In a recent popular science podcast, Matthew Walker, an English neuroscientist and noted sleep expert, reveals the technique of unstoppable visualization.
As it often does lately, your mind is racing before bed, fighting the urge to sleep with your fists. Neither CBD herbal tea, lavender pillow mist, nor white noise can silence the day’s deluge of thoughts and parasites. The bad news, endless counting of sheep won’t help either. “It’s a myth. On the contrary, it increases the time needed to fall asleep,” says Matthew Walker, professor of neurology and psychology. Guest of a popular British science podcast Zoe Science & NutritionThursday, December 8, 2022 bestselling author why do we sleep (The Discovery) offers another technique of mental visualization, which he says is much more effective.
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Let’s wander in the forest…
The method is called mental walking. “Think of a walk you know very well. a walk in the woods, a hike in the mountains or a beach, and then try to really visualize it,” says Professor Matthew Walker.
For this strategy to bear fruit, the expert insists on paying attention to detail during this demonstration. “Concentrate until you visualize walking through your front door, down the stairs, and onto the boardwalk.” If you follow this rule well, the specialist assures him that in the minutes following this visualization, “the next thing you will remember will be your alarm clock going off the next morning because you are asleep.”
How to explain such efficiency? According to psychotherapist Tania Taylor, an anxiety specialist, in a magazine interview Stylist , a mental walk gives us the same benefit as a walk in nature. “The intellectual part of the brain knows you’re safe, but the area that controls hormones and neurotransmitters has no idea. Using our imagination, we can trigger the release of calming, soothing and relaxing hormones,” concludes the expert.
Prepare well in advance
What if no wooden or iodized memories come to mind? The two experts invite the unimaginative to go and sketch ideas during the day, from holiday albums or even invent a real walk, during which we will note all the details to stage them in the evening.
A psychotherapist who is also a hypnotherapist prefers additional tools to deepen the experience. She advises those with pillow rages to accompany their visualization with a sleep-specific audiohypnosis session, look at photos of soothing landscapes before bed, or listen to nature sounds like waves or rain.
Prevent performance anxiety
Be careful, if you are concerned about not being able to sleep, you won’t actually be able to do it for more than one night. “The fear of not sleeping adds what’s called ‘performance anxiety’ or stress to hyperarousal. This is how most chronic insomnia begins, “Olivier Coste, a somnologist at the University Hospital of Bordeaux, explained to us in a previous article.
If you keep ruminating in bed, Professor Matthew Walker recommends getting up but staying away from screens. In general, the neurologist insists that it is important to practice strict sleep hygiene, that is, waking up and going to bed at the same time every day, including weekends. Alcohol and caffeine, which are responsible for micro-awakening and fragmented sleep, should be avoided at least three hours before bedtime, as should light sources. Reduce exposure to light by at least 50% or completely an hour before bed, suggests Matthew Walker. “You’ll be surprised how the darkness puts you to sleep.”
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Source: Le Figaro
