Benefits of Meditating Before Sleeping In Bed

 An experiment I've been working on lately is nightly meditation before bed to reduce anxiety and allow for calm and relaxing dream states. I noticed that over the past few days I was finding myself waking up in the middle of the night due to anxieties and fear. I wanted to think of a way to mitigate these unhealthy moments because the number of hours we spend asleep are extremely valuable in order to optimize for morning productivity. I've found my level of workflow at night not as efficient as it is in the morning so getting better sleep is definitely a key towards success in order to truly have enough mind space for more worth while work.

An important aspect of this method I noticed is already having a set morning routine that you find productive already in order to further increase your chances of success. If you need more information on that, please check one of my previous blog posts on morning routines.

Meditation is extremely valuable. It is used by some of the top performers in the world whether their an entrepreneur or even your local mail man. Anyone can benefit from taking time to meditate. One type of meditation that has been working for me is doing a guided meditation. Since my mornings are usually extremely busy, I do my best to try to carve out time to meditate at night.

Why meditate at night? I found that I produced my most worthwhile work in the morning and usually end up working on less high yield material in the early afternoon and at night. My afternoon to nightly tasks would usually consist of note revisions or the usual social media scroll time. Therefore, it's imperative that you also find out what time you produce your best and least productive work in the day to ensure you are constantly producing at your best.

I've been meditating for 3 days consecutively lately and end up meditating pass midnight but my goal is to start meditating at least by 11pm which would be the hotspot for some major sleep because I tend to wake up at 7am. In order to be a functioning adult, many professionals do of course recommend 7 hours of sleep which some may feel slightly intimidated by of course in a world where people often ensue making the same excuse, "I'm too busy." My response to this is that you are just complaining and if your health and sleep are truly that important to you, then, you will make time for these important things.

Benefits:

Over the course of these past 3 days, I found myself falling asleep at a much faster rate. My mind would sometimes relive some of the challenges or unsolved problems and emotions that came up during the day, however, I don't let that affect me as I focus on clearing my mind. "Your thoughts are like clouds, let them go one by one as they come up." This is a phrase I'm quoting from Aileen Xu who is very well versed with meditation and I did a previous post on her style of meditation if you wanted to dive more into her side of guided meditation (I personally use this as my go to guided meditation). 

A big benefit was sleep. I found myself still waking up tired and groggy in the morning but knowing that I've been able to keep up with a proper sleep cycle at night without interruptions to wake up for nonsense such as the restroom or a nightmare or flat out anxieties due to thoughts in my day, shows that this method truly is working.

Background Problem Solving: Not many people would believe this but coming to terms face to face with challenges you experienced during the day is a great chance for you to reframe your focus away from the past and focus on the present moment. Life is short so don't waste it focusing on problems and instead focus on your mental health during your crucial meditation time.

The Conclusion:

You won't get the time you have back. As we age, our minds are constantly being stressed and challenged so absolute overwhelm can easily age a person depending on their emotional strength of course. Therefore, it is important to optimize a meditation practice before bed using the methods described in this post to improve sleep and ensure you have a well and productive morning. Health is another important aspect of meditation. These are some of the worst times to not keep your health a priority with COVID-19 continually getting worse. Please see your doctor if you suffer from any major unhealthy disorders, COVID-19, etc.

An additional bonus I would like to add on about morning routines is that if you still wake up groggy after trying this method try brushing your teeth then showering. I've found showering to once again be another meditative experience allowing me to have 2 meditations in one day. I take shower time to awaken my mind and get my blood pressure moving so my body is alert and ready to produce great work. An extra tip adding extra bright white light in your workspace increases morning alertness and work productivity.

I hope you find something helpful here.