Ancient Ayurvedic Medicine and Restful Sleep

Sometime between youth and the golden years sleep becomes harder to come by.

Unlike days gone by, artificial lights and screens interrupt the natural sequence from daytime wakefulness and nighttime sleepiness.

Many Americans do not get enough sleep.

A third of U.S. adults do not get the minimum recommended seven hours of sleep every night.

Adequate sleep is necessary for the prevention of major illnesses and psychological disorders.

Is it possible for an ancient natural medicine discipline to help solve modern sleep issues?

📎 Does nature provide the secret to better sleep?
📎 What is Ayurvedic Medicine?
📎 Life Forces (Doshas)
📎 Practical Application
📎Ayurvedic Sleep Tips
📎Ayurvedic Medicine for Sleep Disorders

Ancient wisdom contained in alternative teachings might hold the key to your sleep worries. 

Following nature’s pattern is the key to Ayurvedic restful sleep.

Most sleepless nights are treated by medications like over-the-counter sleep aids or gadgets that help drown out atmospheric noises. 

More serious interventions include pharmaceutical medications. 

While these solutions may provide temporary relief for insomnia, they fail to address the underlying issues causing sleeping problems.

Ayurvedic medicine has roots in India going back thousands of years.

Ayurvedic medicine is a form of alternative medicine that purports to find balance between body, mind, spirit, and the environment.

Ayurveda translates to “knowledge of life.”

Ayurveda teaches that sleep is an essential function of life.

The key to restful sleep is found in following the signals nature gives us.

In Ayurvedic teachings, living things and the environment are made of the elements: air, water, fire, space, and earth.

The goal of Ayurvedic medicine is to restore harmony to the body.

This is achieved by balancing the body with life forces, known as doshas.

These forces, or doshas, are made up of the five elements.

The three doshas are vata, pitta, and kapha.

Each of the doshas are dominant twice each day, in the daytime and overnight.

Vata is dominant between two o’clock and six o’clock, both morning and afternoon. Kapha is dominant between six o’clock and 10 o’clock, and Pitta dominates from 10 o’clock until two o’clock.

Each dosha possesses different qualities.

Vata is said to be made of air and space.

The characteristics of this dosha are dry, cold, subtle, and erratic.

Pitta, from fire and water, is hot, sharp, intense, and light.

Finally, kapha is earth and water.

Kapha qualities include heavy and dull, soft and static.

Following the dosha time periods, the best time to get to sleep is during the kapha domination period.

In other words, going to bed is ideal around 10 p.m.

Staying up later enters into the Pitta dominated time frame, which is hot and sharp, not ideal for sleep.

Individuals are said to possess characteristics of the doshas, too.

The dosha energy can lead to specific sleep problems.

Individuals with a dominant vata energy are often awakened at night and suffer from insomnia.

Pitta energy in individuals results in sleep disrupted by dreams.

Lastly, those with dominant kapha energy are bound to have trouble falling asleep.

How do you follow Ayurvedic medicine?

Watch the clock and the doshas for clues.

Early morning is a kapha dominated time period, so waking up groggy is natural.

A little later on during the pitta dominated period, energy is more fluid.

To keep your nighttime routine within Ayurvedic guidelines, you should set your bedtime for 10 p.m. and plan to awaken in the morning by six.

The goal is to get six to eight hours of sleep every night.

Daytime napping is out.

Keep a consistent bedtime routine.

Time of day is important in Ayurvedic medicine.

Take advantage of earlier bedtimes when rest will be the most restorative.

The good news is that your bedtime schedule is one thing you have a great deal of control over.

Eat lighter meals.

According to Ayurvedic tradition, the heaviest meal of the day should be consumed in the middle of the day.

Eating a lighter meal in the evening two hours before you retire for the night is less taxing on your digestive system.

Indulge in a little massage.

The simple act of massage can relax you before you go to bed.

Massage will lower blood pressure, relieve stress, and soothe tight muscles.

If a full body massage is impractical, give attention to the head, temples, feet, and hands.

If a partner is not available, you can give yourself an adequate massage.

Weighted blanket.

The use of weighted blankets is becoming more popular with Ayurvedic practice.

A weighted blanket calms the feeling of uncontrolled stress and overstimulation.

Mindful Breathing

Ayurvedic practitioners recommend Vata breathing to promote Ayurvedic restful sleep. 

Vata breathing requires you to sit in a restful position. 

With your eyes closed, press your finger against one nostril to close it.

Inhale through the open nostril, then close it and exhale through the other nostril. 

Repeat for as long as possible with a goal of reaching ten minutes. 

This breathing method will force you to slow your mind and calm your body.

Ayurvedic practices can help specific sleep problems.

While these problems can be temporarily resolved with other methods, natural remedies are more likely to solve the problem permanently.

Difficulty falling to sleep: Your mind is racing and you have difficulty calming your thoughts.

According to Ayurvedic practice this is an imbalance of Vata.

Going to bed early, eating a warm meal, indulging in a warm bath, and limiting mental work in the evening.

Groggy mornings: Despite going to bed early and sleeping for at least eight hours, you wake up tired and overly sleepy.

This is a problem with Kapha imbalance.

The solution is found in restoring Kapha.

The first step is to wake up by six in the morning despite your drowsiness.

After you arise, engage in a strenuous workout.

Throughout the day make sure you are active and busy.

Night waking: Following your regular bedtime schedule, you find yourself waking up in the middle of the night.

Most of your waking takes place between two and four in the morning.

Pitta is out of balance and must be put back in order.

To do this, avoid violent movies or video games before bed.

Indulge in a massage with massage oil before you go to bed for the night.

Once natural balance is restored to the body, sleep will become improved and restful.

Ayurvedic restful sleep is accomplished by focusing on getting the body back in sync with nature.

This includes avoiding excesses.

Too much sleep is unhealthy, too.

Ancient practices may not seem the solution for modern problems, however

Ayurvedic practitioners have counseled followers to go to bed early, arise early, and to focus on keeping life in balance for thousands of years.

Those early followers may not have foreseen the influence of modern technology on sleeping issues, but they have possessed the wisdom to solve them.