Meditation Cured My Insomnia - Almost

by Stephan B
(Canada)

I used to be the most terrible sleeper. Usually I would only sleep for about 4 hours per night, and I would wake up many times in that four hours. At the worst point, I would only get 2 hours of sleep each night for about three weeks.

I got some professional coaching with my sleep and I learned how to do a mindfulness meditation technique using my breath. The very first night I tried it I slept for 6 hours (which was a miracle for me).

I've been meditating for about 2 years now and I'm pretty consistent with it. If I miss my meditation then I don't sleep quite as well, but I still sleep. The effects of meditating over the last two years have helped to calm my mind down so that even if I miss a day I will still feel OK.

I still have insomnia now and then. Sometimes my mind just gets so incredibly busy. But this usually only happens if I have been slack and not meditated for a week or so. When I get sick of the noise inside my head then I start meditating again and I sleep like a baby.

If I've learned anything, it's that you have to care for your mind just like every other part of you. I brush my teeth, I wash my body and I meditate for my mind. And you can't just meditate once or twice and hope that everything will be fixed. You have to use it as part of everyday life to really benefit.