Somatic Practices for Better Sleep
Dana Frayne, Advanced Clinical Fellow
Sleep can be a particularly abundant space for integration, and the importance of high-quality sleep cannot be overstated in the realm of one’s overall health and wellbeing. If you’ve ever experienced a feeling of endless chatter in your mind when you’re trying to fall asleep, you may want to try gently shifting your attention back into your body. By welcoming the sensations that naturally arise in your body through somatic practices, you can naturally attune to your body’s rhythms and support yourself in cultivating consistent and deep sleep.
These are a few somatic practices that may be supportive to finding a sense of grounding before drifting off into sleep:
Breathing Exercises: The breath can be a central part of orienting yourself back into your body. By welcoming the connection between the breath and the body, you are naturally downregulating your nervous system and letting your body know that you are intentionally readying yourself for a state of rest. This is an example of a guided breathing practice tailored to regulating your body before sleep. Another breathing technique that may be helpful in this state is the 4-7-8 breathing technique, which I explored in more detail in my last blog post.
Gentle Movement: If you are feeling overwhelmed as you are trying to fall asleep, you might notice physical sensations such as your heart racing or your palms sweating. In this instance, following the flow of your body’s impulse to move may be particularly supportive. By engaging in intentionally gentle movements, you are giving your body permission to release the energy that is moving within you. This could take the form of gentle stretching and intuiting how your body might want to move.
Grounding Touch: Another somatic practice is gentle massage of an area of your body where you feel tension. The feet, in particular, can hold a lot of tension by the end of the day. By gently holding your feet and feeling into the parts of your foot that may feel sore, you can sense the physical sensations that are present there. Through a spiritual lens, this can also be viewed as an intentional cleansing of the energy from the day and an expression of gratitude towards your feet for keeping you upright throughout the day.
Soundtracks for Sleep: Auditory sensations can be important when grounding the body into the present moment for sleep. There are many tracks available online that can invite a gentle, cocooning essence into your body. I invite you to seek out different soundtracks, such as wave sounds or forest sounds, to sense what resonates the most with you.
By welcoming the sensations that naturally arise in your body through these somatic practices, you are naturally attuning to your body’s rhythms and supporting yourself in cultivating consistent and deep sleep.