Insomnia Visualizations : No More Counting Sheep
It's a tired cliche : if you can't sleep, try counting sheep. Well, I've lost count of the number of sheep I've counted over the years and you know what, it's never worked for me. For one thing, there's nothing relaxing about sheep vaulting over fences. For another, keeping track of how many of the blighters have jumped keeps me awake.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not against the notion of using visualizations to combat insomnia, I'm just fed up with the sheep. So, in an attempt to replace my sporty ovine friends with something that might actually work, I've researched some effective visualizations that should help one fall asleep, sans woolly jumpers.
1. Descending Stairs
Picture a long, twisting staircase going down, down into darkness. Make your way down these stairs slowly but steadily. As you descend, feel yourself going deeper and deeper into sleep. Before you even got to bed, begin thinking about the stairs and look forward to descending them.2. The Elevator
If the stairs sound like too much effort, imagine instead a large metal elevator. Step inside and pull across the heavy slatted door and press the 'sleep' button. You begin to descend into the dark and as you do you feel yourself getting more and more sleepy. Picture the long deep elevator shaft and see the shiny cube of your elevator as it gracefully plunges into the gloom.3. The Walkabout
Picture yourself somewhere familiar, somewhere you feel unstressed, such as your home, your garden, a favorite holiday spot. Now go for a walk around the place, casually going from room to room. Do this every night, the same rooms/places in the same order, going around in a loop. If your imagined place has plenty of rooms, soon you'll find that you don't even make it to the last one before dropping off.4. The Game
This one is fun, and it works! If you're a sports fan, imagine yourself playing your favourite sport. Imagine yourself playing in the championship and making long runs past defenders on the way to scoring. For me, a soccer fan, I enjoy picturing myself taking the ball from my own goal mouth, dribbling past the Brazilian players towards their goal. I often find that by the time I reach the Brazilian back-four I am already in slumber. I think part of the reason this visualization works is because it's so positive, it's based around progression and it also satisfies some very deep yearnings (in the mind of this particular armchair sportsman at least).
So there you have some ideas. you may find these work perfectly for you but you may also find that you prefer to use different visualizations to help you sleep. The key is to find something that you can repeat every night until it becomes part of your sleep routine. Eventually your visualization, whatever it may be, will become a trigger that brings sleep every time.
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