Don't you envy people who hit the sac and drift off immediately? Research shows, Americans are not sleeping enough and certainly not sleeping better. Not sleeping the recommended 7 hours a night is linked to an increased risk of conditions like obesity, blood pressure, heart disease, and mental stress. Wouldn’t it be great if there were simple ways to help you sleep quickly, and feel rested enough the following day? Here’s what you can do to reclaim your beauty sleep.
More than a third of the American population is not getting enough sleep, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC). Even in our own lives we find, it is hard enough to fall asleep quickly and harder to wake up feeling refreshed enough. As a result we tend to take the lethargy or lack of rest to our workplace and all through the day. In Ayurveda, sleep disorders are associated with a debilitated Vata and stress that causes a barrage of thoughts that unsettle your mind right before you want to fall asleep.
Try going to sleep at the same time and waking up at the same time. Ideal time to go to sleep, according to Ayurveda, is 10 PM. After then, the pitta dosha is activated when the body cells go to work for repair and regeneration. The body’s natural repair mechanism is hampered when you do not sleep at the right time, making it that much harder to give your body proper rest.
The idea of all these simple rituals is to put your mind in a state of relaxation that helps you fall asleep faster. In that regard, nothing helps you better than a warm bath using body oils rich in essential oils like sandalwood, primerose, jasmine or borage. Experts recommend the Shankara Calming Body Oil for its nourishing and relaxing properties. It is filled with essential oils that help soothe heightened emotional states and relax the body, while delivering the benefits of rich nutrients, antioxidants, and moisturizing ingredients. The oil comes with the essential goodness of not one or two but 25 super herbs that aid better sleep and relaxation like sesame oil, macadamia nut oil, almond oil, avocado oil, hempseed oil, vitamin E Tocopherol, evening primrose oil; essential oils of sandalwood, borage, cardamom, vetiver, aniseed, clary sage, cypress (leaves), ginger EO, extracts of haritaki, shatavari, Dashmoola, gotu Kola(root), bala, CO2 extract of helio carrot, shavegrass, rose, calendula and jasmine.
As you get ready to go to sleep, sit comfortably and practice a few rounds of alternate nostril breathing exercise. This regularizes the flow of breath in both the nostrils and balances the prana or life force, brings relaxation and helps you ease off into a sleepy state. It balances Vata dosha too. Here’s how you can do it.
The blue light, one of the seven lights that constitute rays of the sun, is closely associated with our circadian rhythm. During the day, it causes heightened alertness and positive feeling. But here’s the problem. Our gadgets also emit the blue light. Blue light emissions at night obstruct with the functioning of the pineal gland that produces melatonin, a hormone for relaxation and dimming of awareness so you can sleep better.
For patients of Insomnia and other chronic sleep disorders, an effective way to fall asleep is Yoga Nidra or Yogic sleep. It is a structured powernap, a meditative way of giving yourself deeper rest, where you take restful awareness through different parts of the body, relaxing them one by one and eventually on completion of the guided meditation, you feel rested and ready to be lulled into a good sleep.
