I want to palm all night long to see if it would help remedy my eyestrain during sleep. I've been having a dreadful time with this, and most of the time I can't see anything clearly at ANY distance right after I get up, due to increased strain and staring during sleep. This has really set me back and makes it so I lose all previous improvement and have to start all over again everyday on the Bates method.
I have finally identified my mental strain and have seen it fluctuate in exact proportion to both my vision and all my other strain-related symptoms. I actually have a very forceful way of thinking about things... ??? It really drives me crazy sometimes, but needless to say I'm somewhat thankful for it because it works well as a reminder for me to practice shifting, swinging and blinking. So once I gain a degree of relaxation the mental strain reduces enough for me to finish my train of thought. I'm trying to make it a habit now so that every I get that strained feeling in my mind I should think "dodge!" and then I can think more normally.
I really really need to alleviate my strain during sleep. I tried the long swing many times before bed but I still usually wake up with increased eyestrain. I also tried palming while going to sleep but it just didn't seem possible...my arms would get so tired and eventually fall to my sides. I experimented with pillows but either I didn't use enough pillows or that doesn't really work either. I need to know of a way that I can palm in bed while lying on my back, without making my arms tired and so they won't fall...so they just stay in the position I want.
I also have pretty severe insomnia...just a few days ago I lied in bed for like 6 or 7 hours before falling asleep! Dr. Bates wrote that palming can be used to cure insomnia. He also mentions a patient whose eyesight improved after awakening after he palmed literally all night long.
I think that you shouldn't ignore the mental aspects of palming. While the physical portion of palming is important, the mental aspect is the true goal.
As for palming all night, one time I palmed an entire day, want to know how much I improved? nada. There is something more to Bates than sheer practice time. As for propping your arms just right, if you're really an insomniac I think that sleeping may be the best possible cure for your eyesight. My eyesight gets worse when I tire. The biggest tip I have is to think of nothing while relaxing. You cannot sleep when your mind is active. Thats not to say thoughts won't intrude, but when the arise contemplate them for a second and then dismiss them from your mind. Whenever I can't get to sleep its always because I'm thinking about things.
I have found a way that helps me to reduce eyestrain while I sleep, perhaps it will help you as well.
I do autogenics training, and at the beginning of each training there is a breathing warmup. I do this training (and breathing warmup every time) 1-3 times a day. Now I have found that if I do the breathing warmup before I fall asleep, I have a more restful sleep and wake up breathing correctly. It took about 1 month before I saw these benefits, so be patient. The link to the autogenics training website explaining it all is on my blog (link below) on the right hand side 'Autogenics Training'.
I don't personally know if you can get the same benefit from just practicing the warmup (without the autogenics) before bed every night. It may be that part of the improvement for me came as a combination of the breathing warmup and the autogenics training done together. If you should indeed take the time and patience to go through the autogenics training itself as a whole as well as doing the breathing warmup before sleeping, you may be surprised after a month or two, who knows.
I just fall asleep on my back naturally after I do the breathing warmup. If I make it to the end without falling asleep I continue with the autogenics training and definitely fall asleep before the end. The important thing is not to have expectations and to let other thoughts slowly go past. It takes some time before you are able to rest in this way, but I can say it is very much worth the 'effort'.
