Sleep
"Happiness and vigour, obesity and leanness, strength and weakness, sexual vigor and impotence, consciousness and loss of sensory acuity, even life and death, depend on the quality of sleep."
Charaka, one of the earliest and most important ayurvedic physicians
At the end of every day, as the sun sets, Nature gives us an opportunity to slow down and reflect on the the day's events, to make a transition from being active and doing into being. This is a slow, gradual change to which our bodies will also respond by calming and settling down, if we allow ourselves to flow with the natural rhythms of the day.
From an ayurvedic perspective, the day is divided into six four hour cycles. From about 2am to sunrise as well as 2 pm to sunset is Vata (air/ether) time. It is at this time of the morning that most people suffer from insomnia, lie awake worrying about something, experience restless sleep or die. Death is the moment when we become ultimately ungrounded, hence its association with the more subtle, light elements, air and ether (space).
Being so changeable, this time of year tends to aggravate Vata. This could lead to anxiety, excessive mental activity and of course, insomnia. All of these indicate a predominance of the air and ether elements which needs to be balanced with the opposite qualities of warmth, heaviness, softness, oiliness and slowness. On the other hand, when in balance, Vata brings creativity, enthusiasm and vibrancy.
Suggestions for recreating healthy sleep
Regularity
- Create regularity in your sleeping routines ie. bedtime, waking time and if possible, mealtimes too
- Going to bed before 10 pm is most conducive to deep, restful, healing sleep.
- Regular daily exercise, suitable for your body type, when done early in the day, helps your body to slow down for the night.
Rest
- Create a restful ambience in tune with the grounding, heavier Kapha (water, earth) time of day (sunset - 10 pm) by:
- Listening to soothing music, classical or ghandharva (classical indian) music or singing. Try to eliminate disturbing sounds eg. use ear plugs
- Surrounding yourself with soothing smells eg. lavender
- Enjoying soothing tastes eg. chamomile tea
- Restricting your mental activity to light reading of uplifting material
- Let your digestive system also rest by taking your light evening meal before sunset. Drink spicy milk (see below) if you get hungry later.
Routine
- Keep the bedroom exclusively for sleeping so that this association becomes firmly anchored in your mind
- Take a warm bath in the evening after rubbing your body with warm sesame oil, or at least your feet and scalp
- Practise Yoga, stretch or lie on the floor doing slow, deep breathing for a few minutes before getting into bed
- Drink warm water if you wake up in the middle of the night, warmth pacifies Vata
Other factors which affect sleep
- Allow fresh air into the bedroom before going to bed
- Sleep in natural fibres and use cotton bedding
- Sexual activity which is excessive for one's particular constitution can cause insomnia
- Avoid alcohol, caffeine and other stimulants.
Warm Spicy Milk
Here is a nourishing and warming drink to enjoy in the evening if you have difficulty with sleeping or if you are sexually active. To reduce Kapha (water/earth eg. excess mucous, heaviness or weight in the body), substitute goat's milk.
1 cup milk (preferably raw and organic)
1 cup water
1/4 tspn ground cardamom
1/4 tspn dried ginger
1/4 tspn ground cloves
1/4 tspn ground nutmeg
1/4 tspn ground cinnamon
Cover and simmer over a medium heat for 15 min. Strain and enjoy.
Cardamom is balancing for all types and is particularly useful as a digestive aid as it relieves acidity.
Ginger reduces flatulence and helps clear out toxins.
The anaesthetic effect of Cloves helps to calm the digestive system and reduces gastric irritability.
Nutmeg is a well known remedy for insomnia as well as digestive disorders.
Cinnamon soothes nervous tension, relieves nausea and stimulates digestion.
The nourishing, strengthening properties of Milk
"Milk is the only common food in the world that can be collected with no violence whatsoever; in fact a contented cow loves to give milk."
-- Svoboda
So many people have allergies to cows milk products, this is due to many and complex factors, however, here are some ways to make milk more digestible which are worth trying:
- Drink milk as a meal on its own, not combined with other food
- Avoid cold milk, straight out of the fridge
- Boil milk for 15 minutes before drinking it
- Add spices such as in the recipe above, or turmeric, when boiling the milk
- Use milk from 'contented' cows. Unfortunately, not many cows in our modern dairy industry are treated with the love and respect they deserve. So please support places that sell organic dairy products.
Because we are all unique individuals, the suggestions we have given above may not be suitable for your particular condition. We hope that our suggestions will help you to get to know better what you need in order to enjoy your life more fully. To explore further how you can work with your own imbalances, please contact us.
With love and greetings to all of you
Margit and Samantha
Nalanda Ayurvedic Centre
Website: [ www.nalanda.co.za ]
Tel: (021) 790 4200