How to Relax and Get a Good Night's Sleep

When I was in Junior High School, I had a science teacher that I thought was very strange. She had different methods of teaching, but then one day, she turned out the lights and taught us how to relax! It was a strange experience I will never forget. Not because all of us students were giggling and thinking how silly it was, but because we all did as she told us and found out that it worked! We relaxed! Ever since then, I have used her method to get myself relaxed, especially when I'm in bed and can't get to sleep. When done correctly, it works like a charm. I wish I could remember that teacher's name, but it has long since faded from my memory. The one lesson I took away from her was this wonderful relaxation technique.

I'm sure this method has a name and a history or a culture that it comes from, but I don't know. All I can tell you is how to make it work.

The first thing you must do is clear your thoughts. You can't be distracted by worries of the day. Think of it as a chalk board. The thoughts are written all over it and you simply pick up the eraser and wipe the board clean. You have to do this with your mind. If you start letting thoughts back in, you must repeat this step. Keep the chalk board of your mind clean so that you can concentrate only on relaxing.

Now that your thoughts are wiped away, picture yourself at the top of some stairs. There is a door there, go ahead and open it. Stepping through the door, you begin to descend. With each step, count backwards from ten. By the time you get to zero, you'll be at another door at the bottom of the stairs. Open it and you'll find yourself in a peaceful place. This place is of your choosing. A place where you can go to escape. My peaceful place is at my grandparents house on the lake. They have a deck that I've always liked to go on and just soak in the beauty and quietness of the place. Find that place for yourself.

Start relaxing your muscles. This must be done consciously. Think about the muscles in your head, face and neck. Make them relax. Feel yourself slip into a nothingness. I tend to grit my teeth, so once I feel that I'm no longer doing that, I know that I've been successful in relaxing my face, neck and head. Move on down to the shoulders and think about the stress slipping off of them. Visualizing these things can help to get you relaxed thoroughly and will help to keep your mind blank of all other thoughts. So you must concentrate on these steps.

Move to your arms and feel your muscles loosen up, just as if you are untying a rope. The knots just go away. Even go to your fingers and finger tips and push out the tension. In your mind, watch the stress leave the tips of your fingers and float away.

The next step is your chest muscles. So many times, my chest gets tightened from worrying too much. At times, it gets so bad, I feel it might be a heart attack. That makes me work even harder to relax and give the largest muscle in my body the break it deserves. Think about how your heart is pumping that blood throughout your body, carrying the necessary oxygen to all your parts. Visualize your heart slowing down and the blood moving through your body as if on a lazy river. Most of the time, our heart is pumping out blood and it is more like a busy subway station where people are moving as quickly as possible to get from one place to another. Force yourself to slow down from that hectic pace. Get that heart relaxed and just let your mind float on down the lazy river.

You also want to make sure that your abdomen is relaxed. Concentrate on relaxing your stomach area, the diaphragm, too. Breathe easy in and easy out. It works best for me to breathe in and out through my mouth, but you need to try through your mouth and nose to see what relaxes you the most. Be sure to breathe deep and easy.

The last part of your body that you'll need to concentrate on is your legs. Usually by the time I finish with my body, I'm asleep, but I have had times where I had to work all the way down to my toes before I could get to sleep. Think of your legs as floating in the air. They carry so much weight during the day and usually move fast to get us to where we want to go, they get over worked. So, think of your muscles as balloons in your legs, working your way down to your toes. Again, at your toes, think of them as an outlet for your body and flush out the stress and anxiety. Watch it all just vanish as it leaves your body. By now, you shouldn't be aware of anything around you in the room and you are probably asleep!

I hope that you find this relaxation technique helpful! My teacher taught it to us to relax, not to get to sleep, but I found that it is great for just that. If you want, change up the order in which you relax your muscles. Some people can visualize working up instead of down. It all depends on you and your needs. So, just go relax and enjoy!