A big part of cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia is learning exercises to help your body relax before bed. One way to do this is through progressive tensing and relaxing of your muscles while lying in bed.
"Start at one end and work your way up or down your body," says Joyce Walsleben, PhD, assistant professor at New York University School of Medicine. "Feel your muscles clench and then release, how they're lying on the bed, how the covers fall over your body. Make it as elaborate or inconsequential as needed to put you into a cocoon of sleep."
Another version of muscle relaxation: Imagine a wave of relaxation flowing down your body, from your head to your feet. You can give the wave a color, sound, or temperature.
"You should personalize the experience as much as you want," says Kathy Doner, MD, who runs a hypnotherapy practice in Sebastian, Fla. "You might start by just noticing your breath with your hand on your tummy. Then with each out breath, focus on a different section of the body and say a word like 'calm,' 'relax,' or 'peaceful,' whatever works for you. You're redirecting your attention to a part of the body, and when the mind is focused on the body, it's not thinking 'I can't sleep.'"
To try progressive muscle relaxation tonight, follow these step-by-step instructions.
The body responds to stress with muscle tension, which can cause pain or discomfort. Progressive muscle relaxation reduces muscle tension and general mental anxiety. Progressive muscle relaxation often helps people get to sleep.
Procedure
You can use a prerecorded audiotape to help you go through all the muscle groups, or you can just learn the order of muscle groups and work through them from memory.
Choose a place where you can lie down on your back and stretch out comfortably, such as a carpeted floor.
Inhale and tense each muscle group (hard but not to the point of cramping) for 4 to 10 seconds, then exhale and suddenly and completely relax the muscle group (do not relax it gradually). Give yourself 10 to 20 seconds to relax.
When you are finished, return to alertness by counting backwards from 5 to 1.
Muscle groups and how to tense them
Hands: Clench them.
Wrists and forearms: Extend them and bend your hands back at the wrist.
Biceps and upper arms: Clench your hands into fists, bend your arms at the elbows, and flex your biceps.
Shoulders: Shrug them.
Forehead: Wrinkle it into a deep frown.
Around the eyes and bridge of the nose: Close your eyes as tightly as possible. (Remove contact lenses before beginning the exercise.)
Cheeks and jaws: Smile as widely as you can.
Around the mouth: Press your lips together tightly. (Check your facial area for tension.)
Back of the neck: Press your head back hard.
Front of the neck: Touch your chin to your chest. (Check your neck and head for tension.)
Chest: Take a deep breath and hold it, then exhale.
Back: Arch your back up and away from the floor.
Stomach: Suck it into a tight knot. (Check your chest and stomach for tension.)
Hips and buttocks: Press the buttocks together tightly.
Thighs: Clench them hard.
Lower legs: Point your toes toward your face, as if trying to bring the toes up to touch your head. Then point your toes away and curl them downward at the same time. (Check the area from your waist down for tension.)
Progressive muscle relaxation is sometimes combined with meditation
"Start at one end and work your way up or down your body," says Joyce Walsleben, PhD, assistant professor at New York University School of Medicine. "Feel your muscles clench and then release, how they're lying on the bed, how the covers fall over your body. Make it as elaborate or inconsequential as needed to put you into a cocoon of sleep."
Another version of muscle relaxation: Imagine a wave of relaxation flowing down your body, from your head to your feet. You can give the wave a color, sound, or temperature.
"You should personalize the experience as much as you want," says Kathy Doner, MD, who runs a hypnotherapy practice in Sebastian, Fla. "You might start by just noticing your breath with your hand on your tummy. Then with each out breath, focus on a different section of the body and say a word like 'calm,' 'relax,' or 'peaceful,' whatever works for you. You're redirecting your attention to a part of the body, and when the mind is focused on the body, it's not thinking 'I can't sleep.'"
To try progressive muscle relaxation tonight, follow these step-by-step instructions.
The body responds to stress with muscle tension, which can cause pain or discomfort. Progressive muscle relaxation reduces muscle tension and general mental anxiety. Progressive muscle relaxation often helps people get to sleep.
Procedure
You can use a prerecorded audiotape to help you go through all the muscle groups, or you can just learn the order of muscle groups and work through them from memory.
Choose a place where you can lie down on your back and stretch out comfortably, such as a carpeted floor.
Inhale and tense each muscle group (hard but not to the point of cramping) for 4 to 10 seconds, then exhale and suddenly and completely relax the muscle group (do not relax it gradually). Give yourself 10 to 20 seconds to relax.
When you are finished, return to alertness by counting backwards from 5 to 1.
Muscle groups and how to tense them
Hands: Clench them.
Wrists and forearms: Extend them and bend your hands back at the wrist.
Biceps and upper arms: Clench your hands into fists, bend your arms at the elbows, and flex your biceps.
Shoulders: Shrug them.
Forehead: Wrinkle it into a deep frown.
Around the eyes and bridge of the nose: Close your eyes as tightly as possible. (Remove contact lenses before beginning the exercise.)
Cheeks and jaws: Smile as widely as you can.
Around the mouth: Press your lips together tightly. (Check your facial area for tension.)
Back of the neck: Press your head back hard.
Front of the neck: Touch your chin to your chest. (Check your neck and head for tension.)
Chest: Take a deep breath and hold it, then exhale.
Back: Arch your back up and away from the floor.
Stomach: Suck it into a tight knot. (Check your chest and stomach for tension.)
Hips and buttocks: Press the buttocks together tightly.
Thighs: Clench them hard.
Lower legs: Point your toes toward your face, as if trying to bring the toes up to touch your head. Then point your toes away and curl them downward at the same time. (Check the area from your waist down for tension.)
Progressive muscle relaxation is sometimes combined with meditation
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