An Ayurvedic Guide To Deep And Restful Sleep

Do you wake up in the middle of the night and then struggle to sleep back? Or fall asleep in the morning while being awake all night perhaps? Well, irregular sleep cycles are a problem that might not seem like a problem at all but it has a major effect on all that is around and inside of us. The turbulence in sleep patterns leads to feeling restless and sleepy all day thereby affecting our productivity the entire time. It also affects the functioning of our body as we lose being in sync with nature's timing.

The importance of balance in our sleep cycle is paramount. Our bodies were designed to work as per nature's clock and when we disobey it, we gradually begin to dull and shrivel. However, getting back on track can also seem daunting altogether. It could feel discouraging to try various ways and still not be able to succeed in them.

Being the classic art of living, Ayurveda offers a plethora of solutions through lifestyle and practice that helps in balancing the sleep cycle. It is proven that building a routine which is mindful and sustainable can lead to a healthy trouble-free life. Therefore, understanding the intensity of benefits gained from a practice and then incorporating it into your life may help your sleep patterns return to balance. 

THE FUNCTIONALITY OF SLEEP

You can only work and do as much in a day as the number of hours. Everybody needs to relax and recharge in a portion of it for a smooth functioning of the body. Sleeping for at least 7 to 8 hours a day is more crucial than it seems to be. It provides the body with the ability to increase and maintain stamina, thereby optimally using our energy storage. It helps us channelize our strength in the correct direction and fast track the day utilising the time more efficiently.

Unfortunately, the hectic paced life has deprioritized sleep which is causing slow damage to the quality of our lives. The negligence is vast and heavy of concentrated relaxation because the effects might not be rapidly prevalent, but it is definitely there to exist. Our life is too full yet out of balance; it is essential to pluck out some time for yourself and enjoy uninterrupted rest.

REST, REPAIR AND REJUVENATE

Sleep is a restorative period for our body. It is when the internal functioning truly begins. Our body goes into a deep restore mode when we are sleeping. When we are awake, our brain accumulates neuromodulator adenosine which causes us to feel tired as the time passes and longer that we are awake. So when we sleep, this adenosine is cleared from our brain which gives us a refreshing feeling and more alertness as we wake up.

To our body, it is indispensable to allow a resting period for it to process the repair of tissues, growth of muscles, healing of wounds, and synthesis of macros such as proteins and fats. Sleep is when our body dedicatedly produces growth hormones wherein most development and maturation occur. It is also when the body efficiently works on removing the waste and induces support to our immune system. As we rest, our digestive system gets ample amount of time to section between the nutritious part and waste part of the food. Therefore, we tend to load off the waste as soon as we wake up.

To our mind, it is far more rejuvenated after a deep sleep than most times of the day. It betters our learning capacity and memory power that by default impacts our focus potential. Conclusively, it is extremely important for us to get a great good night’s sleep to collectively improve our activity levels and quality of the day.

BRING BACK THE BALANCE

The constitution of Ayurveda is governed by the principles of Doshas - Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. Any imbalance in the body is a sign of imbalance between the doshas and is therefore, looked after as per the rules of it. Turbulence in sleep patterns is of various types and so each dosha has its own characteristics to show any crookedness that might have taken place. If those dosha characteristics match your broken sleep patterns, then you must take into account the imbalance of that particular dosha in your body and fix it accordingly! You can use Nabhi Sutra sleep inducing oil to balance your tridoshas to achieve the required sleep pattern. 

• Vata Imbalance

Vata sleep imbalances usually look like difficulty to fall asleep or wake-up in between and then find it hard to sleep back. With Vata imbalance in the body you might turn into a light sleeper. Sometimes, you can sleep profoundly when supremely exhausted but still wake up in the middle out of nowhere and then spend hours going back to sleep. Vata imbalance sleep usually breaks up between 2:00AM to 6:00AM and if you are someone who is experiencing this kind of disturbed sleep pattern then it is a sign to fix your Vata dosha the Vata way! 

• Pitta Imbalance

Pitta imbalance is noticed as a sleep that is troubled by fiery and active dreams. This sleep pattern does not have a problem in returning back to sleep but has a major problem of waking up every now and then due to the kind of dreams envisioned during the sleep. In this, the person might sleep but the mind is always active which causes one to constantly think or overthink a lot eventually delaying sleep. If your pitta is imbalanced then your sleep is expected to be broken anywhere between 10:00PM to 2:00AM and you must bring back your pitta dosha in balance to have a sound sleep! 

• Kapha Imbalance

Dysfunctional sleep patterns are just not associated with trouble sleeping but also associated with trouble waking up. And this is what Kapha imbalances are about! Whenever your Kapha is out of balance, you will have a hard time waking up especially from 6:00AM to 10:00AM. As per nature's clock, we should sleep around 10:00PM and automatically wake up around 6:00AM but with Kapha imbalance you might not have a problem with sleeping. They are super heavy sleepers and the feeling of waking up is more sluggish to them than refreshing instead. Hence, incase there is any difficulty faced during waking up then you know now what dosha needs to be looked upon!