Mindfulness and trouble falling asleep

[ZenEx]

Hi,

I have been practicing meditation about 4 -5 months now. I do breathing meditation once or sometimes twice a day about 10 min sets.
While i have noticed significant benefits to my overall mood, i find it is now quite difficult to fall asleep at night.
Most of the time when this problem appears (2 -3 times a week usually) i go to bed feeling tired and in a good mood to sleep.
Then it is like i can feel the sensation of falling asleep and my brain / body somehow resists this feeling to takeover. Allmost like i am too aware to sleep.
I have tried to gently accept that feeling but its really difficult to react to this because it happens so quick. This could happen several times in an night until my brain finally gives up and fall asleep. These nights i might get 2-3 hours of sleep and it is getting really exhausting. Maybe i should try different form of meditation? If anyone have any tips to overcome this problem i would be very thankful.

Br,

ZenEx

[Peter]

Hi ZenEx,

Sleep problems are very troublesome. Did you have sleep troubles before you started with mindfulness, or only since then?

[JonW]

Hi ZenEx,
I would stick with the sitting meditations during the day, aiming for a bit longer if possible.
I would also highly recommend doing long body scans before bed. 30 minutes minimum. There are plenty of them available on YouTube.
Let us know how you get along.
All best,
Jon

[nathaly]

Maybe it has nothing to do with how mindful you are. I would try exercise/lifting weights as part of your daily routine. This has helped me tremendously with falling asleep and waking up feeling refreshed.

[ZenEx]

Hi,

Thanks for your replies.

I`ve had some prior sleeping problems, but nothing like this before.
Also never had these weird sensations in my body / brain before that are keeping me awake.

I do plenty of exercise so that shouldnt be a problem. I am seeing therapist next week and hoping she can provide some help.
It has been 2 weeks since my last meditation and at this point i am little hesitant to start again.

ZenEx

[JonW]

I hope the doc can shed some light on it, ZenEx.
Let us know how you get along.
Best wishes,
Jon

[CraigJ123]

It takes me less that 3 mins to fall asleep every night. I'm terrible for getting to bed late but since I started stomach clenches in bed I can never stay awake!