Simple ayurvedic tips and remedies to sleep deeper and better

If there is anything other than food and a healthy living that sustains us, it is sleep. Sleep is the basic necessity of our lives. It is the battery that keeps our body clock working. Nowadays our lives are fast-paced with competitions to meet and targets to reach where stress takes a toll on our body. A good night’s sleep would be enough to feel rejuvenated, you think? Well, you think it right but what if it is the sleep that causes the problem? What if your sleep is imbalanced?

Types of sleep

According to Ayurveda, sleep and other bodily functions are determined by the three constitutional types, or doshas. The three doshas are:

• vata (wind)
• pitta (fire)
• kapha (water and earth).

Sleep is dominated by kapha, which creates the heavy feeling of tiredness.

Charaka Samhita, the ancient Sanskrit text on Ayurveda, mentions six types of sleep. According to the text, sleep may be due to:

• natural sleep without external imbalances
• depression
• increased kapha caused by eating an excess of foods like chocolate, cheese, or fried food
• exhaustion of mind and body caused by excessive physical work
• chronic disease
• imbalance or injury in the body

According to Ayurveda, there are 3 different types of sleep imbalance, arising from Vata, pitta and Kapha dosha.

• Vata: Sleep becomes imbalanced when your mind stays awake despite you being tired. Your mind is occupied with thoughts and worries which do not let you fall asleep.
• Pitta: It is the dosha which is one of the most common disorder found in the elderly people where you have a perfect sleep but wake up in the dawn or wee hours and are unable to go back to sleep resulting in the tossing and turning in the bed and ultimately giving up.
• Kapha: When you sleep well for a long time but yet you wake up feeling tired and fatigued instead of being fresh, is when Kapha dosha occurs.

Ayurvedic tips for a good sleep

There are many people around us who go through at least one of these three imbalances in sleep. Ayurveda has come up with several easy and natural tips to have a good sleep. There 4 great tips among many, following which you will get a quick result.

• Oil Massage: Oil is said to soothe our nerves if massaged properly. Warm oil works best on the scalp and on the soles of our feet. Any oil, from jojoba to jasmine, almond to coconut with a few drops of lavender oil could be used for massage. Applying this daily will soothe one’s nerves and induce a good sleep.
• Warm milk: Drinking a glassful of warm milk 10 minutes before going to sleep will help in having an uninterrupted sleep.
• Routine bedtime: Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise”. Note the use of the word ‘healthy’ in this nursery rhyme. We have been taught this since our childhood days, only if we could follow. Sleeping on time plays an important role here because inadequate sleep due to long working hours often cause sleeping disorders.
• Morning Exercise: After waking up early in the morning, Ayurveda suggests exercising as early morning exercise will help you fall asleep at night easily. You must not indulge in an exercise later in the day because it would make you more active instead of inducing sleep.

Leading a healthy lifestyle is what we all look forward to and that is why sleeping on time and doing the right things like following these simple tips from Ayurveda will lead us to a healthier living.