When I was little, my sweet parents were constantly challenged with the difficult task of coming up with super creative ways to help me fall asleep. They’d sing songs, snuggle me, read stories, and pray over me, and then tip toe away hoping that I’d nod off without calling out, “Mommy! Daddy! I can’t sleep!” a mere five minutes later.
One of my favorite tricks of theirs was what we called “noodle arms.” My mom was the master of this one. Lying on my back in bed, my mom sat next to me and told me that my job was to relax as much as I possibly could. With my arms outside the covers, she’d run her fingers lightly from my shoulders to the tips of my fingers to help me visualize relaxing my body. After a few moments of this, with a soothing voice she’d say, “Ready for the test?” To which I’d smile and nod, “I’m ready.”
Then one arm at a time, my mom would pick up my hand, holding loosely around my wrist, and slowly, gently, wiggle my arm back and forth. If I’d done a good job relaxing, my arm would weigh heavy and wave like a wet noodle in the air. And then, the best part, when my arm reached ultimate noodle status she’d let go, and my arm would flop onto my covers.
It was my favorite, much-requested, sleepy-time trick, and I’m pretty sure it worked like a charm.
As an adult, I’ve moved on to new rhythms to help me fall asleep. But lately even with all the tricks in the bag, during the time of COVID-19 where unknowns, fears, and anxiety are aplenty, it has proven difficult to get a peaceful night of sleep. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been tossing and turning a lot. It takes me forever to fall asleep. And lately, even COVID related nightmares have made an appearance.
What I’ve recognized is, if I want to get a good night’s sleep, I have to be super intentional about what I do leading up to lights out. In reality, what we do at the beginning or middle of our day impacts our sleep quality; but right now, I’d like to focus on the last hour before bed, and offer you a practice to help you get a peaceful night of sleep during the time of COVID.
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A practice to get peaceful sleep during Covid-19
No more news – Two hours (or more) before bed, slow your scroll, shut down anything Covid related, and start moving into a quieter mindset.
Get ready for bed – Once you’re ready to go to bed, do your normal bedtime routine and find a comfy spot to sit or lay.
Read Psalm 13 – written here for you, out loud. I’ve chosen this Psalm for you because here, the psalmist beautifully models the practice of lament. Lament is a form of prayer that invites us to voice our distress, frustration, grief, or anger with the Lord. What I love about this Psalm is how it starts with lament and ends with praise.
Psalm 13
How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
Look on me and answer, Lord my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing the Lord’s praise,
for he has been good to me.Pour out your heart to the Lord – Click this link, which will lead you to my Sleep in Peace Playlist – a playlist of 5 songs I’ve chosen to accompany you through your own time of lament.
During the first three songs, pour out how you’re feeling to the Lord. If you’re frustrated, tell him. If you’re overdone, tell him. Whisper it out loud, or write it down if that serves you better. Get raw, and honest with Him. He can take any level of emotion that you feel.
Once “I Am Not Alone” (the fourth song) starts, move into a posture of praise. Let the lyrics of these last two songs wash over you. Ask the Lord to meet you where you are, and pour His love and peace over you.
Breath prayer – If you’re not there already, climb into bed, and get cozy. As you settle in, use Psalm 4:8 as a breath prayer (something you pray in conjunction with inhales and exhales).
· Inhale – I will sleep in peace
· Exhale – For you, Lord make me dwell in safety
Breathing slowly, recite the words of the Psalm as you inhale and exhale. Continue the breath prayer over and over again, and begin relaxing your body. Start with your face – relax your eyes, mouth, jaw, then move to your shoulders, all the way down to your toes. Continue until your body is relaxed, and you slip into peaceful sleep.
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The reason I think this practice can be successful is - the more we press into the Lord and relinquish control of our worries into His strong and capable hands, the more we get to experience the peace that He has for us. I love Psalm 4:8 because it reminds me of how sleep plays into that. Sleep is a gift from the Lord - a time where we get to fully escape whatever weighs us down - but it’s also an opportunity for us to demonstrate that we trust Him. By laying our concerns at his feet as we climb into bed, we put our trust in Him and claim the truth that - I will sleep in peace, for you, Lord make me dwell in safety.
I’ve done this practice a few times over the past few weeks, and on those nights, sleep has come easier and more peaceful. Whether you do all of it or just a piece, my prayer is that this practice might help you release more and more of your heaviness into the Lord’s hands and get peaceful sleep during this time.