Relieve Stress Naturally – Part 2
In Part 1, I shared some resources for the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), also known as tapping. Thank you for all the emails talking about how EFT has helped you. I hope others will try it too. Learn about EFT here.
Another technique I recently learned from an Ayurvedic doctor is about Nighttime Journaling.
Sometimes I’m exhausted when I lie down to go to sleep, but my mind will start spinning. I will be processing the day or planning for the next day. What can be frustrating is that even though I was falling asleep in my chair before I went to bed, I can lay there for hours and not able to go to sleep because my mind won’t shut down.
For me, this is more likely to happen if I’ve had a really busy day. My mind is trying to process everything and it’s overwhelming. If this happens to you, try this simple technique to clear the clutter out of your mind before you go to bed. When I journal, I don’t worry about how it reads, or even if it is legible, it is more about releasing my thoughts through pen and paper.
All you need is paper and something to write with.
First, list out everything you did that day. The big stuff, the little stuff… anything that comes to your mind. I just bullet point it. Write and write all the things that happened. You can begin with the morning and work your way through your day, or just write things down in random order. You will be done when you feel like your day has been released onto the paper.
Next, write down everything you need to do tomorrow. List it all out. Your meetings, your chores, your work, your family – any task big or small that you want to get done. Again, I just list bullets. This releases all those things that can keep us up because we remember them after we close our eyes. Just write, write, write until you have exhausted what you need to do the next day.
Third, list at least 10 things you are grateful for. It can be things that happened today, things you are looking forward to tomorrow, or things from your past. It doesn’t matter if these things are big or small, real or intangible, they just need to make you feel grateful. You are done when you are feeling blessed.
Now, you have released today, the pressures of tomorrow, and you are feeling blessed and relaxed.
Time to turn out the light and get a restful night’s sleep.
Let me know how this works for you.
Summary
Journal about three things just before you go to bed. The idea is to release the “stuff” that causes our minds to race as we try to go to sleep or it will trigger bad dreams or restless sleep. Releasing these thoughts through writing just before bed is a calming and healthy way to process what is on our minds, thus, relaxing us. First, write down everything you did that day. Next, write about everything you need to do the next day. Third, write down at least 10 things you are grateful for, no matter how small they are.
About the Author: Leigh Ann Rodgers, Founder of Better Teams and Forward, is an IAF Certified Professional Facilitator with 20 years of experience in the human development field. Leigh Ann is a skilled meeting facilitator, trainer, and coach working across the globe to help leaders cultivate teams that are happy and high-performing.
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