4 Somatic Exercises to Support a Better Night’s Sleep
Never underestimate the power of a good night’s sleep.
The restorative benefits that sleep brings to your nervous system can have a profound impact on your mental, emotional, and physical health. Inversely, we know that your mental, emotional, and physical state plays a key role in sleep quality. This is why we recommend balancing your nervous system at the end of each day to support a better night’s sleep.
4 Somatic Exercises to Support a Better Night’s Sleep
To start optimizing your sleep and bedtime routine, we recommend starting with these 4 somatic exercises:
1 - The Bear Hug
A common culprit of falling asleep is a mind that’s overloaded with thoughts and emotions. This can lead to your nervous system being unable to shift from the Sympathetic (fight-or-flight) state into the Parasympathetic (rest-and-digest) state.
If this is something that you are struggling with at the end of the day, we recommend using the “Bear Hug” grounding technique to quickly reduce overwhelm and feelings of anxiety.
How to do it: While sitting down, alternate tapping each shoulder and move your eyes in each direction while facing straight ahead. Adjust your pacing as it feels comfortable in the body.
This exercise leverages the power of self-soothing touch, which stimulates pressure receptors under your skin, signaling your brain to slow down heart rate and lower cortisol levels. Shifting your gaze while tapping helps engage both hemispheres of the brain, promoting better emotional regulation.
2 - Letting Go
The stress we hold onto at the end of each day comes down to conversations we’ve had, job performance, family obligations, health concerns…just to name a few. It can be tough to “turn off” the emotions and feelings that come from these commitments which is why we recommend a compassionate awareness technique we call “Letting Go.”
How to do it: Sit comfortably with your back straight, and close your eyes. Allow whatever emotions want to come up to be witnessed - focus on the underlying feelings instead of thought patterns, and gradually surrender any resistance to them. Notice the feeling of relief as the emotions and resistance dissipate.
This powerful technique releases suppressed and repressed emotions, and strengthens the vagal brake through titration - experiencing tolerable amounts of discomfort while remaining balanced.
3 - Tonglen
Another incredibly effective way to release stress and shift your nervous system state is the “Tonglen.” In Tibetan, tong means "giving or sending", and len means "receiving or taking.” In essence, you are exchanging the negative energy and effects of stress for positive and restorative energy to promote peace in your body.
How to do it: In a quiet space, focus on visualizing inhaling distress as thick smoke, and exhaling compassion as pure white light, concentrating on the sensation of calmness it brings.
Tonglen stimulates the vagus nerve, which plays a key role in your body's relaxation response. By focusing on compassion, you can quickly reduce stress hormones, promoting a sense of calmness and well-being.
4 - Eye Press Breathing
As you lay down in bed, it’s important to remove all distractions (i.e. the phone that’s been glued to your side all day) and let your body know it’s time to slow down and get some much needed rest. To aid with this, we highly recommend “Eye Press Breathing,” a slow-paced breathing technique to calm the nervous system.
How to do it: As you lay down, press your wrists lightly against your closed eyes and focus on taking slow, deep breaths through your nose.
Closed eyes, awareness of the lower belly and slower breath through the nose are all techniques that communicate to the nervous system that it is safe to slow down.
CONCLUSION
Remember, restoring balance within your nervous system takes time. If you’ve been experiencing sleep issues, it’s likely that your body has been holding onto a great deal of stress for quite some time. By practicing body-based exercises such as these, along with other preventative habits, you are choosing to significantly enhance your overall health and well-being.
To fully optimize your nervous system health and reduce the effects of chronic stress in your body, download the NEUROFIT app today.
