Stay positive to fall asleep

Stay positive, stay positive… easy to say, not as easy to do when you’re constantly surrounded by life’s little (and big) troubles. If all you needed to do was wish for it to be so, you’d know! Well, we’re here to show you how it really is possible – and how to fall asleep fast.

Have positive thoughts

Living in the present is the key to surround yourself with positive thoughts.

Positive thinking means no more mental beatings over that interview you think you’re going to fail tomorrow. That fear of the future is called performance anxiety. Light stress is mostly a normal, useful reaction when confronted to an immediate challenge… but you must not let yourself be controlled by your anxiety because it could become a problem.

Positive thinking means stopping those intrusive thoughts like “I hope he didn’t see when I had that piece of lettuce stuck between my teeth sweet lord why am I thinking about that now help”. Concentrating on the present is a way to free yourself from your mistakes – it can seem trivial, but on a larger scale, dwelling on the past can cause depression.

That’s pretty hard when you suffer periodically from esprit d’escalier. Here are a few tips from The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor, an American “happiness researcher” from Harvard.

(L’esprit d’escalier comes from the French and literally means “the spirit of the stairs”. It’s for when you find an amazing come back to something someone said to you… hours or days after it actually happened.)

Keep an emotional journal. This isn’t about keeping a diary like a 14 year old girl. By putting down on paper a positive experience you had during your day, you train your brain to spontaneously stop thinking about negative experiences.

Exercise to sleep better

Yup, exercise puts you in a good mood! Endorphins and dopamine are released into your body and pump you full of happiness, so take advantage of it every day. 

Reveal your inner zen

Have you ever seen a zen Buddhist monk blow a fuse behind the wheel? You haven’t? Well, that’s not a coincidence (and not only because they don’t use cars in Himalayan temples). Cultivating your inner zen means saying no to emotions that drain and enslave you.

• Do a righteous deed (or many righteous deeds)

Sowing happiness around you is the solution to get great karma. Think about saying great things about people as soon as you have the chance, help people without waiting for them to ask you for help, don’t litter… The more you act like a caring human being full of good will, the more people around you will want to reciprocate. “Happiness is born from altruism, and unhappiness from selfishness” says Buddha.

• Get rid of people dragging you down
  

Your friends are all depressed and are dragging you down? You feel guilty, you want to be a good friend but you’re tired of carrying everyone’s troubles on your shoulders?If it lasts too long, drop them like it’s hot! Or really, just change your social circle.

Just as you are more likely to be overweight if your closest friends and family are, your mood is influenced by those who are close to you. Does it seem pretty harsh? Maybe… but it works both ways! If everyone does his own righteous deed, pretty soon you won’t have to get rid of anyone. 

Sex as a sleeping aid

To get rid of depression, try a good book, a hot bath, or even… a little one on one time with your significant other. In bed, your brain releases oxytocin, also known as… the happiness hormone! According to a comparative study made on sexuality and money by economists from the university of Warwick, people who have sex at least once a week were as happy as if they had won 37 000 euros. Sex also helps to get to sleep because it puts you in he ideal conditions. 

Neuro linguistic programming or PNL for short is a therapy that teaches you to handle your emotions and understand the emotions of others.

Created in the seventies by John Grinder, an American doctor of linguistics, and his associate Richard Bandler, PNL allows you to revisit emotions of unpleasant moments to free yourself of their hold on you.

Here is a little PNL exercise that you can try to start out: 

• Think about a moment you disliked, whatever the emotion is. Sadness,anger, shame, fear ..
  
• Project the moment in your head, like in a movie theatre. Be more like an observer than an actor of the moment.
  
• Then, change the parameters of the moment: colors, speed, distance, sound. You should be able to make all the bad feelings linked to the experience disappear.
  

Eventually, you can do the same thing with good experiences, trying to better them so that they will make you happier !

Here's a little exercice to do for a week when you're going to bed, to help you keep a positive mind.

• Grab a pen and a notebook.
  
• Isolate yourself from noise or listen to a sweet song.
  
• Take three deep breaths.
  
• Write down 7 nice things about your day. Take time to think about the details, people you met and with whom you shared a pleasant moment, or the things you're grateful for.
  

Examples ? I wasn't late this morning, I'm happy I shared a good breakfast with my charming co-worker, the weather was nice today ...

It's more than an habit, it will cheer up your outlook and your life!

On the same topic:

The food you ingest affects your sleep!

Ban screens to fall asleep faster!

Exercise is a great way to get tired and sleepy!

Having sex will trigger your body into a good night's sleep

Staying zen will rest your mind to help your body sleep at night

Did we mention marijuana as a sleep aid ?

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