Everyone struggles to sleep every now and again, and it can get frustrating.
But if you’re trying to lose weight, a sleepless night can be seriously damaging to your weight loss goals.
Your sleep routine has an important role in the whole weight loss process.
Research proves that lack of sleep can lead to obesity and even diabetes, and some studies have found that it’s harder to lose weight if you don’t get the right amount of sleep at night.
If you don’t get a good night’s sleep, you’re more likely to be hungrier, and your chances of reaching for higher-calorie snacks are bigger too.
Thankfully, there’s an easy method to help you drift off quickly, sleep through the night, and get your health journey back on track.
It’s also completely free.
We’re talking about sleep meditations.
Meditation improves sleep quality and is a powerful tool when it comes to getting the best possible rest.
And getting the best rest means you’ll be more likely to stick to your diet, avoid cravings, and lose weight.
We’re showing you the best sleep meditations for weight loss.
They’re simple, easy to follow, and very effective.
How does meditation help with sleep?
Mindfulness meditation is all about calming the mind and staying in the moment.
It helps us focus our minds on the present and stay away from distracting thoughts.
When you relax your mind, your body follows.
This helps you create the perfect conditions to get the best quality sleep and drift off peacefully.
Sleep quality is much more important than quantity, and studies show that mindfulness meditation really boosts the quality of your sleep
We’re not asking you to become a meditation master or spend 5 hours a day meditating.
Even 5 minutes can be enough to boost your sleep quality. All you have to do is find an exercise that fits your schedule and put aside 5 minutes to give it a try.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at some easy sleep meditations for weight loss.
Best sleep breathing exercises for weight loss
Breathing is a natural thing that we all know how to do.
However, breathing techniques can really help you lower stress and get to sleep.
These breathing exercises will help you calm your mind, relax your body, and set the stage for a great night’s sleep.
The aim of these techniques is to focus on your breath, so your body can switch off and your brain can take a break.
Let’s look at some breathing techniques:
Counting breaths
This first breathing technique is super simple and easy to follow:
- Get comfortable and limit any distractions.
- Take slow, easy breaths and start counting 1 as you inhale and 2 as you exhale.
- Repeat this up to any number you like, or even set a 5-minute alarm.
- Try and focus on just counting and don’t worry if your mind wanders, it happens – whenever you notice any thoughts, just try to go back to counting.
- Don’t feel bad if you lose count either, it’s not about what number you get to, just start back at 1 until your timer is up.
Even 5 minutes of this exercise can be enough to help you drift off effectively.
Mindful deep breathing
This technique is perfect for lowering anxiety and stress, helping you get to sleep easily.
Mindful deep breathing is perfect for calming your mind and winding down at the end of the day.
- Get comfortable lying down in a dark room and relax your abdomen.
- Breathe in through your nose filling your lungs and abdomen (you should feel your stomach rise).
- Breathe out slowly through your mouth, feeling your abdomen go down.
- Try and focus on the feeling of air going in and out of your body, and focus on the feeling of your body against the bed, and the feeling of your breath in your nose and mouth.
- Again, don’t worry if you find your attention shifting. Whenever you feel your mind wandering, try to bring it back to focus on the feeling of breathing and the rise and fall of your body.
- Repeat this for 5-10 minutes to get really relaxed.
The most important step with any breathing exercise is to start somewhere, so don’t worry if you can only manage a short amount of time to begin with.
One minute is better than nothing, and if you keep practicing, you’ll build a great sleep meditation routine in no time.
Resonance breathing
This is a great technique for de-stressing and telling your body that it’s bedtime, and it can help you avoid weight gain caused by lack of sleep.
Resonance breathing is the perfect relaxation tool, and it’s even been proven to lower your blood pressure.
This technique is all about lowering the number of breaths you normally take to about 6 breaths per minute.
This is a quick and easy exercise to include in your bedtime routine:
- Get comfortable and lie down in your bed.
- Gently inhale through your nose for 6 seconds keeping your mouth closed.
- Slowly let the breath out for another 6 seconds through pursed lips.
- Repeat this for 5-10 minutes.
When you practice this, you’ll soon find that your body feels more relaxed in no time, improving the quality and quantity of your sleep.
