In The Moment 03.2020

Make relaxation your goal

How can we improve our sleep? Make relaxation your

goal. While relaxation is not a replacement for sleep,

it will still help to rejuvenate your body, and by taking

the pressure off yourself to fall asleep you are more

likely to do just that. Ultimately, the true secret to

the art of sleeping is finding a ritual that works best

for you. Try experimenting with these relaxation

techniques to soften the mind and reduce stress...

Relax every muscle

Relaxation techniques can help you achieve physical

and mental relaxation by reducing tension and

interrupting the thought processes that can disrupt

sleep. Try this twenty-minute relaxation technique

at any time of day, but particularly before bed, to

slowly release tension one muscle group at a time.

Follow these steps:

Sit comfortably or lie down in a quiet place, hands

resting down by your side.

Begin by breathing slowly and start to notice your

inhale and exhale while your abdomen rises and falls.

Remember to keep inhaling though the nose and

exhaling through the mouth throughout.

For each muscle group, take a slow, deep breath

in as you tense and hold it for 5 -1 0 seconds. Focus on

the difference between tense and relaxed muscles.

Don’t tense too hard and repeat twice for each muscle

group. Relax for 20 seconds between muscle groups

and then count backwards from five to one to bring

your focus back to the present.

Tense and relax your muscles in the

following order:

Foot – curl your toes downwards

Lower leg and foot – tighten your calf muscle by

pulling your toes towards you

Entire leg – squeeze your thigh muscles and pull your

toes towards you, then repeat on the other side of

your body

Hand – clench your fist

Arm – tighten your bicep by drawing your forearm

up towards your shoulder to ‘make a muscle’, while

clenching your fist at the same time; then repeat

on the other side of your body

Buttocks – tighten by pulling your buttocks together

Stomach – suck your stomach in

Chest – take a deep breath to tighten the chest

Neck and shoulders – raise your shoulders up to

touch your ears

Mouth – open your mouth wide enough to stretch the

hinges of your jaw

Eyes – Clench your eyelids tightly shut

Forehead – Raise your eyebrows as far as you can

Rob Hobson

Rob Hobson is a nutritionist with over

15 years’ experience and is a regular

contributor to newspapers, magazines,

TV and radio in the UK. After years of

struggling with insomnia, he began

researching different approaches to

achieving the best possible sleep.

DEEP BREATHING

To breathe through your diaphragm, place

one hand on your belly to feel the rise on the

inhale and dip on the exhale and place your

other hand on your upper chest to make

sure it’s still (breathing through your chest

can maintain the body’s stress response

whereas deep breathing triggers the

parasympathetic nervous system to calm

and put the body into a relaxed state).

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