Are you struggling to get a decent night of sleep?
With heavy news cycles, hectic schedules and financial stresses, it’s no wonder that many of us are having difficulty with sleep at the moment.
In fact, a recent study discovered that nearly 40% of the population experienced disrupted sleep throughout 2023. The phrase “I'm tired” was even one of the most frequent searches on Google last year!
So, if you’re feeling even more stressed about your lack of sleep in recent weeks, what can you do to ease it?
Luckily for us, the sleep experts at MattressOnline have curated some top tips on how to practise a technique known as ‘finger breathing’.
For those who have never heard of it, finger breathing is a form of self-hypnosis that can be used to bring you back into a calmer and relaxed state of mind, when you’re feeling restless. It is well-documented that breathing techniques are one of the most useful ways to calm yourself in moments of anxiety, and so it’s a no-brainer that it can also be a helpful tool to get you to fall asleep.
Working with MattressOnline, leading hypnotherapist at charity Cavendish Cancer Care, Clare Longstaffe, has laid out a list of different finger breathing techniques that she swears by to help to slow down any anxieties. Follow the steps below, and hopefully, you will be able to catch the rest you need:
Step 1
Start by laying or sitting down in a comfortable position. Relax your breathing by inhaling more deeply and slower than you would normally.
Step 2
Bring the fingers and thumb of one hand together in a relaxed pinched position. Using your other hand, cup and loosely rest your bunched fingertips in your palm. Count five relaxed breaths while keeping your hands in this position.
Step 3
Swap hands and count five breaths again.
Step 4
Next, make a thumbs up with one hand and then wrap the fingers of the other hand around the opposing thumb. Loosely hold your thumb while you count 5 relaxed breaths. Then swap hands and count five breaths again.
Step 5
Repeat this process on the rest of your fingers, i.e. wrap the fingers of one hand around your opposing index finger and hold for 5 relaxed breaths, before switching hands and repeating the process.
If you prefer visual learning, you can also find more tips and patterns for finger breathing on YouTube here.
