Haven’t Slept for a Week? This Can Help You

In the fast-paced world of today, Life is more complex and busier with too much work pressure and family pressure. People are struggling to cope with personal and social expectations. Late-night exam preparations, online meetings, family responsibilities, the competition to succeed, and managing the finances — all these results in heightened stress and ultimately sleep deprivation. While the lack of sleep may not seem like a big issue, but its impact can be intense with long-term consequences that could be hazardous for health. Sleep is the natural restoration process of the physical body. The body repairs and cleanses itself of impurities during sleep. 

Lack of Sleep is Harmful to Health

Chronic sleeplessness or insomnia can put anyone at increased risk for serious medical conditions, like heart disease, obesity, and diabetes. Remember that sleep is essential for the nervous system to work properly. During sleep, human cells release various hormones that help in the healthy functioning of the body. Lack of sleep can lead to an increase in the secretion of stress hormones that may lead to depression, anxiety, and other disorders. If you are facing sleeplessness, then try meditation, yoga, and pranayama. They help incredibly and work like medicine of sleeplessness.

How Meditation Can Cure Sleeplessness

Meditation is an incredible mind-body relaxation technique that enhances inner peace, calm, and balance.  When practiced before bedtime, it helps to dissolve the day’s stress, remove anxiety and improve the quality of sleep by bringing overall calmness in the body.

Meditation helps in slowing down the thought processes in the mind. It significantly reduces the stress hormones in the body that makes it easier to fall asleep. Also, meditation is a relaxation exercise that brings a natural relaxation response to the body leading to a sound sleep.

Through meditation, you can concentrate on your third eye (Agya Chakra) to stimulate the pineal gland for secreting melatonin, a hormone that helps in improving sleep patterns to some extent.

There are some meditation techniques to help you to sleep but they must be learned from a meditation expert. So, learn those techniques first and then practice them regularly. In order to reap maximum benefits from meditation, regularity is important. Most people practice it for a few days, see no results, and give up. Remember that meditation gives you not only short-term benefits but improves your overall wellbeing over time.

Some common meditation methods for sleep include Mindful Meditation, Guided Imagery and Music, Deep Breathing, and Body Scan Meditation. Along with this, it is important to develop a regular sleep schedule because your body and mind like discipline.

Pranayama for Better Sleep

Deep relaxed breathing is a form of pranayama or breathing technique that increases the flow of oxygen to the cells. It clears the blockages in your mind, opens energy channels in the body, leading to a free flow of oxygen (life energy) throughout the body. Constant practice of Pranayama can supercharge your body and help improve sleep.

In this pranayama one is advised to choose a quiet environment, relax and take deep breaths but slowly thus slowing the rate of breathing and enabling the entire body to relax. The result is an increase in the energy levels of the complete body, inner balance, and enhanced ability of the body to repair itself. Through Pranayama, one can control his emotions and reduce unnecessary thoughts.

Some impactful pranayama exercises to promote sleep are Ujjayi breathing (ocean breathing technique), Nadi Sodhana (Alternate Nostril Breathing), and Brahmari (Bumblebee breathing). As a word of caution, these must be learned under the guidance of a meditation master as doing them wrongly can cause more harm than benefit.

Pranayama is an effective remedy to overcome not only insomnia but also improve the overall health of an individual. Research suggests that pranayama and meditation may be helpful in managing physical health conditions especially those related to stress. 

Prayers and A healthy Diet for a Good Sleep

Prayers have immense power and bedtime prayers help in improving sleep. There are also some Hindu mantras if chanted before bedtime help one to sleep better. Thru prayers, one focuses the mind in one direction and retracts it from the unwanted chatter going on within. The repetition of the mantra helps in calming the mind and improving sleep.

One such mantra is-

“या देवी सर्वभूतेषु निद्रारूपेण संस्थिता; नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमोनमः”

Salutations to the Goddess who resides in all in the form of sleep!

Recite this mantra 5-10 times and gradually your thought process will slow down, and you will feel relaxed and thus be able to fall asleep with ease.  In addition to prayer, a healthy balanced diet is also important for a good night’s sleep. 

Final Thoughts

Good sleep is essential to lead a positive and happy life. Sleep is the deeply restful state of the body and mind, an opportunity for the body to repair and recharge itself for another day to come. So, as the bright day turns into a dark night, keep unnecessary worries out of your mind, close your eyes, remember God and His blessings and sleep peacefully. If you are facing sleeplessness, learn Yoga and meditation techniques to help you sleep better. Develop good sleep habits as that is in your own control. As individuals, families, and societies, people must understand the importance of a good night’s sleep for a healthy happy life.