Your search for a meditation or sleep CD will be met with an embarrassment of riches. Hundreds of CDs on meditation and sleep fill the market. Reviewing the meditation and sleep programs that scientists and experienced secular and spiritual meditators have found helpful can speed up your search for effective CD programs.
Origins
Little scientific attention was paid to recorded meditation and sleep programs until the release of Dr. Herbert Benson's book, "The Relaxation Response," in 1975. Benson, now director emeritus of the Benson-Henry Mind Body Institute, studied transcendental meditation practitioners and learned that meditation decreases metabolism, breathing rate, heart rate and brain wave speeds. Benson discovered that these responses resulted from two key elements: the repetition of a word, prayer, sound or movement, and the gentle setting aside of distracting thoughts. Benson's work caused an explosion of scientific interest in meditation.
Current Scientific Findings
A 2010 study of cancer patients, "Mind-body treatments for the pain-fatigue-sleep disturbance symptom cluster in persons with cancer," by Dr. Kristine Kwekkeboom and her colleagues at the University of Wisconsin School of Nursing, backs up Benson's findings. The researchers reviewed 43 studies on relieving cancer patients' pain, fatigue and sleep problems, and discovered that many techniques work, including the elements of most meditation and sleep programs: guided relaxation, imagery, meditation and music.
Meditation CDs
If you are interested in secular meditation, Benson has created a "Relaxation Revolution" audio CD. Paul Wilson, the well-known author of the "Little Book of Calm" series, has developed a set of secular meditation CDs, "Quiet." You may prefer a meditation CD that has spiritual elements. "Guided Meditations: For Calmness, Awareness and Love," is a popular Buddhist meditation CD created by Bodhipaksa. Traditional Jewish meditations can be downloaded as free audio MP3 files to a CD from Chabad.org's web page, "The Jewish Meditation Series." Catholicity.com offers a free audio CD of the rosary meditation prayer on their "A Beginner's Guide to the Rosary" web page.
Sleep CDs
Psychotherapist Roberta Shapiro has produced a secular sleep CD, "Sleep Solutions," which uses mindfulness meditation, a Buddhist technique and hypnosis to help listeners sleep. A well-received spiritual sleep CD, "Yoga Nidra Meditation CD: Extreme Relaxation of Conscious Deep Sleep," by Swami Jnaneshvara Bharati, teaches the listener Hindu meditative techniques for attaining a state of deep sleep. An evangelical Protestant sleep CD, "As I Close My Eyes to Sleep," by Rhonda Jones, a Christian spiritual coach, combines deep breathing, progressive relaxation and a biblical narrative.
Choosing Your CD
When you are looking for the right meditation or sleep CD, keep in mind that meditation and sleep CDs are heavily reviewed online by customers, who provide opinions on whether a CD helped them to meditate or sleep better. Many of the sleep and meditation CDs sold online have short audio samples that you can listen to. While the number of CDs to choose from may seem overwhelming, you will have insight into the contents of each CD before you make your selection.
References
- Massachusetts General Hospital: About the Benson-Henry Institute
- Medical Science Monitor: Positive Impact of Cyclic Meditation on Subsequent Sleep
- Journal of Pain Symptom Management: Mind-Body Treatments for the Pain-Fatigue-Sleep Disturbance Symptom Cluster in Persons with Cancer
- Explore: Mindfulness Meditation for Insomnia
- "The Relaxation Response"; Dr. Herbert Benson; 2000
