Have Trouble Sleeping At Night? These 9 Tips Might Help You!
Sleep is one of the fundamental mainstays and pillars of Maharshi Ayurveda. It plays an equally important role as that of diet when it comes to maintaining health and balance in the body. It has tremendous health benefits as it helps in relieving stress and restoring vitality. While we are asleep, our body works to repair and rejuvenate the tissues.
Sleep impacts each and every part of our lives, ranging from our work performance to our long-term mental and physical health. But, quite often, we spend sleepless nights, or our eyes suddenly pop open at 2 am, and we just can’t fall asleep again. This happens because of sleep imbalance in our body, which is generally caused due to a number of factors. According to Ayurveda, sleep imbalance is usually caused due to an imbalance in the three doshas namely, vata, kapha, and pitta doshas.
Usually, when the coordination between dhi (learning), dhirti (retention), and smriti (recall) becomes weak, a vata sleep imbalance occurs, where even if you are trying to fall asleep, your mind will be continuously thinking of the events that happened today or in the past, and you’ll be unable to detach yourself from the emotions. This is why you won’t be able to sleep even if you wish to. And even if you fall asleep by chance, you’ll constantly wake up either due to restlessness or because your mind is not stable.
Does this happen to you that even after sleeping for very long, you feel restless, exhausted, or lethargic the whole day? This happens if you’re suffering from a kapha related sleep disorder.
If you’re suffering from a pitta sleep disorder, you will face absolutely no trouble in falling asleep, but you will often end up waking up in the wee hours of the morning. You will face a lot of trouble in falling asleep again for several hours, and eventually, you might not sleep at all. Usually, people with a pitta imbalance in the body or people suffering from emotional trauma face this type of sleep disorder. Here is everything you should know about ayurveda for good sleep.
9 Simple Ayurvedic Tips For Good Sleep
Though lack of sleep is a major problem, a few simple and minor tweaks in your daily lifestyle can promote a sound, healthy, and effortless sleep.
1. Ditch Caffeine, Sugar, And Stimulants
All these things are sleep-suckers, and thus, it is always better to avoid having them after 3 pm.
2. Drink A Cup Of Hot Milk
Milk is a great source of tryptophan, which induces sleep in the body. Drink a glass of hot milk along with one-fourth teaspoon of nutmeg for a sound sleep. If your body type is pitta, you can add shatavari to the milk. People with kapha body type may add turmeric, and people with vata body type can add garlic to the milk.
3. Oil Massage Or Abhyanga
Oil massage is a wonderful way to soothe the nervous system and, thereby, induce sleep. Massaging bhringraj oil on the scalp and the foot helps in facilitating good sleep. If you do not want to wash your hair the next morning, and that’s why you are unwilling to massage oil onto your scalp, dab a drop or two of oil onto your temple before going to bed.
[ Read: Does Lack Of Sleep Result In Hair Loss? ]
4. Switch Off Your Electronic Gadgets
Switch off all electronic gadgets such as your mobile, laptop, and TV at least an hour before you sleep. Doing this will help calm your nervous system and get you into the mood to sleep.
5. Practice Meditation
The health benefits of meditation are vast. Hence, it is good for maintaining the overall health of your body. Meditate for 10-15 minutes before going to bed. This will relax your body and induce a sound sleep.
6. Practice Yoga
Practicing yoga, especially pranayama, is also supposed to be very beneficial to calm down and relax the body and the nervous system. Simple breathing exercises will also help in inducing sleep.
[ Read: 7 Yoga Poses For A Good Night’s Sleep ]
7. Have A Healthy Diet
A healthy diet is vital for maintaining good health. Avoid heavy, spicy, or aggravating foods as they can cause acidity or indigestion, which can affect the sleep cycle. It is suggested to have a light meal two to three hours before going to bed for proper digestion and a sound sleep.
8. Take The Help Of Herbs
Do you know that there exists ayurvedic herbs for sleep? Yes, there are a few herbs that relax your nerves and facilitate a peaceful sleep. Some of them are ashwagandha, tagar, and shankhpushpi.
9. Set Up A Proper Sleep Routine
Adhering to a proper sleep routine keeps your biological clock steady and improves your sleep.
Following these ayurvedic tips for good sleep regularly will definitely help you. Along with these, also make sure that your room is dark enough to help you sleep properly.
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