Getting a Good Night's Sleep

The thing I like least about growing older is sleeping less. I think one reason why I sleep less is that I'm a bit stiff in the morning and I can't get back to sleep--I have to get up and move around.

Besides what I wrote in the article on Suite101.com about sleep, I find that if I get up and move around until I've limbered up a bit, then I can lie down and listen to Swami J's CD Yoga Nidra. That will always put me back to sleep.

The CD isn't calming music like you'd expect; Swami J leads you through a series of attention exercises--just simply putting your attention on one part of your body and then another. This sequence of body parts is part of the ancient knowledge of India. There's something about the sequence that brings about a profound state of relaxation in the body and mind.

Another thing I do is to run through my prayer list of the dozens of people that I pray for daily. I think about each person in turn and then say some Baha'i healing prayers that I've memorized. It's a very calming exercise and takes me away from any personal problems I may be thinking of.

More later . . .

Take a deep breath,

Dr. Ron