How to Do Progressive Muscle Relaxation to Fall Asleep Faster
How do you like to start your morning? Are you a slow riser, taking your time to get out of bed? Or do you hop out at the sound of the alarm and get a few push-ups and jumping jacks in to get your blood pumping? If the latter is more your style, this article is for you! Progressive Muscle Relaxation is the nighttime equivalent to this, as it helps your muscles unwind after a long hard day on the go.
What is Progressive Muscle Relaxation?
Progressive Muscle Relaxation is a method to systematically tense and then relax each of your major muscle groups. The idea is to provide a waterfall effect throughout your skeleto-muscular system, your major muscle groups to contract and then release. This can help the mind focus on a specific activity while enabling lactic acid and muscle tension to dissipate.
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- Step 1. Take a deep breath and contract one muscle group at a time. Start with your lower extremities like your feet, and then move to your calves and thighs.
- Step 2. Contract for 5-10 seconds before releasing your breath and releasing the tension.
- Step 3. Move up to your middle extremities like your buttocks and abdomen.
- Step 4. Finish off with your arms, hands, chest, shoulders, neck, and lastly face. Focus on particular tension points like a tight jaw or tense shoulders.
– Remember to breath deeply in and out during these exercises
– You can also try focusing on peaceful and calming imagery like a soothing sunset, lapping waves, or a pleasant meadow. Whatever works for you!
Ideally done with coordinating breathing without overstraining, Progressive Muscle Relaxation is known to help individuals achieve a more restful state and facilitate a drowsy drift towards sound sleep.
The entire process should be calm, deliberate, meditative and progressive in order to get your mind and body completely calm. Progressive Muscle Relaxation can help you earn some much-needed shuteye. Feel try to try it out and then measure your sleep using the SleepScore App to see if it helped you get a better night’s slumber.