- #Little do you know how i'm breaking while you fall asleep full
- #Little do you know how i'm breaking while you fall asleep free
that your thoughts become fragmented, dreamy or non-sensical.In other words, because the states you experience during meditation and sleep can be so similar, you may mistake the former for the latter. Physiologically, our heart rate lowers, and our body chemistry, muscle tone, breathing and thinking patterns may also match those we experience at bedtime. Meditation, as we’ve seen, mirrors the process we go through as we fall asleep. I’d estimate that 99% of the people complaining that they fall asleep during meditation actually don’t fall asleep at all (unless they’re lying down).
Here’s where things start to get interesting.ĭo you really fall asleep, or do you just think you do? It’s hard work, and you can’t win that battle. Trying to stay awake often just tires you out further. If you do permit yourself to rest (instead of fighting to stay awake), you may find that your energy returns much sooner. Would it not be wiser and kinder to acknowledge the need for rest, and to let your meditation be nap-like and drowsy, especially if you are legitimately tired? Taking a cold shower, visualizing bright lights and emphasizing the in-breath may help to keep you awake, but at what cost? These strategies might just reinforce the habits and attitudes that lead to stress, overwhelm and burnout. But will forcing yourself to stay awake really help? Is that the kind of attitude that’s beneficial? In my experience, it’s learning to listen to and respect the needs of your body that helps not denial, or force, or willpower. These are all recommendations some teachers make.
#Little do you know how i'm breaking while you fall asleep free
Of course, if you want to torture yourself, feel free to pull your earlobes, sit uncomfortably (or somewhere very cold), or bite your tongue. Sometimes you have to slow down just to notice how tired you are. And if meditation sends you to sleep, then it’s just doing its job. If that’s the case, then sleep is probably what you need. And anyone who works more than 40-hours a week, or requires an alarm to wake up, will probably be in-the-red too. If you’re a new parent, it’s almost inevitable that you’ll have a significant sleep debt. On top of that, you may not be getting enough shut-eye.Īpparently there’s no evidence to support the idea that we’re getting less sleep than we did decades, or centuries ago, but I have no doubt that many people aren’t sleeping enough. These are all times when energy levels may be low.
#Little do you know how i'm breaking while you fall asleep full
You may be choosing to meditate when you’re in need of rest: after lunch, after a full day at work, just before bed, first thing in the morning, around 2 pm.
We’ve already noted that meditation is likely to induce sleep simply because it triggers relaxation. Why do you fall asleep during meditation?