Flowing into restorative sleep
Recovery from Insomnia
- Sudhir M
We all conceptually understand that deep sleep is fundamental to our overall health, efficiency and well being but for numerous reasons many of us tend to underscore on this front. When the sleep deficit state becomes habitual, every dimension of our existence is impacted: from attitudinal rigidity to unnatural appetite intertwined with low energy levels, poor elimination of toxins and unclear processing of information. Those who suffer from poor quality of sleep can easily slip into the clinical state of insomnia and depression with an increase in the stress level. World over people may have had more opportunity to regularize their sleep patterns last year with the stay-at-home norms in place but on the contrary increasing percentage of people struggled to get a good nights sleep.
In the third edition of Mystic Pages, we will explore the possibility of flowing into restorative sleep each night to improve the experience of life and be in harmony with the healing rhythm of the universe.
We have been told that our body needs eight hours of sleep each night and early to bed and early to rise helps us keep in sync with the circadian rhythm. Some experts point out 10 pm as the time when we should retire each night to help reset the biological clock, dinner should precede bedtime by 2-3 hours, and our bedroom should be used only for the sole purpose of sleeping to induce sleep consciousness whenever we are in there. We indeed wish we were in a situation to implement all of these, but for those whose life is not so sorted and cushioned and struggle to get the optimal sleep on a regular basis, I am offering more down-to-earth concepts based on my personal struggles and experimentation.
1. When we are used to drinking tea and coffee on a regular basis, we can be tempted to imagine that we can fall asleep almost immediately after a cup of tea/coffee. We may be able to fall asleep at that time but overall, the night’s sleep will be erratic due to the nerve inflammation. Even those who are used to consuming tea/coffee rather frequently it may be best to abstain after sunset. The same principle can perfectly well be stretched to smoking and alcohol.
2. I would recommend that we abstain from heavily cooked meals after sunset. Cereals with soya milk and banana, oats soup with tofu, bland lentil soup or simply cooked dal with vegetables are a few dinner options that you may like to consider. Chamomile Infusion-tea has a soothing effect on our constitution and can be taken before bedtime. Avoid sugary desserts and replace them instead with a couple of figs or dates. Heavy dinner puts too much workload on our organs and mechanisms. Even our energy body instead of promoting slumber remains overactive, sorting and processing the food that has been ingested late evening time. Light, clean, and soothing dinner is the mantra not just for weight management but also for restorative sleep…
3. Like with everything else, a little preparation preps our energy body to flow into restorative sleep. Shower, fresh nightwear, clean bed, uncluttered room devoid of any electronic items, and lights off - individually and collectively can make a tangible difference to the quality of our sleep pattern. After a long day when we take a shower before bedtime, our nervous apparatus, and our energy body flush out some of the heterogenous vibrations that we may have brushed against in midst of daily interaction.
4. Do not sleep in the warm embrace of your tablet or phone, and we are being literal here and I assume this needs no further explanation. It makes no sense to romanticize the idea of dozing off while reading a book. Study and sleep should be staggered into separate compartments with a real pause in between to be able to flow into relaxed sleep rhythm from wakeful and alert modality.
5. The only activity that may be permitted within the confines of your sleeping arena is the practice of certain types of silent pranayama, dhyana and Yoga-Nidra that can induce conscious passivity. Certain breathing exercise and meditation systems are better practised at the beginning of the day to enhance calm concentration, dynamic will power and intuitive decision making. When we practice meditation just before bedtime in our bedroom the purpose is detoxification of the consciousness. We need to filter out all the static that we may have gathered during the daily interactions and gradually transition into the subconscious or dream state and then either naturally or with the aid or right mantra flow into the dreamless sleep state where the sleep is deep enough to be restorative and heal our body and liberate us from negative emotions.
Since it is not practically possible for us to stay in bed for 8+ hours every night, we should focus on improving the quality of sleep, even if we happen to sleep for 5 or 6 hours. It is not advisable to starve ourselves of sleep in any manner because sleep-deprived consciousness can disrupt our health, appetite, cravings, metabolism, brain functioning, attitudinal flexibility and emotional wellbeing. Every aspect of our life starting from weight management, right behaviour and efficiency is grounded in a healthy circadian rhythm and we can overcome sleep disorders with common-sense principles and diligent daily effort.