Nidra - Ayurveda View On Sleep

We, humans, became a living machine in order to sustain our lives, everyday racing to combat the hurdles of living. We exhaust ourselves from extra working hours, we ignore our body is sending signals to refrain ourselves from this unhealthy living style and to live a healthy life.  

One of the signals our body is giving in the form of the irregularity of sleep. The majority of people are experiencing a problem with sleeping which directly or indirectly emphasizes our health.

What are these signals?

• Experience an excessive need for sleep.
• Remain awake all over the night.
• Interrupted sleep. 
• Feels lethargic even after 8 hours of sleep.

If you are experiencing any of these signals it is the best to treat first by own, by making some life-changing habits.

But before that, there is an overview of Sleep according to Ayurveda.

What is the concept of sleep in Ayurveda? 

Sleep is termed as Nidra. 

Nidra caused by the nature of the night is the best sleep as it nourishes the body. When the body and mind feel fatigued then they are not able to respond and became lethargic which leads to Nidra.

What is the importance of Nidra?

Ayurveda considers Nidra ( Sleep) as one of the most important parts of a healthy life as it is one of the three pillars of life i.e Aahara, Brahma, and Nidra. For healthy living balancing of these three has the utmost importance

Proper and timely Nidra brings equilibrium to the body as well as to the mind, leads to happiness, provides nourishment and strength to the body, and also by taking proper sleep mind becomes refreshed and able to gain more knowledge. 

Adequate sleep leads to an increase in Agni and proper functioning of the body. 

Sleeping problems that are common are excessive sleeping hours or decrease hours of sleep. This disturbed sleep pattern leads to various diseases such as migraine, hypertension, obesity, etc.

Tips for combat urge of excessive sleep- 

• For one who is experiencing excessive sleep, there is a need to evaluate your living style first, make a routine to awake daily at a particular time mainly between 6am-7am.
• Add an exercise, daily exercise for about 30 minutes daily either walking, swimming, or gyming.
• Make sure to avoid excessive sweetness from your daily routine. 
• Udvartana with besan twice a week.

Tips to sleep better at night -

• Follow a consistent sleep schedule.
• Padabhyanga with cow's ghee. 
• Drink milk before sleeping especially buffalo milk. 
• Avoid using mobile phones.
• Avoid daytime sleeping. 
• Bathing.

Disturbed Nidra or sleep pattern is one of the leading causes of several diseases. It may be due to some underline diseases which provoke the diseases due to the imbalance of doshas. So a regular sleep pattern with good sleep is important for living a healthy life.