We hear about so many things that we should not do to get a good night’s sleep. Some of them maybe true and some maybe myths. Don’t go to bed on a full stomach, don’t go to bed on an empty stomach. Don’t go to sleep angry or upset. But what about things that we should do to have a solid night’s sleep. Recently I heard about one of them, that is to go to sleep with gratitude.
This was one of the things I used to meditate about. It was recommended as being a good mediation for the first thing to do when you wake up. Think about all of the things in your life that you are grateful for. This is definitely a good attitude to have. It helps us to really appreciate life and the people around us, but will it help to go to sleep?
There have been studies showing that it does. In one study, participants were asked to create a list of things that they were grateful for in their lives every night for a duration of 3 weeks. This focus on the positive aspects of everyday experiences helped them to increase the length of their sleep and also reported that their sleep resulted in feeling fresher than before the study started.
Another study was conducted on a large group of people aged 18 to 65 by having them complete questionnaires that measured a wide range of traits including gratitude, and also comparing this to their quality of sleep. They found that people who demonstrated a high amount of gratitude slept faster, better and also longer.
I think there are many reasons why people have problems sleeping, but if we are having trouble it seems like it is worth our while really thinking about the good things in our lives. I like the idea of listing our good experiences. Even journaling all of the things we are grateful for might be a good idea. If not just conjuring up all of the good things that we have experienced while we are trying to sleep could help.
Give it a try and let me know how you go. I will definitely be trying it. I think we all need to improve our sleep.
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