Difficulties falling asleep, nocturnal awakenings, insomnia… Thanks to breathing and the visualization of positive images, sophrology represents an interesting aid for sleep disorders. Benefits, functioning, exercises… The point with Elsa Favreau, sophrologist.
What are the benefits of sophrology on sleep?
Sophrology provides a secure environment when going to sleepwhich promotes sleep and reduces nocturnal awakenings. This discipline allows relax, relieve stress accumulated throughout the day, reduce fatigue, let go and so, of regain restful sleep. “Stress and anxiety are the first reasons for consultation in sophrology. In question, an overload of work and relationship problems that lead people to accumulate tension and stress. As a result, they are tense at the end of the day and dread going to bed, which prevents sleep from settling in.“, says Elsa Favreau. Thanks to breathing and positive conditioning, sophrology allows the person to install anchors in the present moment and to detach from the thoughts that preoccupy her.
Often, people who suffer from insomnia stay focused on the fact that they can’t get to sleep, which causes additional stress. The principle of sophrology is to divert attention with positive thoughtssoothing thoughts of calm for encourage letting go and distance yourself from the weight of insomnia and reduce its impact. You must know that the night prepares for the day. “Recovery takes place throughout the day with short breaks and relaxation so that the person can release all mental tension to the extent that. In other words, by externalizing the stress during the day, we arrive more relaxed in the evening, which promotes falling asleep. Sophrology allows the person to regain confidence in his ability to sleep“, develops the sophrologist.
Example of sophrology exercise for sleep
To improve sleep, Elsa Favreau offers dynamic relaxation exercises which allow you to resolve tensions and get rid of your annoyances.
► Lying on the bed, inhale while inflating the belly, contract all the muscles very strongly as if gathering all the tensions of the day and releasing suddenly as if relaxing all the muscles. Repeat 3 times. “The fact of contracting and releasing leads to physiological relaxation“, comments Elsa Favreau.
► Lying on the bed, eyes closed, feel the weight of the body on the mattress, the weight of the head on the pillow, the back of the shoulders which relaxes, the arms, review all the parts of the body on the mattress. “This positive conditioning tells the brain that it’s time to go to sleep. We can’t control sleep with the mind, repeating ourselves in a loop “I need to sleep” doesn’t work. We must therefore act at the level of the body“, details the sophrologist.
Sophrology is not reimbursed by health insurance
► The abdominal breathing : put one hand on your stomach, inhale for 3-4 seconds then blow very slowly through your mouth like through a straw. Extending this expiration time will soothe the heartbeat and slow down the thoughts, everything pauses.
► If you wake up at night, you can stand up and shrug your shoulders several times in a row. “It helps to evacuate negative thoughts, ruminations and annoyances“, underlines the specialist.
► To eliminate parasitic thoughts and regain calm, square or 4-step breathing works wonders. The principle ? Imagine that you have a square in your head, inhale on one edge of this square, block the breath on the next edge, blow on the next one then block the breath on the rest of the square. “Counting mentally allows you to focus on one thing, which calms the brain. The particularity of this exercise lies in the fact that the inspiration time must be equal to the expiration time“, specifies Elsa Favreau.
Is a session with a sophrologist reimbursed?
Sophrology is not reimbursed by health insurance but some mutuals offer full or partial coverage of the sessions.
Thanks to Elsa Favreau, sophrologist.