While we’re all probably well aware of the benefits of meditation when it comes to helping us sleep better, sometimes, it’s almost impossible to shut your brain off with this activity alone.
Just take it from me: While I’m normally pretty great at meditating without distractions, there have definitely been some stressful moments in my life when no matter how much I meditated, I was unable to calm myself down…which naturally affected my sleep cycles.
So, I went down a rabbit hole of alternative sleep methods and found a tried-and-tested ancient practice that promised to help calm my nervous system down enough to help me fall (and most importantly, stay) asleep.
This method is known as EFT (or tapping), and let me tell you: It’s absolutely life changing.
What is EFT?
EFT (standing for Emotional Freedom Technique) is an ancient acupuncture practice that has its roots in Chinese medicine.
The concept is pretty simple: It believes that your body’s energy travels across specific pathways—and by treating those energy centers or pressure points, you’re able to harness your body’s energy (or chi) to ease a wide variety of ailments, from fatigue and chronic inflammation to insomnia and anxiety.
EFT involves tapping stress-reducing pressure points on the face, neck, and arms to reduce anxiety.
“The reason EFT is nicknamed tapping is because you tap stress-reducing pressure points as a means to feel better about anxiety-related issues,” explains Jackie Viramontez, certified EFT practitioner.
There are nine pressure (or meridian) points on the face, neck, and arms. Practitioners of this method believe that regular tapping of these meridians helps promote balance in your energy system, she adds.
How does EFT work?
EFT works by acting on your main pressure centers or meridians in the body. You tap on them to balance your energy and help calm your nervous system.
“Essentially, the tapping points communicate with the central nervous system and emotional centers of the brain,” says Viramontez.
Think of each point like a stress “off” switch, she adds.
“Tapping for a few minutes will lower your general stress and anxiety, but if you tap while visualizing a source of stress, you’ll train your brain to stay calm even when you face your triggers—like the sound of your alarm waking you up at 6 am, or the triggering ding of the seatbelt sign on a bumpy flight,” explains Viramontez.
The principle behind EFT tapping is that emotional distress and physical ailments are closely linked to the body’s energy system.
By targeting this system, you can alleviate symptoms of anxiety, stress, and other heavy emotions that would otherwise get stored in the body and prevent your day-to-day functioning.
What are the benefits of tapping?
There are many potential benefits of tapping.
“Tapping not only reduces general stress and anxiety, but it also improves your mental state by redirecting your blood flow back to the brain,” notes Viramontez. “With optimal blood flow in your prefrontal cortex, you can think through challenges more critically.”
Several studies have also indicated that tapping can have a host of other benefits, from quickly reducing stress levels in a few minutes to even working as a way to treat PTSD in veterans.
In terms of sleep, a study was done on 60 elderly patients with sleep disorders to see whether EFT tapping would be effective in helping them sleep: It was found that 73.3% of the group reported better sleep quality after EFT.
EFT has also been linked to decreased levels of pain and depression.
“The reason tapping is so effective is because it reduces stress, and at its very core, stress is the major reason why people can’t sleep,” says Viramontez. “Think about it: If your mind isn’t racing with worries or hopelessness, you’re more inclined to drift off to sleep and wake up well-rested and ready to face life’s inevitable triggers.”
How to do the EFT method for anxiety
EFT tapping for anxiety involves a multi-step process. You have to identify the issue, rate the intensity of the issue, create your phrase accepting the issue, tap your points, and then finally rate your intensity level once more, comparing it to your previous intensity level.
Below is a step-by-step guide, explaining each point in detail:
1. Identifying the issue
“The first step of the EFT tapping method is to identify the issue that’s causing you anxiety, whether that’s a stressful work situation or the fact that you have a flight to catch the next day,” says Viramontez. “The more specific, the better, because you’ll then be able to effectively determine how you want to feel regarding the trigger—i.e., whether you want to be more hopeful, compassionate, or accepting about it.”
Viramontez also says it’s important to focus on only one trigger at a time as that’s when tapping is most effective. So, if there’s more than one situation that’s triggering your anxiety, it’s best to tap on each one separately.
2. Rating the intensity
This step is pretty straightforward: “On a scale of zero to 10, with zero being the lowest and 10 being the highest, rate your current emotional state regarding the trigger,” says Viramontez.
It’s best to do this by visualizing the trigger in your head as this will help you really zone in on how you’re feeling about the trigger (angry, frustrated, etc.) and how intense the emotions are behind them, she adds.
3. Creating your phrase
“The phrasing while tapping is particularly important because it establishes acceptance of your current situation, all while making sure your feelings about the situation are validated,” says Viramontez.
The most common phrase is, “Even though I feel [insert feeling here], I deeply love and accept myself.”
However, Viramontez also uses a few other variations of this phrase, such as, “I’m open to accepting how I feel, I’m open to having compassion for myself,” or “Even though this experience is stressful, my feelings are valid.”
The bottom line, Viramontez says, is to not overthink the actual phrase but instead put a name to your true emotions about the situation at hand that’s causing you anxiety and preventing you from falling asleep.
“As long as your words feel honest and true, and you’re focused on one trigger at a time, you’re doing it right,” she adds.
4. The tapping sequence
Once you’ve established your phrase, you go to the tapping. There are nine pressure points located across the face, neck, and body that you tap repeatedly in a sequence.
