Welcome to Day 24 of Sleekgeek’s free 30-Day You Healthy Habits Challenge!
Each day for the next 30 days you will receive 1 task to complete in order to help you eat, move, think, or sleep better.
Today’s task is to do 10 minutes of meditation before bed
Meditation is a powerful tool to be used at any time of the day. There are also many different styles and schools of thought on the matter. Many advise a few minutes in the morning and evening. Some structure is always good. Each person should explore and find the best techniques for themselves. As a start, practicing for 10 mins before bed can complement your habits of doing a brain dump and other nightly routines that you have been challenged to do throughout this challenge.
What happens in your brain when you meditate?
Using modern technology like fMRI scans, scientists have developed a more thorough understanding of what’s taking place in our brains when we meditate. The overall difference is that our brains stop processing information as actively as they normally would. The effect on the brain waves is believed to have a long lasting positive effecting.
Stress relief is provided by a regular meditation practice calming the body, mind and spirit putting you in a better physical, mental and spiritual state to rest and recover.
We were not designed to be in the constant state of pressure that modern society places us under. This healthy habit will help you to reduce the physiological responses such as cortisol production which negatively influences fat loss.
How to complete today’s task:
If you have meditated before then go for it and do your own thing.
If you are a beginner here are some great, simple tips that show you it’s really not complicated at all:
- Find a comfortable, quiet, private place.
- Sit or lie down, whatever seems most convenient. The position doesn’t matter, as long as you’re relaxed.
- Get a timer going. Set a timer for 5 minutes, and then forget about counting down how long it’s been. That’s your timer’s job. It’ll take care of you.
- Close your eyes.
- Start with a quick 30-second “body scan”. As you scan down your body from head to toe, think about consciously relaxing each muscle. Let everything sink downward. In particular, let your face droop.
- Now, focus on your breathing. Breathe in through your diaphragm, pushing your belly in and out. Observe how the air moves in and out.
- Count 10 breaths, observing each one.
- Let thoughts drift in and out. Let them wander in, then shoo them away. They’ll be back. You don’t need to hold on to them.
- Observe only. Don’t judge. There is no “should”. If you think of something, no worries. Don’t fret. If you hear a noise, or have an itch, simply think, There’s a noise or I have an itch. Make a note of it; then move on.
- Keep coming back to your breathing. There’s no rush; just keep wandering back to it. What’s it doing now?
- Repeat until your time is up.
- Finish with 5 good belly breaths to “bookend” the session.
Source: Precision Nutrition.
If you are more technology driven there are many applications available for ‘Guided meditation’. Search your app store. Headspace is a popular example. You can even search for guided meditation on Youtube.
OM and sweet dreams tonight!
DONE!
See you tomorrow for your Day 25’s task.
If you have just stumbled on this page sign up for Sleekgeek’s full 30-Day Healthy Habits Challenge right here. It is 100% free.
Want more of this kind of thing?
- Read our blog post on Simple Stress Management.
- Read Precision Nutrition’s blog post on Good Stress, Bad, Stress: Finding Your Sweet Spot.
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