A Tool For Falling Asleep: The Breath
This blog post has been adapted from the transcription of the above video.
When I used to work in the emergency department, my circadian rhythm was completely off the wall. This was mainly because I was working night shifts, day shifts, and mid-shifts. Because of this, I didn’t have a normal sleep schedule. The lack of sleep seeped into my personal life and affected time spent with my family. As a result, I studied and learned as much as I can about sleep.
In this blog, I want to share with you one tool that I've been using recently that's really supported me in falling asleep faster. That tool is the breath, which is something that seems so simple, but is very powerful.
It can be difficult to fall asleep when we have so many thoughts dancing around in our mind. Taking slow, intentional breaths is a great practice to slowly let go of those thoughts.
Breathe Better, Sleep Better: Square Breathing
When we go to bed, our tendency before we fall asleep is that our mind gets busy analyzing and reflecting on the day. This prevents us from falling asleep immediately. What we want to do is quiet all of these thoughts so we can relax. How do we do this? The key is to get into the body through our breath so we get out of our minds.
The first thing to do is to take a deep breath, hold it, and bear it down without letting any air out for five to ten seconds. Once you’re done, you’re going to exhale and then transition into something called "square breathing.” This consists of inhaling for five seconds, holding that breath for five seconds, exhaling for five seconds, and holding for five seconds. You’ll be repeating this square pattern of breath for 10 times. What this does is it calms your mind and lets you get back to your body.
Once you’ve completed those 10 repetitions and you still feel like you’re stuck in your mind, just repeat that cycle until you fall asleep. Give this practice a try and see if it helps you fall asleep more rapidly.
Utilizing the power of the breath to fall asleep has amazing effects on helping you get the rest you need and deserve.
Tune Out of Your Mind, Tune Into Your Body
Sometimes, we get so engrossed in our thoughts, especially when it’s time for bed. And because these thoughts keep us awake, we end up getting frustrated, which keeps us even more awake! By tuning into your breath and focusing on counting each inhale and exhale, your body relaxes and your mind stops wandering.
I’ve utilized the power of breath in many aspects of my life, and it has greatly helped me improve my sleep. Getting a good night’s sleep isn’t just good physically, but mentally as well. When you improve the quality of your sleep, other aspects of your life improve too.
Related Questions
Isn’t ketamine therapy enough to help with my anxiety, so I can naturally sleep better?
While ketamine infusion therapy can be very helpful to quiet the default mode network and lessen rumination, ketamine alone isn’t the answer. Learning to tune into your body and quieting the mind is a daily life practice that can help transform how you manage stress. The goal isn’t to use ketamine as a crutch, but rather as a catalyst for change in your life.
Is sleep important during ketamine therapy?
Yes it is! When you are having a psychedelic non-ordinary ketamine infusion experience you are having an altered experience with yourself. Your level of sleep or lack of, could potentially affect your experience. You can think of this in another way. Would you rather be well rested or sleep deprived before going on a journey? Now, for some you are already struggling with sleep, and that’s okay. Try your best and trust the experience. We’ve seen many patients report sleeping well after an infusion.
If you enjoyed this blog, here are a few other sleep related blogs you might like to read!
9 Sleep Practices to support Your Ketamine Treatments
It is a known fact that sleep is important for our physical health. But did you know it’s good for our mental health too? In this blog, we talk about 9 practices to help you achieve better sleep and support your ketamine treatments.
Sleep is key to good mental health and well being. Struggling with it? In this blog post, Dr. Ko shares 8 of his favorite sleep tools!
Lacking a good night’s rest is one of the problems many of us face but fail to address. We’re all aware that getting enough sleep is important, but it’s not always as easy as it seems, especially when we have so much to think about. In this blog, we talk about a breathing exercise to help you tune into your body and fall asleep faster.