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Americans are rediscovering sleep! From medical doctors to CEOs to insurance companies, the "newest discovery" is the vital importance of deep rest. According to current statistics, over 30 million Americans are suffering from chronic insomnia. And the majority of adults in the U.S. experience some degree of sleep deprivation. The results? Increased susceptibility to disease, decreased productivity and creativity, memory loss, and higher accident rates are just a few of the documented effects of missing out on your body's daily requirement of sleep.
The ancient texts of Ayurveda list sleep as one of the three main pillars of health. Along with food and self-realization, sleep is said to be a major factor in determining life span and quality of life. Fortunately, Maharishi Ayurveda offers detailed knowledge on how to get the sleep you need.
Four Steps to Better Sleep
Maharishi Ayurveda identifies three basic types of sleep disorder, caused by imbalances of either Vata, Pitta, or Kapha. In order to begin the process of reclaiming one's normal sleep patterns, the first step is to identify correctly which dosha is out of balance. Otherwise actions taken to enhance sleep may inadvertently create more sleep problems.
The second step in "curing" sleep disorders is identifying those aspects of life that are causing the underlying doshic imbalance. Look first at diet, then at behavioral habits.
"Unless you are willing to make changes in your day-to-day habits, the effects of Ayurvedic herbs and treatments are limited," says Dr. Chris Clark, medical director at The Raj, Maharishi Ayur-Veda Health Center in Fairfield. "The real success stories come with people who are willing to remove the fundamental causes of imbalance in their life and then follow through with Maharishi Ayurveda programs to remove accumulated imbalances."
The third step is to adopt a self-prescribed program of specific foods, massages, herbs, teas, and aroma oils that will help support a more balanced physiology.
For those who find that 1) their symptoms do not respond to self-prescribed routines or 2) they are experiencing more than one type of sleep disorder, a fourth step is recommended: seeing a physician trained in the Maharishi Ayur-Veda health program. In these cases, imbalances may be deeply imbedded in the physiology and thus require a more intensive and individually designed program.
In addition, a new treatment program for sleep disorders will soon be available at The Raj to remove deep-seated imbalances, reawaken the natural intelligence of the body, and restore the balance necessary to allow a deep, blissful night's sleep.
Identifying Your Sleep Disorder
• Vata: Those with Vata-related insomnia find that although they go to bed on time, they lie wide awake (often for hours) with a restless mind. This condition can be aggravated by such things such as caffeine consumption, eating dry foods such as crackers and cookies, irregular eating and sleeping habits, eating while stressed, excess exposure to television or computer screens, and travel.
Vata aroma therapy (Slumber Time, Vata, or lavender oils), daily oil massage (or at least a before-bed massage of hands, legs, and feet), and hot milk with Vata tea before bed can all help pacify Vata dosha. Worry Free tablets from Maharishi Ayur-Veda Products (MAPI) are also helpful. In addition, MAPI has two new products to help Vata-aggravated sleep disorders: Elixir One and Sleep One tablets.
It may take a few days for the Vata pacifying techniques to take hold. In the meantime, continue to lie in bed until sleep comes, no matter how long it takes. One word of caution: if you find you are not falling asleep, do not panic. This will only aggravate Sadaka Pitta and will add to your sleep problems.
Combinations of sleep disorders (such as Vata and Pitta) are much more difficult to deal with and usually necessitate a consultation with an expert in Maharishi Ayur-Veda.
• Pitta: Those with a Pitta-related sleep disorder fall asleep quickly, but then wake up in the middle of the night unable to fall back to sleep.
Pitta sleep disorders are often connected with an imbalance in Sadaka Pitta, the pitta which is associated with emotions. Hot, spicy, or sour foods, impure foods (with preservatives), alcohol, self-prescribed herbs and rasayanas that are too "hot," excess exposure to the sun and heat, and emotional factors such as conflict, doubt, anger, fear, and sadness can all cause an imbalance in Pitta dosha.
Pitta aroma therapy and the application of ghee (clarified butter) to the feet, which is then removed with a cool cloth at bedtime, can help pacify Pitta dosha. In addition, MAPI's Elixir Two and Sleep Two tablets can be taken as directed. Those with acid stomachs should avoid the Elixirs and take AciBalance along with Sleep Two. Blissful Joy tablets will also be beneficial.
If you do wake up in the middle of the night, try drinking cool (not cold) milk and a teaspoon of rose petal jam, then returning to bed. Do not get up and start working! This will only aggravate Pitta more.
Staying up may feel like the natural thing to do at the time, but over months and years this behavior can lead to depression and chronic fatigue. If you don't fall back asleep immediately, try listening to Sama Veda while you lie in bed.
• Kapha: The Kapha-related sleep disorder does not involve a lack of sleep. Rather, the experience is of sleeping too much, or feeling fatigued even after a good night's sleep. This is also a serious sleep disorder because it includes the accumulation of ama (toxins) in all the tissue levels.
Factors contributing to Kapha sleep disorders include both Kapha-aggravating and ama-producing foods and behaviors. Eating heavy foods such as meat, yogurt, cheese, bananas, and eggplant--especially at night, overeating, sleeping during the day, and lack of exercise not only produce Kapha sleep disorders but can also contribute to lower back pain, headaches, and joint pain through the creation of ama. Combining the wrong foods (for example mixing milk with any other taste than sweet) or food allergies can produce very severe ama problems. If you have a long-standing Kapha sleep disorder, you are advised to consult a physician trained in Maharishi Ayur-Veda.
For Kapha sleep disorders, first and foremost get an alarm clock (preferably a gentle one) and make yourself get up at 6:00. You will soon find your body doing so automatically. In addition, exercise, stimulating oil massages, using spices like ginger, turmeric, coriander, cumin, and Kapha churna, and drinking Kapha tea will all help create a more balanced physiology. Kapha sleep disorders can be helped by Elixirs One and Two, Sleep Three, and Fatigue Free MAPI products.
"Don't underestimate the importance of sleep," advises Dr. Clark. "Fatigue can undermine the immune system, interfere with our thinking process, and adversely affect our moods. It affects our ability to enjoy. And after all, enjoyment is essentially what life is all about.
