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Mindfulness And Sleep

23 June 2013

I’m not sure about you, but sometimes I don’t get enough sleep. That is, unless I’m forced to watch Les Miserables, and then I have a happy three hours. (Please don’t write in, I’m sure there are things that I love and you don’t….Battle of Britain anyone?)

Many years ago I worked with a manager who a) never slept b) always complained about never sleeping and c) kept everything in his head.

Can you spot where he was going wrong?

I read a book recently, The Dummies Guide to Mindfulness. I picked it up at Liverpool Street station and found it to be really rather interesting and since then I have been much more aware of improving my sleeping by:

a) Not drinking caffeine before bed.

b) Doing a couple of gentle stretches to unwind from my ‘parked at my desk’ position.

c) Writing down a quick To-Do list so that I can leave my brain next to my laptop.

d) Focussing on noticing my breathing in bed instead of ticking off tomorrow’s potential pitfalls (counting your breaths in and out is a good way to relax).

e) Allowing any thoughts about future worries to remain just that – they are only thoughts!

This last point is particularly useful, because when we are being mindful (increased awareness of ourselves in this moment in time) it is helpful to know that a thought is just a thought. It isn’t a fact or an action – it is like a breeze through our mind and we have thousands of them all day. We don’t have to act on them, most of them are fleeting anyway and they are certainly not a concrete version of the future. I like knowing this – it is a hopeful way to live and when you’re in business and times are tough it is good to know that we make our own future, that we can focus on the here and now (instead of frittering our life away with endless worries) and that with a mindful approach we can sleep well at night.

Being sleepy at the wheel of a car can be the same as drink driving. I’m sure none of us do the latter, but maybe a few people do the former?

This week, have fun being mindful. Live in the moment, accept thoughts are just breezes and count our breaths when we are wanting to sleep. If we take a moment to help ourselves today then tomorrow could be a happier place!

Next week: A top marketing tip, courtesy of Theodore Levitt