Prayer time is time to be grateful. Researcers have found, people who are more grateful when climbing into bed, are better sleepers.
Maybe you were lucky enough to grow up in a home, where the going to bed ritual included prayers. Do you still do it ? Or is it one of those things that has long since been forgotten.
The demands of your adult life – don’t leave room for quaint practices.
You fall into bed, at some ungodly hour, absolutely EXHAUSTED. And then…………………………….. you toss and turn for an hour, before finally passing out.
It’s time to re-instate that bedtime ritual.
Believe it or not, it can change your body chemistry – so that you sleep better.
This is what researchers recently discovered.
Okay, they didn’t actually study the impact of saying your prayers on sleep……… instead they studied the grown up equivalent.
The anatomy of a prayer
Children’s prayer time follows a standard format.
Here is an example…..
Thank you for my baby brother / hot water etc.
Please give the starving children in Africa food, the poor people on the streets warm clothes etc.
Oh, and please give me a new bicycle.
Thank you.
Amen
Look carefully. The whole thing is about being grateful.
It begins with a focus of being THANKFUL for the day that was and the things that are part of the child’s life. I’m betting most kids, secretly wish the baby brother was not part of their lives, but this thought is not allowed to be expressed.
Only once the thank you’s are complete, can the shopping list of requests be introduced. And even then, children are encouraged to ask for things for others first.
Personal requests for things, are added right at the end.
And the prayer is closed off, with a giant THANK YOU. It is a thank you for listening.
The grown up equivalent of prayer time, being grateful.
Prayer time is time to be grateful
And saying THANK YOU is the recipe for a good night’s sleep.
Seriously, it works.
The team studied the personalities, thinking patterns aka. levels of gratitude, particularly before bed and sleep quality of 401 individuals (186 males, 215 females), ranging in age from 18, all the way to 68 years of age.
When they crunched the numbers.
They discovered, people who were more grateful when climbing into bed, were better sleepers. They were able to fall asleep quicker. They reported sleeping better and for longer.
And the BETTER SLEEP, translated to better functioning during the day.
So, when you climb into bed tonight, don’t forget to
Say your prayers
It might help you get to sleep quicker.
NOTE : If saying your prayers feels too childish, do the grown up thing – keep a gratitude journal.
Further reading
Everyone should have a chocolate eating ceremony
Formally designing a little ceremony around your chocolate eating, will make the chocolate taste a whole lot better and this will make chocolate better for you
A bucket list does not work as well as a REAL to-do-list
This weeks Neurotechnology Tip, suggests ditching the bucket list approach to daily planning, which is anything but brain friendly, rather….
Taking the garbage out will help you think positively
Well meaning people tell you – THINK POSITIVELY. But they never tell you how to do it. This week’s Neurotechnology Tip gives you a strategy to actually do it.
Interested in learning more about the chemistry behind sleep ?
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