Sleeping beauty

Hey! people. How are you all doing? It's been a long time but I'm back again. We all know the story of sleeping beauty but I'm not going to tell about her. Today lets talk of sleep. Sleep. Have you ever stayed up a whole night because you could not go to sleep? Have you ever dozed off in the class when the lecture was on? Yes, we all have these experiences at some point of time. But just imagine if these situations were to persist for more than a day, month, or year. 

My job entails convincing people to follow a healthy lifestyle and that comprises of advising on every aspect of life. While consulting a particular patient, I told him to try to wake up early in the morning as he always missed the morning yoga classes. I told him, ‘just for tomorrow try waking up early, if for once you know the feeling of getting up early in the morning, you will never forfeit this feeling for sleeping,’ he retorted, ‘just try sleeping till 7am tomorrow, you will never wake up early again’. Well, sleep is very important for health. But, it should not be too much or too less. Talk to an insomniac, you will understand. They beg for a wink of sleep. Imagine being not able to sleep at all. I met another patient, a young girl of just 23 years who has not slept well for days together. She begged, ‘please tell me a means by which I can sleep for an hour at least without taking pills’. Both situations are not desirable and is a disease condition.

As mentioned in the ancient texts, all living creatures have four basic needs: ahara (food), nidra (sleep), bhaya (fear), and maithuna (procreation). To survive and continue the lineage, nature has provided these four basic instincts. And sleep is one among these. According to sage Patanjali, sleep is a modification of the mind. It is ‘the state of mind which embraces the feeling of voidness,’ (abhavapratyayalambana vrittirnidra, Patanjali yoga sutras).

According to science, sleep is required to give a physiological rest to the body and mind. It is a phase during which all physiological functions are slowed down. It consists of stages when one goes to sleep from wakeful state. Those stages are: REM (Rapid Eye movement) and nREM (non-Rapid Eye Movement). nREM is further divided into three stages, those being stages 1, 2 and 3. Non REM stage 1 is the stage between wakefulness and sleep and it shows alpha wave activity. Stage 2 shows theta wave activity and person is less easily aroused. Stage 3 shows delta wave activity and is slow wave sleep. REM stage is reached every 90 minutes during the sleep cycle and it is more difficult to arouse a person from this stage. A deprivation of this stage impairs learning and memory. The stages described here comprise what we call the sleep cycle.

Sleep is regulated by what we call the circadian rhythm or biological clock. If it is not according to the rhythm body does not get the required rest. One does not feel rested after sleep if he does not sleep at the right time. Body has its mechanism to regulate this. One feels sleepy when a chemical named adenosine keeps accumulating over the day and another neurotransmitter melatonin level increases and core body temperature gradually reduces. Sleep is disturbed if one is physically ill or mentally upset. Not only time but the duration should be maintained. This again depends on the age of the individual as small babies need 12-18 hours of sleep while an adult can do with6-7 hours. But your genes also have a role in this, the gene DEC2

According to Lindlahr, an experienced naturopath, rest for the body is essential to conserve the vitality and sleep is one means for providing rest to the body and mind.

So, what does science say about this? Yes, science also agrees that sleep is essential to provide rest to the body and mind. Sleep has several functions like its role in wound repair, growth, embryological development, immune enhancement and memory. Well, what happens when sleep deprivation is there? It could lead to irritability, cognitive problem, memory loss, hallucination, impaired judgement, restlessness, decreased immunity, increased reaction time, growth suppression, muscle aches, risk of heart disease and decreased accuracy of motor function.

My intention is to educate people about sleep hygiene and how to achieve a good night’s sleep without popping a pill. Here it is, today’s mantra for sleeping well naturally.

We need to maintain certain rules to ensure a good night’s sleep. Those would be:

• Perform a physical activity for a minimum of 1 hour a day. It could be walking, jogging, swimming, yoga asanas, suryanamaskars or playing a sport.
• Wear loose comfortable cotton night dress.
• Wash your face, hands, feet and private parts with plain cold water before getting into bed.
• Brush your teeth, massage your gums and floss your teeth.
• Use your bed only for sleeping in not as a multi-purpose location for eating, watching TV and reading.
• Change your sheets and pillow covers frequently. Preferably use the bed cover during day and remove and use the bedspread at night.
• Use thin pillows and thin mattress.
• Bedroom should be dimly lit or dark with heavy curtains and preferably blue furnishings.
• Cut down on caffeine consumption, your daily doses of coffee and chocolates.
• Maintain a regular sleep schedule.
• Avoid mentally and physically stimulating activities before sleep.
• Unload your mind before you go to sleep by either meditation or prayer. You cannot sleep with an agitated mind.
• Lie down on your back, legs apart, hands away from the body, palms facing upwards. Relax the whole body with each breath.
• Re affirm to yourself saying that you are safely protected by god’s grace and you are contented.

There you go.. sleep tight. Have a restful and refreshing sleep.