From time to time I have written about ways in which EFT can be very helpful when we want to get to sleep and can’t seem to. Recently, I have discovered an additional way to do this which I find extremely useful. You may want to try a variation of it at those moments when you want to get to sleep quickly.
Before any of us fall to sleep, as I well remember from my studies during the years when I was engaged in research on sleep and dreams, we enter a period known as the “hypnagogic state.” That short period of time that occurs before sleep proper begins, and is identifiable on electroencephalographic recordings as having a very different type of brain waves from the fully awake state. There is a distinct shift in the electrical patterns of the brain at this time, and when we are in this pre-sleep state our mental associations are loosened and our mind seems to drift from one thought or image to another in a much freer manner. Our thoughts now have an involuntary aspect to them and we glide with these thoughts and images until we are suddenly, without realizing it, asleep.
The main characteristic of this hypnagogic state which we all experience every night, is a sense of drifting”, almost as though we were being carried on a
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gentle stream that was wafting us along. Because this “drifting sensation” is the most distinguishing characteristic of the pre-sleep state, I have found that one of the most effective things that we can do if we’re not particularly sleepy when we lie down, is to do EFT in the following way.
Without using your hands to tap –– because to move your body at this time would be to bring yourself back to the waking state –– you can use EFT to create and intensify the drifting feeling. Once you recreate the hypnagogic state, sleep almost inevitably follows simply and naturally.
You don’t want to repeat the EFT phrases out loud for the same reason, but simply think them in your mind, imagining each tapping point in turn. You may find that you only get halfway through a round of imaginary tapping before you are no longer able to concentrate on the process because the pre-sleep state has taken over and your logical mind no longer focuses. This is a sign that a restful sleep is around the corner!
Here is how you go about bringing on sleep using EFT this way in this manner:
Begin with the inner eyebrow point (you could also begin with the karate chop spot or the sore spot if you prefer) and do a round of mental tapping by saying to yourself in your mind (but not out loud):
“That drifting… That drifting…” at each EFT spot.
Or you may want to say, “Drifting thoughts… drifting thoughts… drifting thoughts…” at each spot.
Or, “That drifting feeling… that drifting feeling… that drifting feeling…” at each spot.
Use whatever phrase works best for you. The point to remember is that the concept of “drifting” is central. It brings back the memory of the pre-sleep state and that is all you need in order to shift your physiology in such a way that sleep is usually inevitable. As I said before, you may often drift off to sleep even before you are finished with your first round of EFT.
I suggest you try this simple tactic the next time you have trouble falling asleep.
EFT Master, Patricia Carrington, PhD
