Looking Sleepy by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi
According to the Ayurveda philosophy, sleep is one of three pillars that endow the body with strength, vigor, and healthy growth, which can continue until the full span of life. Good quality sleep is a panacea for a healthy health span, your disease-free and functional period of life. But in this hyper-competitive world, most of us complain of a lack of good quality sleep. We’re a world of unhealthy sleepers. When you compare the world statistics of insomnia and poor quality sleep, it is interesting to note that the numbers are nearly similar throughout the world. Within the USA, more than 30% of the population suffers from insomnia and nearly 10 million people in the U.S. use prescription sleep aids.Poor quality sleep:
- Results in failure to sustain and preserve new memory
- Triggers obesity and other metabolic disturbances
- Contributes to accidents, falls, and traffic mishaps
- Triggers emotional disturbances
- Lowers immunity making the individual more susceptible to degenerative diseases or infections
- Weakens the neuron pruning machinery resulting in less pruning of the neuronal branches, more neuronal noise and fuzzy memories (see Purpose of Sleep)
Additionally, recent studies have clearly shown the link between moods and sleep. Researchers strongly advise that we need to pay attention to not just the quantity or quality of sleep but the combination of both sleep and moods. Carrying negative emotions with you to the bed dampens the sleep response, resulting in interrupted sleep that further spirals into significant decline in positive moods (see Interrupted Sleep). Good sleep is also an antidote to fear as fear responses significantly wane in the slow-wave sleep cycle (see Sleep: A Pillar of Life). A good night sleep enhances the same positive feelings and states of being that we achieve through our yoga practice. Good sleeping habits play a direct role in how full, energetic, and successful our lives can be. There's no question that we feel better after a good night's rest. So it seems that if we want to live to our full potential, we must approach sleep as a personal practice.
Sleep experts are now busy trying to discover medicines that might precisely target the molecules to induce sleep. It seems unbelievable but about one in twenty five adults is on a prescription sleep medicine, according to data from the CDC. And Americans are spending a staggering $41 billion on sleep aids and remedies. Melatonin supplements are by far the most common over-the-counter drug recommended to patients, although a subset of the people who take it complain of feeling groggy and hung-over. So what is, if any, a perfect drug-free remedy for sleep that has been well studied by scientists?
In a multicenter, randomized, controlled trial for sleep quality among cancer survivors Yoga for Sleep Quality Among Cancer Survivors, a yoga program consisting of breathing exercises (pranayama), yoga practice, consisting of 16 gentle hatha and restorative yoga postures (asanas) and meditation, was found to be a useful intervention for improving sleep quality and reducing sleep medication use among cancer survivors. The yoga participants in the study both showed greater improvements in sleep quality, quantity and efficiency and daytime dysfunction and reduced their intake of sleep medication.
In several research studies thereafter, mindfulness and meditation were shown to be powerful interventions to improve sleep. In a 2015 study in JAMA Internal Medicine, mindfulness meditation practices resulted in improved sleep quality and reduced fatigue in older adults with moderate sleep disturbance in a trial comparing meditation to a more structured program focusing on changing poor sleep habits and establishing a bedtime routine. In another study that involved 18 individuals, participants said that although they were not sleeping more hours they were sleeping better, waking more refreshed, feeling less distressed about insomnia, and better able to cope when it occurred. Some individuals even experienced the course as a call to action. For them, practicing meditation and following sleep hygiene guidelines became high priorities (see mindfulness changed my sleep).
Furthermore, a recent research study found that listening to sounds of nature, (for example, rain forest soundscape, leaves rustling in the wind, or water flowing down the rocks) triggers the relaxation response and reduces the body’s natural fight-or-flight response that may help with the sleep response as well. Sounds familiar? How many of us have felt better in a yoga class while listening to the gentle sounds of om/aum during Savasana?
So, as yogis we know, what works better than medicines to have a good sleep is yoga, mindfulness, and meditation.
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