What
is insomnia?
Normal
sleep is thought to be under control of the reticular activating system
in the upper brain stem and diencephalons.
According to Ayurved, when the mind is exhausted and the exhausted
sense organ distracts from its’ object, one gets sleep. Sleep
influences happiness and misery, corpulence and leanness, strength
and weakness, potency and impotency, intellect and non-intellect.
Sleep needs in individuals vary tremendously and changes during the
life cycle. Newborn child sleeps for 14 - 18 hours during early months
of infancy. Then by the age of 10 years, it drops to 9 -10 hours.
For adult person, good sound sleep of 7 - 8 hours is sufficient. As
one get older sleep diminishes to an average of 5 - 6 hours. Insomnia
becomes a serious problem when it affects daytime performance and
behaviour.
Why do people develop insomnia?
Many
complex physical and psychological interactions are combined to cause
insomnia. 'Disorders of initiating and maintaining sleep' is the other
term used for insomnia, and the causes are as follows:
1. Medical problems can cause sleeplessness. Physical pain from arthritis,
ulcers, migraines, angina, breathing disorders like asthma, and respiratory
problems such as cold and cough, irregular heart-beat or palpitation,
cramps in legs, increased frequency of urination due to diabetes mellitus
etc. leads to insomnia.
2. Many types of drugs may lead to insomnia such as stimulants, sedative
and antidepressants, drugs acting on thyroid, contraceptives etc.
can cause insomnia. Alcohol consumption also causes disturbance in
sleep. Both sleeping pills and alcohol lead to fragmented sleep and
frequent early awakening instead of good sound sleep.
3. Disturbing environment and bad habit can profoundly affect your
sleep. Too
noisy, too cold or too hot bedroom can keep you awake. Consumption
of food in less or excess quantity at night may awake you in the middle
of sleep. Fear of insomnia itself is a main causative factor. As you
try hard for a good-night’s sleep desperately, you find it more
and more difficult. So avoid anxiety and be relaxed.
According
to Ayurved cause of insomnia (nidranasha) are as follows:
1)
Vitiated vata dosha or pitta dosha.
2) Mental stress.
3) Dhatukshaya or emaciation due to improper diet and diseases.
4) Mental and physical trauma.
When
you suffer from insomnia, your entire body gets disturbed and you
are prone to get some disorders such as idleness, body-ache and heaviness
in the body, restlessness, loss of appetite, constipation, headache
and other symptoms.
How ayurved can help me to get relief from insomnia?
Sushruta
had described regimen for the patients suffering from insomnia. You
can follow these tips that will help to confront your problem.
1. Abhyanga: Massage your body with oil, processed with medicinal
plants. By this your body becomes firm, skin becomes
smooth and it eliminates disturbance of vata and brings good sleep.
Specific massage i.e. oil massage is recommended in insomnia preferably
with taila (oil of sesame).
2. Rubbing grhita on sole and then massaging with small utensil made
of bronze, before retiring to bed brings sound sleep. It also brings
delicacy of skin, strength and firmness in feet; clarity of vision
and it also pacifies vata.
3. Applying oil on head followed by gentle massage also brings good
sleep.
4. Shirodhara or a head bath with water that is processed with medicinal
herbs will bring you good sleep.
Diet:
1.
Have diet that is madhura, (sweet in taste and produces sweet like
effect on the body after digestion).
2. Drink buffalo milk with sugar in adequate quantity, before retiring
to bed.
3. Eat meat of aquatic animals and fish that will give you good sleep.
4. Drink milk or buttermilk, with a pinch of cinnamon powder and honey.
5. Tea made of chopped lettuce leaves facilitates sleep.
Dos and Don’ts
1.
Try to avoid oversleep or nap during the day even if you get poor
sleep during night. It will again keep you awake next night.
2. If you are below 40 years of age, plan your bed habits.
3. If you are over 60, avoid catnaps during the day. Get into the
bed on regular time.
4. If you wake up at middle of night, don’t become desperate.
Just relax in the bed and wait until sleep returns. Try reading, listening
to music, which will ease you and will reduce your mental tension.
5. Do some light physical activities such as rolling from one side
to another, movement of legs untill you feel sleepy.
6. Avoid consumption of alcohol especially at night. Alcohol when
taken at night often wakes you up in the middle of night and then
you cannot get back to sleep.
7. Cut down on chocolates, coffee, tea, soft drink and smoking especially
in the evening and before going to bed.
8. Mental stress is the main cause of insomnia. To distract yourself
from your worries take up a hobby or indulge yourself in activities,
which will relieve your stress and will help you to overcome your
stress related sleep disorder.
9. Experiment with your bedroom noise and temperature level to find
what is best for you.
10. Taking a warm bath an hour or two before bedtime increases deep
stages of sleep.
11. Sleep on suitable bed, try to ease yourself in the bed.
12. Repaint your bedroom with colours, which gives calming effect,
will calm your nerves and slow muscular response such as violet and
other purple shades and pink.
13. Regular exercise will keep you fit and healthy.
14. You can release your mental stress by adopting various relaxation
techniques and with the help of yoga and meditation. Some 'asanas'
(yogic postures) such as shavasana when performed before going to
bed will give good sleep.
15. Try to visualize peaceful scenes.
Insomnia
is our most typical sign of nervous distress. Frequent insomnia is
most commonly a Vata (air) disorder involving nervousness, anxiety,
ungrounded ness, hypersensitivity, and excess thought and worry.
Sleep
patterns include: difficulty in falling asleep, sleep easily disturbed,
and difficulty in returning to sleep, once awakened. Dreams may be
frightening, filled with flying, falling, nightmares, encounters with
ghosts, etc.
Causes
of insomnia include stress, anxiety, excessive thinking, and taking
of drugs or stimulants, too much travel, overwork and other Vata increasing
factors.
General
Treatment:
Diet
should be anti-Vata, emphasizing heavy or grounding foods. These include
dairy, whole grains and root vegetables. Coffee, tea and other stimulants,
should be avoided. Warm milk with a little nutmeg can be taken an
hour before sleep. Mental activity should be avoided in the evening,
including reading, listening to loud music, watching stimulating movies,
etc. Sleep hours should be adjusted, so that one retires early (around
11 p.m.) and rises early (by 6 a.m.). Warm sesame oil can be applied
to the feet, the top of the head or forehead, or to the whole body,
followed by a warm shower. Yoga asanas should be done, but no aerobic
exercises. A calming meditation before sleep consciously releasing
all the worries and tensions of the day can work wonders. Surrendering
the mind to the Divine, giving complete faith to the Divine will to
take care of oneself and the world is a good part of this. The bed
and the sleeping room should be a place of peace, comfortable, clean,
and well kept. The mind should be concentrated on the breath or centered
in the heart.
We
offer some classical Indian supportive remedies for this disease which
are supposed to be taken strictly under medical supervision. Kindly
Ask a Doctor
