all, pretty much an extended Savasana pose.
The idea of Downward Dogging my way into dreamland stressed me out. My week of bedtime yoga intimidated me more than my other two bedtime M.O.s. I love yoga, but I typically practice Bikram, where the heat is really the only thing that shuts my brain down. I worried that yoga before bed might rev me up somehow, but it was the exact opposite. Better yet, I didn't need to carve out time for a 30- or 45-minute routine to see a dramatic difference. I didn't need to buy any fancy programs, either.
Instead, I opted for the free and fabulous YouTube channel, Yoga with Adriene. I tried everything in her wind-down offerings ranging from seven to 20 minutes. I could wear pajamas (read: no sports bra), and the simple sequences really helped to calm my mind and settle into bedtime. The 20-minute videos were great, and certainly helped quiet my chattering brain into a state of deep relaxation, but all it really took was a few minutes of deep stretching and breathing exercises to help me feel ready to sleep.
And on nights when I did bedtime yoga, I found myself achieving a better quality of sleep, feeling more rested in the morning, and sleeping soundly throughout the night with no interruption. Sleep, is, after all, pretty much an extended Savasana pose.
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| The author's bedtime yoga setup. Courtesy of Perri O. Blumberg |
3.
But in the end, nighttime meditation was the real game-changer
Ah, it had finally arrived! My last week of formal bedtime experimentation, and time to kick off my meditation “unit.” There are plenty of great apps on the market, like Headspace, which has guided tracks on everything from pregnancy to eating, but I settled on using Spotify. The streaming service's sleep-themed offerings are robust (“sleep” is even its own genre on the platform).
“Increasingly, listeners are leaning on Spotify’s Peaceful Piano playlist as a sleep aid. It has more than 2.5 million followers and provides seven hours of gentle piano-driven pieces that are subtle enough to help you relax and drift off,” Spotify’s trends expert, Shanon Cook, tells SELF. But instead of music, I was curious about the whole meditation thing, so I searched for “sleep meditation” and found a variety of offerings.
I went with a medium body scan guided meditation that clocked in at around 11 minutes (shorter and longer are also available). Body scans involve checking in with each part of yourself, from your head to your toes, while an instructor guides you through the process. The point is to think peaceful thoughts, thank each body part for its service throughout the day, and help yourself unwind.
The body scan was soothing—so soothing, in fact, that I fell asleep in the middle of my first one. The following nights, I stayed awake through the scan, which was a good thing because of how much it helped quiet my mind.
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On day five, the internet was down in my apartment. At first, I was annoyed and frustrated since I hadn’t saved the track to my offline playlists. But it taught me a valuable lesson: As I free-styled my own meditation, envisioning gold liquid coursing down my body, sending calming energy from the crown of my head to my toes, I realized that I knew the basic technique on my own. I can center my breath and calm myself even if the internet is down, or more helpfully, when I wake up in the middle of the night and can’t fall back asleep. Having somebody else guide me through a brief body scan is the ideal, but in a pinch, even knowing the basic concept on my own proved quite helpful.
4.
After weeks of experimentation, my new sleep strategies didn't stand up to the ultimate test of traveling—until I made an important tweak.
Armed with my go-to Spotify tracks, I arrived in Columbus, Ohio, for a long weekend with my best friend. My three weeks of testing were up, and I didn’t want to travel with a yoga mat, but I wanted to make sure my sleep habits weren’t lost.
Many hotels are now catching on to the importance of sleep and offering guests methods to get quality rest. The Westin Hotels & Resorts offers a “bedtime call” to help guests shut down, and ITC Hotels provide guests with a box that comes with an eye mask, booklet with sleep tips, and pillow mist and stress-relief spray. Due to “the first-night effect,” aka the phenomenon of having a hard time sleeping during your first evening in a new environment, these services have their place.
Although I didn't have these kinds of tools at my disposal, I discovered something even better.
After a long night out (Guild House’s honey cake and nightcaps, anyone?), I’ll admit my first night of meditating on-the-go was a complete flop. After tossing restlessly and two body scans not doing the trick, I stumbled upon a Spotify album called “Thunderstorms.” It proved a happy medium between full-on guided meditation and music—what could be more soothing than the pitter-pattering of rolling rain and thunder?—and I discovered a new obsession.
Armed with my go-to Spotify tracks, I arrived in Columbus, Ohio, for a long weekend with my best friend. My three weeks of testing were up, and I didn’t want to travel with a yoga mat, but I wanted to make sure my sleep habits weren’t lost.
Many hotels are now catching on to the importance of sleep and offering guests methods to get quality rest. The Westin Hotels & Resorts offers a “bedtime call” to help guests shut down, and ITC Hotels provide guests with a box that comes with an eye mask, booklet with sleep tips, and pillow mist and stress-relief spray. Due to “the first-night effect,” aka the phenomenon of having a hard time sleeping during your first evening in a new environment, these services have their place.
Although I didn't have these kinds of tools at my disposal, I discovered something even better.
After a long night out (Guild House’s honey cake and nightcaps, anyone?), I’ll admit my first night of meditating on-the-go was a complete flop. After tossing restlessly and two body scans not doing the trick, I stumbled upon a Spotify album called “Thunderstorms.” It proved a happy medium between full-on guided meditation and music—what could be more soothing than the pitter-pattering of rolling rain and thunder?—and I discovered a new obsession.
[post_ads]I continued with this practice for the duration of my trip and found having a hint of familiarity far away from home truly made slinking off into a deep, relaxing sleep so much easier. While my friend swears by lighting candles in a hotel room to make it easier to adjust to travel and sleep better, I’m all for something that doesn’t add weight to my carry-on.
Weeks later, I’m happy to report I’m still drifting off to the stormy playlist and sleeping better than ever. In fact, I still incorporate all three methods I tried into my routine.
Sometimes that means doing a two-minute stretch by my bed with moves I learned from the yoga videos. Other times, that means changing my Bedtime Alarm app to a little later so I can watch an extra episode of Hart of Dixie (don't judge me).
Now, if you’ll excuse me, “Alexa, play Thunderstorms 3!”
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