Somatic Exercises for Sleep: Calming the Body to Quiet the Mind
I once heard that sleep is not the end of our day; it is the beginning of our day. How we sleep impacts our stress levels, eating habits, mental health, patience, focus, and so much more. When we aren’t getting enough sleep, we feel it in nearly every aspect of our lives.
According to the NIH, about one in three adults do not regularly get the recommended amount of interrupted sleep. This may be from poor sleep hygiene, busy work/life schedules, stress, anxiety at night, or a combination of various factors.
Why Sleep Problems are Often in the Body
I have had many clients over the years who share that their sleep problems are an issue of anxiety or overthinking. Although the mind can certainly impact how we sleep, I think we often ignore the physical aspect in the body when it comes to issues of insomnia.
Sleep requires our nervous systems to calm to the point that it allows sleep. If we don’t feel safe or the nervous system is activated, the brain won’t power down into sleep mode. This can result in overthinking, anxiety, and/or restlessness. But those may be the symptoms of a lack of settling in the body.
The body has to be a parasympathetic-dominant state. This part of the nervous system is responsible for calm and safety. Although we may not feel full-on panic, when the sympathetic nervous system is driving experience we are still in alert mode.
How Somatic Exercises Can Support Healthy Sleep
Somatic exercises work specifically with these systems, encouraging conditions that allow sleep. Rather than forcing sleep or trying to directly quiet the mind, we put forth effort to engage the parasympathetic nervous system.
When the body is activated, the brain often reacts with more activity as well. Trying to work with the mind doesn’t always work. Moving more toward a physiological approach, we can address the root cause rather than the symptom.
As a simple example, you may find yourself anxious at night and unable to sleep. By lengthening the breath and slowing the exhales, you engage your parasympathetic nervous system and the body feels more safe. This in turn relaxes the body and nervous system, which calms the racing thoughts.
Somatic Exercises for Sleep
Here are six of my favorite somatic exercises for sleep. I encourage you to try the one that calls to you, and give it a good try before moving on to other practices.
Body Scan
The body scan is an amazing tool for many situations, including in aiding sleep. A 2018 study using fMRI technology looked specifically at body scan meditation. It found that different types of body scans had noticable benefits in the brain. For a pure awareness-centered body scan, participants strengthened both sensory awareness and perception.
To do a body scan, I recommend trying a body scan meditation for beginners to familiarize yourself with the practice. This can help you understand how to do it. The practice is fairly simple:
Start by lying down in bed. Find a nice relaxed position where you can be still.
Begin at the crown of your head and simply bring your awareness to any physical sensations present.
Slowly move through the entire body, bit by bit, until you reach the toes.
Remember to try to be present with the direct physical experience, not your thoughts or stories about them.
Progressive Muscle Relaxation
Another way to do a body scan, progressive muscle relaxation is a practice in which we move through the body slowly with the intention of relaxing each part. The above study found that relaxation-based body scans led to more deliberate control in the brain. With practice, we can learn to relax the body with more ease.
To do a progressive muscle relaxation somatic exercise, you again might start with a guided meditation. You also can just go for it, as it is fairly straightforward.
Begin the same as you would with any body scan.
As you bring your attention the top of the head, imagine actively relaxing this part of the body. You might even squeeze the muscles here and then relax.
Move through the entire body like this, slowly and deliberately relaxing the muscles in each place.
Physiological Sigh
The physiological sigh is a great way to actively engage the parasympthetic nervous system. It lowers your breathing rate fairly quickly, activates the parasympathetic nervous system through slower breathing, and regulates CO2 levels.
Take a deep breath in through your nose. Fill your lungs with air and allow the chest to expand.
Take a second breath here at the top. This breath will be much shorter, but try to fully fill your lungs at this point.
With the exhale, try to release the air through your mouth. Rather than pushing the air out, allow it to release with a sigh.
Repeat for a total of five times.
Lengthened Exhales
Lengthening your exhales is a core somatic exercise. According to Psychology Today, this practice engages the vagus nerve, deactivates the sympathetic nervous system, increase heart rate variability, and improves clear decision-making.
Think about a moment of fear or anxiety. The breath often shortens. By lengthening the exhale, we’re telling the nervous system that we’re safe. You can do this practice in bed at night, or at any time during your day.
One of the clearest ways to do this is with the 4-7-8 breathing exercise.
Slowly inhale through the nose, filling both your lungs and belly. Count to four as you inhale.
Hold you breath for a count of seven.
Slowly release the breath while counting to eight.
This may take a few breaths to adjust fully. You may not be able to hold your breath for seven seconds and exhale for eight right off the bat. Often, it takes a couple of breaths to find the long exhale.
Gentle Stretching
Stretching has obvious benefits when it comes to flexibility, but it also can help relax the nervous system. Really, any kind of stretching can be useful. I’ll offer just a couple of basic somatic stretching exercises here.
Arch and Flatten
Lying on your back on the floor, allow your knees to bend slightly.
Inhale and gently arch your lower back away from the floor.
Exhale and allow it to flatten back down.
Repeat as many times as you’d like!
Knee Drops (Windshield Wipers)
Lie down on your back with your knees bent and arms stretched out to the side.
Slowly allow your knees to fall to one side, keeping the shoulders in contact with the ground.
With the breath, slowly lift the knees back up and move to the other side.
Continue back and forth to stretch the hips, lower back, and mid back.
Pelvic Circles
Sit upright in a chair. Place you feet flat on the floor.
Move your pelvis slowly in a circular pattern.
Continue for a few rotations, then switch direction.
You might consider combining your stretching with some breathing exercises, such as lengthening the exhale!
Self-Massage
When we consciously massage ourselves, we can significantly decrease activity in the nervous system. Self-massage is one of my favorite somatic exercises for anxiety as well as for sleep. You can really do this on any part of your body, but here are a few notable ways to practice self-massage.
Warming Touch
Gently rub your hands together to create some warmth.
You can then place your hands over your heart, give yourself a gentle hug, or place them on your belly to self-soothe.
Facial Release
Using your fingertips, slowly stroke down your face. Use a light touch as you move across the eyes, cheeks, chin, and neck in a downward motion.
Gentle Neck Rubs
To help stimulate the vagus nerve, drop one ear down toward the shoulder.
On the exposed side of the neck, gently rub with your fingertips from the ear down to the shoulder.
