Sleepiness and Mindfulness
One of the struggles of mindfulness is that it often puts us into contact with our own tiredness. Most Americans are functioning on less sleep than they need. In addition we get lower levels of activity due to jobs that are sedentary and we do not always eat properly resulting in uneven energy throughout the day. So when we slow down to practice a mindfulness exercise, we find ourselves sleepy. When we encounter sleepiness, the best answer is to mindfully acknowledge that as an opportunity to take better care of ourselves. Make decisions to follow a regular sleep/wake rhythm, to get more activity, and to eat foods that will provide good energy during our day. It is less useful to give over our mindfulness to napping. In the same way that distressing or uncomfortable thoughts often arise in mindfulness, and we acknowledge them and let them go, so too it is useful to not the tiredness but to make the choice to stay with the mindful awareness rather than giving into the urge to nap. John Weaver, Psy.D.
