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Once in bed, imagining rooms in a familiar house will help you get rid of parasitic ruminations and thus fall asleep faster. That’s what a recent video from social network TikTok promises.
To sleep easier, some people know the famous technique of counting sheep. However, the said technique is not always as effective as claimed. Perhaps it’s better to imagine something familiar, comforting, like the rooms of a family home. Here’s what the ultra-viral video, which was posted on August 1, 2024 on the social network TikTok and now has more than 1.9 million views, has to offer.
Imagine the colors, the textures, the smells…
At the beginning of this publication, American trainer Emily Kessler, who introduces herself as a meditation specialist. Speaking to the camera, the influencer details the principle behind her favorite sleep tip, called the Home Tour. This consists of breathing deeply in bed and then imagining a familiar home that is not your own. Once you have the image in mind, imagine yourself walking into the house and walking through each room, paying attention to the smallest detail: the color of the walls, the pictures, the texture of the furniture, the way the light comes in from the window, but also the smells and noises that arise, like the creaking of the parquet floor.
The coach, in turn, chose to return to his grandmother’s old house every night. If this “trick seems really weird and weird for sleeping,” he says the technique has radically helped him fall asleep faster, as well as “all the people (he) talked to about it,” he assures. . said: And to confirm its effectiveness. “I could never imagine going up to my grandmother’s house without sleeping.”
The calming power of imagination
If Emily Kessler doesn’t provide more information about the origin of the “House Tour” trick, several sleep experts confirm the benefits of visualization before bed. “It can help calm an overactive mind by focusing on specific details like colors and smells to encourage you to stay present,” the journal confirmed Monday, Oct. 28. hustle and bustle Shelby Harris, a clinical psychologist in New York City and director of sleep health at the Sleepolis bedding brand.
According to psychotherapist Tanya Taylor, an anxiety specialist, who was interviewed on the same topic by the magazine in January 2023; Stylist mental walking gives us the same benefits as actual walking, indoors and outdoors. “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 induce the release of calming, relaxing and soothing hormones,” concludes the expert.
What if the visit is over and you still haven’t encountered the arms of Morpheus? “If you’re still awake after about 20 minutes, it’s a good idea to get up and do something relaxing instead of lying down,” suggests psychologist Dr. Shelby Harris. And as soon as the first signs of sleep appear again, get back under the covers and immerse yourself in another visit, this time, hopefully, in the vagueness of dreams.
Source: Le Figaro
