How To Relax Your Brain For Sleep: Insomnia Relaxation Techniques

Do you go to bed stressed? After a long day at work, worrying about the deadlines and all the items on our to-do list we end up feeling exhausted and stressed.

This leads to thinking about your problems even after getting back home, the mental wheel just keeps turning and there is no way to turn it off.

The interesting thing is that not all people notice that they go to bed stressed. Some think that they are just tired and it is normal.

Some try to switch off by watching TV or drinking alcohol before going to bed, but this is not a healthy coping mechanism. And some people actually respond to stress by falling asleep (yes, fight or flight, or sleep – this happens, too).

It seems that only people who suffer from stress-related insomnia realize that they have a problem and need to practice relaxation techniques.

But the truth is, that if you are regularly exposed to stressful situations and don’t relax enough, the anxiety just keeps building up and a good night’s sleep just doesn’t help anymore. You still wake up mentally exhausted and feeling nervous even before you have properly woken up.

How To Relax Your Brain For Sleep: 6 Relaxation Techniques

We are going to talk about using short 12-minute brainwave audios to relax before going to sleep, but there are a few other “before bed” habits that can also help get results.

To keep your stress levels in check in the evening, try the following:

• Relax on the way home. Use travel time from work as a kind of “buffer”. If you’re rushing home worrying about the traffic – that is not really relaxing, that is continuing to build up your stress levels.
• Try to leave yourself enough time to get to your next appointment after work, so that you don’t have to worry about the time. And just accept that things might take longer than planned.
• Create transitional rituals. If you go straight to your list of chores after work, you are likely to start worrying about them as well. Plus, when you first get in, you are still in work mode, adrenalin is pumping and your brain keeps solving work problems.
• Schedule an activity in between home and work that would help let the stress diffuse. Going to the gym is one of the most popular ones. But if you are not really a gym person, going shopping or calling a friend can help too.
• Power down. Even though you might think that the TV or browsing Facebook will distract you from your worries. You’re probably exposing yourself to even more anxiety-provoking stimuli. So a couple of hours before going to bed, try listening to music instead of watching TV. And if you do have to watch something, make sure it is positive and “light”.
• Empty your brain. Your mind is probably still racing from the events of the day. Do not keep your emotions and thoughts bottled up. Talk to someone or write in a journal.

How To Use Brainwave Audios To Dissolve Stress?

Now, let’s be honest, everything we’ve mentioned above is easier said than done. Often life gets in the way, and you can’t afford to squeeze in going to the gym into your busy schedule, or you might still be struggling to quieten your mind even after talking it out with a friend.

In that case, here is one thing that you can definitely do: listen to a brainwave audio before going to sleep. It is only 12 minutes long. So you don’t need to reschedule your evening to work around it. Just turn it on when you get into bed. Again, one session is only twelve minutes long.

What is the science behind this?

There is actually 100s of years of science behind brainwave audios. The way they work is that they use special frequencies to induce a super-deep state of relaxation in just a matter of minutes. Basically, the audio is a replication of deep frequencies that have been recorded in people during meditation.

Your brain copies these frequencies and starts “to think” that it is meditating. This process is known as “brainwave entrainment”.

Is there any “special” way of using these audios?

No. Brainwave audios are super easy to use. There are no special instructions to follow. Just download an audio, click play and listen. You feel immediate stress and anxiety relief.

You don’t need to sit in an uncomfortable position or try to actively turn your mind off. Just let the audio do all the work for you.

Where can I get a brainwave audio?

Brainwave audios are becoming more and more popular. You can even find some on YouTube, that you can listen to online. But because there is actually a science to these audios, we would not recommend using untested products.

They won’t hurt you, but they also won’t give you any benefits, and you will just end up disappointed and, potentially, more frustrated than before.

Try googling “brainwave audios” to find some verified MP3s. And if you just want to get one to try out, have a look at the free Zen12 audio. Just enter your contact details and the audio will be instantly emailed to you.

You can actually get started within the next 10 minutes. There are no setup instructions, just download and click play.