The pressure points are as follows:
- Side of the arm
- Top of the head
- Eyebrow
- Side of the eye
- Under the eye
- Under the nose
- Top of the chin
- Collarbone
- Under the arm
Here’s how you start the tapping sequence: First, tap the first pressure point and repeat the statement aloud three times minimum. Then, tap each of the remaining eight points in the sequence, repeating your feelings about the situation to validate them, making sure to stay tapping on the same point for three full breaths.
After one round of the series, change your statements from those expressing your frustration to more factual statements about how the situation is affecting your life, whether that’s stress preventing you from connecting with friends or family or lack of sleep affecting your work.
Be as honest as you can as this will help you during the third series, when you finally switch to the positive.
In this third round, your statements will be more upbeat, ideally noting how the trigger is signifying that something needs to change in your life or that it’s serving a higher purpose that you don’t yet know about.
Make sure you’re saying statements that you believe in deep down—and visualize them fading away as this will be more effective than saying things you have to force yourself to believe.
I particularly love this YouTube video by spiritual author and motivational speaker Gabby Bernstein, where she walks you through the whole process of tapping for stress and anxiety. All you have to do is follow along and repeat, so it’s a great option for beginners.
5. Re-rating the intensity
Once you’ve done your three rounds of tapping, make sure to really hone in on how you’re feeling about the trigger and then re-rate your intensity level, comparing it to the one before.
“Get mindful of shifts,” says Viramontez. Answer the following questions: Did the unwanted emotion change in quality or intensity? Do you feel calmer? Has the location of your motion changed in your physical body? Has your perspective about your trigger changed at all?
Ideally, you want to keep continuing the process until your intensity level is at a one or a two, but you can take breaks in between sessions if it gets too much for you to do at a stretch.
“Once you’ve noticed that your intensity level has gone down, repeat the tapping steps, adjusting your initial intention phrase to match your shifting emotions,” suggests Viramontez.
An example of a changing statement, says Viramontez, is, “Even though I used to feel complete dread, it feels lighter now, and I accept myself no matter how I feel.”
Then, in the next round, Viramontez says you might adjust this statement to something like, “Even though I’m hesitant, I’m starting to have hope.”
And don’t worry about exact statements, either: As long as they’re heading in a positive direction, Viramontez says you’re absolutely doing the tapping method right.
My thoughts on the tapping method
I personally found the tapping method after a period of grief last summer, when one of my grandparents died. Nothing was working to help calm my anxious thoughts, and I wasn’t able to sleep through the night for months.
While I was Googling alternative modes of treatment that didn’t involve meditation or yoga, I found tapping videos on YouTube and started following Gabby Bernstein’s selection every morning and night.
(She has several different ones for various triggers, ranging from the one for fighting stress above to options for releasing fear and becoming more body confident.)
I found myself using the one for pain the most, changing the word “pain” in my phrase to grief.
Over time, I didn’t need to use the videos at all. I recommend only following YouTube videos when you’re just starting out on your tapping journey to get the rhythm and cadence down.
I personally found the tapping method after a period of grief last summer, when one of my grandparents died. Nothing was working to help calm my anxious thoughts, and I wasn’t able to sleep through the night for months.
In time, you’ll want the experience to feel more specific to you, focusing on your individual feelings. By choosing your own statements and doing it on your own, it’ll start feeling more personal…and by extension, more effective too.
The reason why I initially gravitated toward the tapping method was because I believed that it would help assuage my pain in ways other modalities couldn’t.
For one, unlike meditation or yoga, tapping doesn’t really allow your mind to zone out—you have to constantly focus on your changing phrases—and the tapping sequence requires thought as well since you need to remember the next meridian point.
I did a series in the morning and night for about two months since those were the moments when I felt the most unsettled.
To be completely honest, initially, I really didn’t feel very different. It felt very disingenuous to say those statements, especially the positive ones—and I didn’t really like the tapping sensation very much (my intensity levels barely fell by one or two points!).
Still, since Bernstein had mentioned in one of her videos to give it a few weeks to see substantial benefits, I kept at it.
In about 15 days, I found myself getting calmer after each session. While the feelings of grief were still absolutely present, I found that the tapping method allowed me to accept and feel my emotions completely. This ensured I didn’t suppress them, only to have them make a much stronger appearance later.
The tapping was, therefore, the gateway I needed to accept my feelings, which helped me let go of the grief much faster than if I had done what I normally do…aka overwork in an effort to stop feeling anything, leading to burnout, stress, and an inability to fall asleep.
The calm I felt after each tapping session made it easier to tune out before bed, and I was sleeping through the night within about three weeks.
I don’t tap anymore, however, because I feel it was necessary only during that stressful time in my life when I couldn’t fall asleep.
It isn’t something I feel the need to do every day, but it’s a great strategy to deal with extreme emotions that are otherwise too intense to feel on your own.
FAQs
Why does the tapping method work?
The tapping method works by utilizing your nine meridian points, which are acupressure points located across the body where your energy is stored.
By consistently tapping on these points, you’ll be able to stimulate them. This is believed to be effective in reducing tension and promoting a state of emotional and physical balance.
In time, tapping consistently will help reduce strong emotions in the body and help you deal with triggers in a calmer, more relaxed manner.
What are the five steps of tapping?
The five steps of tapping consist of identifying the underlying issue behind the tapping, rating the intensity of your emotions behind the issue, creating your phrase to repeat while tapping, doing three rounds of the tapping sequence on each meridian, and then re-rerating the intensity level once the tapping is over.
You can repeat this process as often as you need to until the intensity level is manageable enough for you.
Could lying on an acupressure mat help you catch more Z’s? Check out our guide to the sleep benefits of using an acupressure mat to find out.
