Better Sleep with Guided ImageryA No-Pill Solution to Restful Slumber
Dean Shrock
Posted: Sep 27, 07 4:45pm Editor's Note: Here at TeeBeeDee, we are very fortunate to have members with incredible experience. Dean Shrock is one of them. He's a leading expert in the field of guided imagery and one of the first researchers to document the effectiveness of mind/body/spirit approaches to surviving cancer. He is the author of Doctor's Orders: Go Fishing, and we're hoping he can help you sleep better. What is guided imagery?Guided imagery is a form of mental rehearsal. It is the mental picturing or thinking of a desired outcome. In the same way that you can learn something by practicing or observing, you can learn by modeling or imitating this behavior symbolically through thought and imagination. How does it work?Imagine that you are going to eat a lemon. Imagine a bright yellow lemon. Feel its texture in your hands. Now imagine you are cutting that lemon in half with a knife. Maybe some juice squirts as you cut through the rind and pulp. Now imagine taking this juicy lemon to your mouth and squeezing it gently. Imagine the cool, but very tangy, lemon juice dripping onto your lips and tongue. As the citric juice hits your sweet and sour taste buds, your mouth will almost certainly begin to salivate, and your lips pucker or face wince. Your autonomic nervous system has just physically responded to your imaginary lemon juice. There's no lemon, just your imagination, which created the physical response. How will this help me sleep better?For starters, stress is a significant enemy of good sleep. If you go to a guided imagery practitioner for sleep, they will ask you a series of questions to find out what's most relaxing to you. Then they will make a recording that guides you through a mental exercise that should calm you and help you sleep more restfully. So I've put together four of the most common guided imagery recordings for better sleep and relaxation (below) to help you get started. Ideally, you should listen to one of these recordings before bedtime, or when you have time to lie down. (It's very likely you will fall asleep while listening.) Research has shown that if you listen to these recordings for three weeks, you will see a difference--usually, immediately. Click on the links below to listen right now. But if you want to download the audio files to your hard drive (to upload to an MP3 player), RIGHT-CLICK and "save as" this file onto your computer: If you are having any problems downloading these recordings, you can learn more about Dr. Shrock's guided imagery CDs by going to his website: www.deanshrock.com. Have Something to Say? |
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Posted: Oct 2, 07 3:08pm
Dear TeeBeeDee-ers,
This is Dean Shrock.
I welcome your comments or questions how to apply guided imagery to improve your health and much more.
Looking forward to hearing from you, Dean
Posted: Oct 2, 07 4:41pm
Hi, I was interested to hear that you work with cancer patients. What do you do for them? I have a neighbor who has bladder cancer and the anxiety builds with each treatment option. Wondering if these relaxation exercises would help him?
Posted: Nov 15, 07 11:21am
Dean,
A pleasure and (hopefully) a relief to have you here. Have struggled for several years with what I laughingly call "sleepus interruptus," but anyone who'se ever been starved for sleep knows there isn't much funny about it.
Some time back a member posted a discussion about dreaming and just that morning I'd seen an interesting piece in the New York Times... is this related to the type of work you do?
[An interesting piece ran recently in the NYT on "lucid dreaming," a theory being promoted in science and media that contends one can control one's dreams and even induce a dream at will. Here's a link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/16/fashion/16lucid.html]
Grateful for your expertise and advice.
Posted: Nov 14, 07 8:01pm
I have been using various cd's to fall asleep to for years now. Holosync and other companies provide great guided meditations. I also have a collection of hypnosis discs that my hypnotherapist makes during each session. He records the session and I can listen to the cd every night. The best part is he will include a part about not waking up if I don't want and I never even hear the disc finish. I often fall asleep before the music or meditation ends. The only drawback is I wake up in the middle of the night w/ my earphones still on. Otherwise I sleep more fitfully and awake more refreshed. An inexpensive cd player and headphones work great especially when sleeping with someone else.
NAMASTE
Robert
Posted: Nov 15, 07 11:14am
Hi Dean, I learned and used Guided Imagery myself when I went through my cancer experience in 2000. It was amazingly helpful and transformed how I "saw" my cancer. I love how you have to use your imagination to create the images at first and then suddenly you are really there and you are trying to keep up with them! I now use this in my work with cancer patients and it is very effective for them. Thanks for this post and I will try to download your info and voice!