Pressure points for sleep are great to massage during the day or right before bed. These easy to use pressure points will help you relax your mind to sleep better.
Why you can't sleep
Basically, your mind is bombarded with thoughts all day.
- What will my boss think?
- What time do I pick up the kids?
- How bad will traffic be?
- What should I make for dinner?
Overthinking and worry
In addition to these daily thoughts, you worry about the past, the future, people you love, and even people you barely know. Certainly, judgments about yourself and others, negative thoughts of different shapes and sizes can also flood your mind.
According to Chinese medicine, overthinking prevents a relaxed state, which in turn affects your sleep.
Sometimes it means you cannot fall asleep easily. Other times it means that you wake up in the middle of the night and your thoughts start racing.
Label it what you will - insomnia, restlessness, difficulty falling asleep - your mind cannot settle and allow you to get the rest you need.
Furthermore, imbalances in Yin and Yang can prevent you from having a good night's sleep. These imbalances also lead to overthinking. Specific colors of food and Chinese super foods can help bring the body back into balance so you can sleep better.
Chinese pressure points for sleep can also help bring the body into balance, AND calm your mind. A calm mind and balanced body will help you sleep better and stay healthy.
How pressure points for sleep work
When you massage TCM pressure points for sleep, you are massaging the outer body.
However, according to Chinese medicine and meridian theory, the massage helps qi and blood flow throughout your entire body. This free flowing movement of qi has a calming effect on your nervous system, which will help you sleep
In summary, you can feel an immediate sense of calm and release when massaging specific points, because you are releasing blocked energy.
This sense of calm will help slow the chatter in your mind, preparing you for sleep. Not only do you calm the mind, you calm your spirit, leading to better well being.
Pressure points for sleep with a partner
If you live with someone, you can follow the massage pattern in this video.
This ancient tuina massage pattern will relax the mind and allow for deep, restful sleep.
Pressure points for sleep for one person
Perform the following techniques before bed. You might want to practice during the day a few times, so you are familiar with each technique.
Also, you might need massage pressure points for sleep earlier in the evening. For some people, these energize instead of relax.
Basically, as you massage, picture energy moving down from your head, through your body, and out your feet into the earth. This imagery will ground you and calm what Chinese medicine calls the "monkey mind."
The "monkey mind" is filled with racing thoughts that are everywhere but the present. They carry you to the past and future, instead of focusing on relaxing you in the here and now.
First 3 pressure points for sleep techniques
- Bend fingers of both hands.
- Place the bent knuckle of the index finger on the inside of each eyebrow (left on left side and right on right).
- Swipe from the center of the brow to the outside of the brow.
- Repeat 30 times.
- For this pressure points for sleep massage, place right thumb on right temple.
- Massage in a clockwise circle 30 times.
- Repeat on the left side.
- Place fingertips on your forehead (left thumb on right temple, and right thumb on right temple).
- Knead for 2-3 seconds.
- Sweep the fingers of both hands upward to the top of the head.
- Continue to sweep down until the base of the skull, just above the neck.
- Repeat 30 times.
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Sleep Better
You deserve to sleep better. Massaging pressure points for sleep can help. Just remember, as Finding Joy reminds us:
"Your body is not Amazon Prime. It takes more than two days to heal."
Be consistent and patient with your massage practice. You might notice changes immediately, or it might take longer.
Addressing your sleep problems from multiple angles can speed up the process, but you will get there. Have a loving attitude towards your body. It wants to help you, and it will.
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