Do breathing techniques really help with weight loss?
By practicing any of these breathing routines and getting better sleep, you’ll be setting yourself up to make better food choices and hit your weight loss targets.
Give them a go and see which ones work for you.
There are many free breathing exercises online that you can try to release stress and anxiety, so make sure to check them out too.
Mindfulness body scan
This meditation is great for improving your sleep quality, an essential part of reducing cravings, improving metabolic health, and weight loss.
It works by noticing all the sensations in your body, part by part, without trying to change them.
The aim of this meditation is to put your brain into sleep mode by keeping your focus on your body, and nothing else.
That being said, it’s okay for your mind to wander, and if you find yourself thinking about anything that’s stressing you, try to bring your attention back to your body.
Let’s find out how to do it:
- Get comfortable and lie down ready for bed.
- Take a few deep breaths and keep your breathing regular (you can even do a few minutes of the breathing exercises to calm you first if you want).
- Bring your attention to your feet and notice how they feel. Move them a little if you want and take note of the feelings as you keep taking deep, regular breaths.
- If you notice any pain or discomfort, acknowledge it, keep breathing, and with each exhale visualize the discomfort leaving your body.
- Move your attention to your ankles, again noticing how they feel.
- Continue this up your body, past your hips, to the chest and shoulders, and down each arm to your fingertips.
- Keep taking deep breaths as you do this and end up by noticing how your head feels where it touches your pillow.
- You can repeat this as many times as you like, and don’t worry if you start feeling sleepy – that’s the aim of this exercise.
Habits take time to build, so give yourself a break, and remember that practice makes perfect.
Visualization for a great night’s sleep
Not being able to sleep is frustrating.
You know the feeling, you’re tired and ready for sleep, but as soon as you close your eyes, your mind is filled with wandering thoughts.
Visualization is great to fight this.
It’s a powerful tool for unwinding and relieving stress and has been scientifically proven to help you fall asleep faster – which leads to a better night’s rest and more effective weight loss.
There are limitless ways to use visualization.
Some people imagine a place or a scene, or even a relaxing activity that they enjoy.
It’s all about picturing an image, or images in your mind and trying to engage all of your senses.
Imagine a sunny path in a vibrant green summer forest.
What can you see? Do you hear the rustle of the leaves in the trees? Can you feel the warm sun on your face or a cool breeze on your back?
Visualization is all about immersing yourself in a calming environment, such as a forest, field, or beach.
Use all your senses to imagine what you can see, smell, touch, hear and even taste.
We know it can be hard to picture your “happy place” but think of any place, real or imagined, that makes you feel relaxed and at peace, and practice exploring it in your mind.
If you need a hand getting started, here’s a great 5-minute vacation video to introduce you to visualization.
A few minutes of this every day before bed, and you’ll be sleeping better, feeling more energized, and hitting your weight goals sustainably.
Retrace your day and calm your mind
This last weight loss meditation exercise works by cataloging all the details of your day, giving your buzzing brain the attention it craves on your own terms before you drift off.
It’s a fantastic trick to release some of your whirring thoughts before moving on to a quick breathing exercise before bed.
The idea is to watch your day in your mind, like a movie.
Let’s see how:
- Get comfortable in bed and close your eyes.
- Start by retracing when you woke up this morning.
- Review everything you did, no matter how small, for about 20 seconds.
- Try to just watch what you did, without thinking about how it felt.
- Do this with every task you completed throughout the day, leading up to getting into bed.
- Give yourself a few seconds to come back to the present before opening your eyes.
This can be a great way to process your day as well as practice separating your thoughts from your feelings.
It can lead to a calmer mind and a more relaxed body, putting you in the right frame of mind for a restful night in bed.
Night-time meditations are great for weight loss
Whichever techniques you decide to try, night-time meditations are a great tool to help you get a better night’s sleep.
Getting a good night’s rest is key to setting the stage for effective weight loss.
Everyone is different, so pick and mix until you find what works for you.
Your health journey is unique to you and only you know what works and what doesn’t.
Whatever helps you, keep practicing and you’ll be feeling more energized and ready to face the new day before you know it.
