Sleep Restores Body, Mind And Spirit

There is a saying ‘our issues are in our tissues,’ meaning our stress, fears and worries show up in our bodies. Keeping our body, mind, and spirit back in harmony and balance is essential for all of us. It ensures inner peace and well-being.

The restorative power of sleep and dreams has been a specific pursuit of mine in recent months. It has been my mission to reach that sweet spot for my body’s wake-sleep-dream rhythm and I have been discovering more of the magic that sleep and dreams can offer.

I find when I have good sleep, I remember my dreams more often. This not only helps with daily problem-solving, since my mind is at rest and not resistant, but I also receive valuable guidance and spiritual reassurance on matters I am worried about. Sleep and dreaming also help us process our emotions from our experiences of stress and trauma during our waking hours.

The dream state is also a time when we are free to explore and find new inspiration. We are in a world of our own making that belongs to only us. And the possibilities are truly endless; even time travel, prophetic dreams, loved ones coming to visit.

In the Harry Potter book The Prisoner of Azkaban, Dumbledore tells Snape not to wake Harry: “Let him sleep. For in dreams, we enter a world that is entirely our own. Let him swim in the deepest ocean or glide over the highest cloud.”

I’m a bit of a technology nerd, so that makes sleeping and dreaming even more of adventure. There are many cool technologies available these days to improve our sleep time. There are watches and other devices to create a record of not only time slept, but even quality of sleep, heart rate and other interesting facts. There are also amazing phone apps streaming sleep meditations and white noise.

I keep a journal to write down my dreams before I rise, and I also to jot down before I fall asleep those questions and life challenges I need answers for. It has further been my experience that you can even reach out in your dreams to loved ones who have passed for advice or guidance, especially if they had a passion for something you need help with.

By helping us keep the world in perspective, sleep gives us a chance to refocus on the essence of who we are. And in that place of connection, it is easier for the fears and concerns of the world to drop away ~ Arianna Huffington

During my experiments with creating an environment and circumstance for good sleep, I noted that short periods of meditation during the day tend to help. Also, enjoyable exercise and movement, as well as keeping a food journal, so I know what foods or beverages are helping or hindering sleep.

I also try to stop activity two hours before retiring. Temperature and light are also important, and sleeping with a weighted blanket not only adds comfort, but feels like you are enfolded in a ‘big hug’ all night. Curtains that block out any light from coming through the windows are also helpful.

We experience different forms of sleep. Two that I have focused on are Rapid Eye Movement (REM) and Deep Sleep. They are different and often confused with each other. We usually drop into the REM state about 90 minutes after we have fallen asleep. Our brain is now more active, while the body is not. Our heart also beats faster.

Because of the activity in our brain during REM, we experience active and vivid dreams. We do dream in other phases of sleep, but more so in REM. This is also the time where learning takes place and it is therefore good for our memory.

I’ve always envied people who sleep easily. Their brains must be cleaner, the floorboards of the skull well swept, all the little monsters closed up in a steamer trunk at the foot of the bed ~ David Benioff

You may have experienced a feeling of being paralyzed in your sleep, when you felt you couldn’t move your body. The reason this happens is said to protect us from physically acting in our dreams and potentially harming ourselves. We go in and out of REM sleep three to five times through the night.

Deep Sleep, on the other hand, is restorative for our body. This is when the healing takes place. We rebuild cells, muscles, and tissues. Our heart rate and breathing slow down, along with brain activity. During Deep Sleep we are relaxed and it helps us wake up feeling refreshed. We need both REM and Deep Sleep to aid in memory and balancing body, mind, and spirit.