Ayurveda Article - Sleeping Enough ???

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THE AYURVEDIC VIEW ON QUALITY SLEEP:

 

Are You Sleeping Enough for Your Health?

On a typical day in America, 125 million people wake up feeling

exhausted. They reach to shut off the alarm clock with bleary eyes,

vowing to get more sleep. But for 50 percent of the nation's

population, getting a good night's sleep is as difficult as flying to

the moon. Indeed, insomnia and fatigue are now considered America's

top health problems. Researchers have identified lack of sleep as a

cause of serious disorders ranging from diabetes to high stress

levels. The results show that it is taking a huge toll on the quality

of life -- and the health -- of millions.

Here are some research facts that might make you head for the bed:

sleep deprivation is credited with 60 percent of road accidents --

and drivers who stayed awake over 17 hours suffered impaired

coordination, reaction time and judgment worse than drivers who were

legally drunk. And worker fatigue is linked to the Challenger

disaster, the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown, and the Exxon Valdez oil

spill. As far as health goes, those who sleep fewer than six hours a

night don't live as long as those who sleep seven hours or more.

Sleeping only four hours a night can cause weight gain, diabetes, and

high blood pressure. And the disasters are not limited to health --

sleeplessness costs the U.S. economy $150 billion a year in higher

levels of worker stress and reduced productivity, estimates the

National Sleep Foundation.

 

Stress and Insomnia: A Vicious Cycle

What are the causes of this epidemic? One of the reasons that

insomnia (defined as having trouble sleeping) is on the rise in

America is the high stress levels and time pressures associated with

modern living. "We are increasingly a 24/7 society," says Dr. Harold

Bloomfield. "Many people would gladly get more sleep if they could,

but the information age, which was supposed to make everything more

efficient, has just made everything more busy."

Americans frequently fall into a vicious cycle, with stress during

the day causing them to be too tense or worried to fall asleep at

night. And then the lack of sleep, in turn, creates more stress on

the job and at home.

Others simply choose to short-change their sleep. "Our society seems

to place a moral value on sleeping as little as possible," says Dr.

Eve Van Couter, head of a recent research study at the University of

Chicago.

For whatever reason, Americans today often sleep less than six hours

a night, making them highly vulnerable to sleep disorders, the stress

syndrome, and to multiple health problems.

 

Natural Solutions Needed

Unfortunately, most people are treating insomnia either by going to

the drugstore and buying over-the-counter drugs, or by consulting

their medical doctor. Neither solution is working. Over-the-counter

drugs contain antihistamines, which knock you out, but don't create a

good quality of sleep or solve the underlying problem. Plus, they

undermine the immune system. Doctors tend to prescribe valium-like

drugs that are addictive within even a week of use. Millions of

Americans are addicted to tranquilizers to reduce stress during the

day, and sleeping pills to induce sleep at night. You don't induce a

natural state of sleep with unnatural, synthetic, and in many cases

highly addictive, products.

 

The Ayurvedic Approach

The goal of the ayurvedic approach is to create more ojas, the finest

product of digestion that provides energy, enthusiasm, happiness,

clarity of thinking, better coordination between the heart and mind,

and immunity. Only the deepest, most restful sleep, called Stage Four

sleep by researchers, creates ojas. A good quality of sleep provides

deeper rest to the mind and senses, and enhances capacity for mental

and physical work the next day. On the other hand, lack of sleep

increases ama, or toxins in the body.

 

Ayurveda identifies three types of sleep disorders.

 

Type 1: Difficulty falling asleep (caused by Vata imbalance or mental

stress). People who toss and turn, unable to fall asleep because

their mind is whirling, have this disorder. It tends to correlate

with anxiety, worry, and rushed activity during the day.

Recommendations:

• Eat more sweet, sour and salty foods.

• Eat three warm, cooked meals at the same time every day.

• Get to bed before 10:00 p.m. and rise by 6:00 a.m.

• Avoid rushed work hurriedly done.

• Eat Poppy-Seed Chutney one hour before bed.

• Massage your hands and feet with a massage oil.

• Use a relaxing aroma at bedtime.

• Drink herbal tea before bed.

 

Type 2: Intermittent awakening (caused by Pitta imbalance or

emotional trauma). With this disorder you fall asleep fine but wake

up every 90 minutes with your heart racing, your muscles tense, and

emotions of fear, anger, and sadness. Or another pattern is that you

wake up between 2:00 and 4:00 a.m., full of energy, and find it

impossible to go back to sleep.

Recommendations:

• Avoid spicy foods.

• Eat more sweet, bitter and astringent tastes.

• Avoid skipping meals.

• Eat enough dinner so you don't wake up hungry.

• Before bed, massage your feet with a massage oil.

• Drink herbal tea before bed.

• If you wake up in the night, have a snack of 1/2 cup warm

whole milk with 1 tsp. Rose Petal jam.

If your head feels hot when you wake up in the night, mix three

tablespoons of coconut oil with 5 drops of lavender oil and massage

it on the crown of your head.

 

Type 3: Sleeping long hours but waking up unrefreshed (caused by

Kapha imbalance). Sometimes it's an early-morning awakening,

sometimes it's characterized by sleeping in, but in any case, you

will feel sluggish, tired, and completely exhausted even though

you've had a full night's sleep.

Recommendations:

• Be sure to rise before 6:00 a.m.

• Do a morning massage with a massage oil.

• Exercise every day.

• Sip warm water throughout the day.

• Avoid eating too much heavy, sweet, sour, and salty foods.

• Eat a light, warm dinner (soup is ideal) and season the food

with fresh ginger and a small amount of black pepper.

Drink herbal tea before bed.

 

Creating a Timeless Bedroom

Create a timeless bedroom. Keep time pressures away from your

sleeping place. If you have to use an alarm clock, put it in a place

where you can't see it. Preserve your bedroom as a comfortable,

relaxing haven, a place for warm, intimate and relaxing

relationships. Keep heated discussions, intense brainstorming,

television watching, computer work, and monthly budgets out of your

bedroom."

Especially avoid violent, suspenseful TV shows before bed, he says.

Instead, surround yourself with influences that cultivate your peace

of mind while you fall asleep. Before bed, take pleasant breaths: use

Slumber Time aroma therapy or lavender to allow the relaxing scents

to go directly to your olfactory lobe and help to induce sleep,

sometimes within minutes.

To relax your neck and shoulders, your back and abdomen, you can do

some simple, light yoga postures, and can also add very soothing

music, bedtime prayers, and positive affirmations to really move in

the direction of being more and more peaceful.

If you're going to be thinking of something, think of your fondest

memories, particularly of childhood, where you had soothing,

blissful, wonderful sleep, or when you had an amazingly restful

vacation. Think of those thoughts instead of ones that cause you

worry and anxiety.

 

Note : This ayurvedic information is educational and is not intended

to replace standard medical care or advice.

Copyright MAPI, 2002.

 

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