Over the decades that I have been teaching and leading meditation there is a common problem that arises. People fall asleep when meditating.
Here are three possible causes and their solutions.
Fatigue
The first challenge is straightforward. People are tired and when they give their bodies the opportunity to be still and at ease, their bodies follow a natural instinct and slip into slumber.
There are two solutions. The simple one is do not meditate when you are tired. Timing will vary. For instance, some people have energy after eating, but others need a nap. Some people can easily meditate when they get home from work; others need a meal and a rest. Some people also need to make adjustments according to the time of year and seasons. You need to understand what works best for you in terms of timing and your circadian rhythms.
The other solution is less straightforward. Many people experience a general fatigue due to their lifestyle. Too much work. Too much fun. Too much family. Whatever the reason, falling asleep in meditation is a prompt to tweak how you are living. Your body is dropping into sleep in order to make up for the stress from the rest of your life. The solution here may be troubling or a very useful nudge: change your lifestyle.
Dissociation and Avoidance
A second reason for why people fall asleep in meditation is more subtle and sensitive. When people meditate and drop into a sense of calm and being at ease, they may start to experience bodily sensations that are due to muscle and cellular memory. These sensations, which may be very subtle, are often related to trauma and injury. So it is natural that people will want to avoid these negative feelings and reliving the unpleasant experience. Falling asleep is a good strategy to avoid the pain.
In worst case examples, people who were abused as children may, during their abuse, have dissociated from their bodies. This is a poignant but effective escape and survival mechanism. It is as if their consciousness absented itself from their bodies and the traumatic experience. So later in life, in meditation, as old memories surface, they follow the same survival pattern that they used in childhood. They dissociate and fall asleep.
This is obviously tender material and requires careful compassionate attention. If people feel that this may be their case, then there are two ways forward. The first is to recognise what is happening and use the meditative practice of deep self-compassion to address the painful history. This strategy only works if the meditator is strong, balanced and able to turn up the volume on self-compassion.
The second method is to engage with a therapist or meditation teacher who understands how histories of trauma are held in the body. In the last two decades there has been a useful growth in body-based psychotherapy.
Stodgy and Inert Energy
A third reason why people may fall asleep in meditation is that their mind, emotions and body are stodgy and not in flow. This can be an understandably uncomfortable realisation.
Especially as people sink into being at ease or, practice techniques in which they connect down into the Earth, then it can feel as if their energy and vitality clog up like slow treacle. This is like taking a sleeping pill or sedative. The brain feels heavy. Morpheus and Hypnos, the gods of sleep, magnetically attract people into slumber.
The solution to this problem is systemic. The whole system needs to be freed up into a more fluid state of movement.
Inside meditation this can be achieved by doing exercises frequently taught, for example, in Qi Gung and Kabballah. Sense and guide energy up and down, through and around the body, varying the circulation and speed.
At the same time people can review their diets and general exercise regimes. Reduce foods that sedate instead of vitalise. Move your body in expansive movements. Check that you are flexible in your emotional and mental stances.
Thank you William. For many years I have been beating myself up about what an “awful” meditator I am… I have never seen the link between my childhood experience of abuse and dissociation/avoidance. You mention the growth of body based psychotherapy to assist; could you give some indicators of the types of therapy that might help with this. I have tried some over the years, but the issue persists.
William: Hello Denise. Am sorry to hear about your history, but glad that you have the insight. I don’t know where you live. You are looking for a fully trained and qualified psychotherapist who has a training in body-based psychotherapy. You’ll need to research/google what is available in your area. — It will be the same as searching for any therapist. Research, see if any friends have recommendations, check credentials, have a taster.
Wishing you grace and healing.
Thank you William for a interesting anf revealing session number 1 and my fellow students too. I found there was much to ponder and practise on from this first session. Like Barabra Clarke, I have had similar experiences as I did during the session, where I was unaware of much of what I had witnessed, but did not think I was asleep. Thank you Barbara for your advice, i plan to practise this meditaion as you suggested. Maybe the things we learnt and witnessed are embedded in our subconscious rather that consciousness at these times?
I look forward to next Sunday when we meet again.
Love and Blessings.
Thank you for this.
Hi William, my first thought is as these were experienced meditators, do they fall asleep in own practice? Also as a healer, hypnotherapist and counsellor I was aware your voice dropped a little to low and a oft repeated word was an invitation to drift.
William: That is helpful feedback for me, Ann. Thank you. — And Yes meditators fall asleep in their own practice.
Thanks so much William for your insights . For me it’s as if I go a long way away and then I come back with no memory of where I’ve been but I don’t think I’ve been asleep . A fourth possibility I’ve come across is that your mind isn’t calibrated there yet so you can’t bring the information back. After you do it 2/3 times you will be able to remember. So the answer is to listen to it several times, gradually recalibrating your mind to new depths . Thank goodness for recordings ! Thanks for all your teachings .
Really helpful resource Thankyou William
Thank you, William.
I believe they would say in the UK, it was
“spot on“.
😊
This is a really “benevolent” view on the issue and triggers all sort of curiosity to explore and go deeper. A real gift. Thank you, William.
Very helpful, thank you. The reason for falling asleep in a meditation session clearly may vary at different times too.
Thank you William. Such useful inormation.