The topic of sleep has certainly been on the rise in recent years, and for good reason - the average person spends a total of 25 years of their life sleeping. And yet, many of us tend to take sleep for granted - usually until we can't get enough of it.

We decided to write this blog post about sleep in general and connect it to Ayurvedic wisdom. After all, the 3000 year old healing art should have something to tell us about such a basic human need!


Myths & Truths about Sleep

Sleep has the basic function of rest and relaxation, but unfortunately in many industrialized cultures too much of it is associated with laziness and low productivity. Working late into the night and waking up early is seen as a sign of hard work and dedication. Many of us unconsciously share these values, but

studies have shown that sleep has many more functions than just relaxing the body and mind. While we sleep peacefully in our beds, a lot is happening in the background. Millions of connections are being built between neurons in our brains, a process that performs several important tasks. Not only does it enhance our cognitive development, but it also helps us process the day's events on an emotional level while strengthening our immune system. That's not only fascinating, but also pretty important, don't you think?


The consequences of poor sleep

What happens when we neglect our sleep? We've all heard of sleep-deprived parents and their daily problems, but it's also common among the rest of us. In fact, 7 of the top 15 causes of death in the U.S. are associated with shortened sleep duration. The reason is that a sleep-deprived person cannot function well cognitively and emotionally. This can cause major problems both immediately and in the long term. Persistent sleep deprivation can lead to cardiovascular disease, diabetes and hypertension.


What is the Ayurvedic view of sleep?

According to Ayurveda, the three pillars - components of Tri-Upastambha - of a healthy life are:

Aaahara - nutrition

Nidra - sleep

Brahmacharya - a balanced control of the senses

That is, to stay balanced, healthy and live long, we all need a balanced diet, adequate and deep sleep, and balanced sensory input such as taste, touch, smell, sound and sight. These pillars not only keep our bodies and minds alert, but also interact and influence each other. This means that when one pillar is out of balance, it affects the others as well. You may have noticed: when you're stressed, nutrition immediately takes its toll, then you don't get enough sleep and the next day you reach for the "comfort food" (it's definitely happened to us!).

How Our Habits Affect Us

Overindulging in fatty and sugary foods can quickly throw our diet out of balance, which in turn affects our sleep, and less sleep can lead to an unbalanced diet - a vicious cycle.

But let's get to the solutions! When we start developing good eating habits, a diet that doesn't cause inflammation, that doesn't raise our sugar levels, and that isn't too heavy, our sleep improves. Not only do we fall asleep faster, but we fall asleep deeper. Of course, those who have slept well also don't seek out comfort food or excessive consumption of digital media, which can also affect our sleep.

As you can see, the three elements and pillars can reinforce each other both positively and negatively.

Doshas & Sleep

What we have learned so far is that our habits and our health, including sleep, are interconnected. Ayurveda is always about balance, and when we begin to understand that what we do, eat, think, talk, and sleep affects us, our lives, and our planet, we can choose to cooperate with this perspective and improve our health and our relationships with ourselves and the whole world.

Indeed, when we experience deep and adequate sleep, we receive wonderful gifts such as sukha (pleasure), pushti (nourishment), bala (strength and immunity), vrishataa (potency), gnaanam (knowledge), and jeevitam (longevity of life).


How dosha dominance affects our sleep

If you're not familiar with the concept of doshas, you can learn more about each in our blog post .

When we stay awake at night or sleep poorly, we produce dryness in our body. It also strengthens the Vata and Pitta doshas and reduces the Kapha dosha. A disturbed Vata dosha can cause dizziness, stiffness throughout the body, restlessness, lack of concentration, headaches and more. A disturbed Pitta dosha mainly causes problems with digestion. This means that it is very important, especially for people with Vata and Kapha doshas, to stick to their sleep routine and get enough sleep.

According to Ayurveda, to get a good night's sleep, we need to pay attention to the following two interdependent factors:

the timing - when you go to bed and

the prelude - how you spend the last few hours before falling asleep.


Let's look at timing first.

Did you know that the doshas also apply to a specific time of day? That's right. Each four-hour period of the 24 hours is dominated by one dosha and thus influenced by the characteristics of that dosha. In other words, there is a vata, pitta and kapha time of day and a vata, pitta and kapha time of night. In each of these periods, the respective dosha is dominant and determines the nature of our energy level.

You can think of it like the ebb and flow of the natural world, including your own body and mind.

Look at the times of day when each dosha is dominant:

Now that we are focusing on sleep, let's look at Vata, Pita and Kapha times at night.

Kapha dominates during the time between 6:00 pm and 10:00 pm. Kapha dosha is made up of earth and water and provides a natural heaviness. If you go to bed during this phase, you can find a better and faster natural sleep.

Now let's look at what happens after 10:00 p.m., when Pitta time begins.

Pitta, the element of fire, occurs in the form of digestive activity. This means that if you're still awake, you'll feel the urge to eat a snack or engage in a mentally stimulating activity like social media or streaming. This disrupts the production of the sleep hormone melatonin, which can affect the quality of your sleep by causing you to miss out on the important deep sleep that occurs at the beginning of our sleep cycle.

What can you do to avoid falling into the traps?

To ensure a natural and easy sleep, it is very important to pay attention to the last 90 minutes (8:30-10:00 pm) of the Kapha phase, which greatly affects your sleep quality.

A quick and easy tip to help you get into the right state for sleep is to not aggravate Kapha with heavy and fatty foods. Keep it balanced with a light and early dinner and let your Kapha dosha guide you to a natural and deep sleep.


Vata & Pitta - special recommendations

If you know your predominant dosha is Vata or Pitta, it is inherently more difficult for you to fall asleep than for people with Kapha as their predominant dosha.

Why is this?

The Vata dosha leads to non-stop thinking and a constant flow of thoughts about possible future scenarios, which makes it difficult for a Vata type to fall asleep.

People with the Pitta dosha also have an active mind, constantly trying to solve problems, and have difficulty falling asleep, albeit to a lesser degree.

Calming these two doshas can help you sleep better.

Here's how to calm your Vata and Pitta doshas:

✧ Drink a light herbal tea at least 90 minutes before bedtime and avoid hydration afterwards. Our RELAX is a suitable choice.

✧ Take a warm bath, but avoid getting your hair wet.

✧Listen to relaxing music that can calm your Vata or Pitta dosha.

✧ Avoid watching TV after 8.30 p.m. Watch TV, work on your laptop, or use your smartphone, as they aggravate both Vata and Pitta dosha by giving the mind more digestive impulses.

✧Avoid intense conversations with friends, family, or colleagues, which can trigger a chain of thoughts.

Connect your mind to your body

Remember the 3 pillars of health we mentioned earlier? It is equally important to connect your body with your mind and help it to rest.

We recommend you to practice these 5 steps for your mind, which can help you to finish the day.

First, lie down in a comfortable position and make sure that your back and neck are not tense in any way. Close your eyes and take 3 deep breaths.

✧ Thank the Universe for the day that was given to you, with all its good moments that you enjoyed and the not-so-good ones that you were able to learn from.
✧ Accept the fact that the day is over and now it's time to get ready for a good rest.
✧ Anything on your to-do list that you didn't get done, you can better do after a restful sleep instead of worrying about it late into the night.
✧ Forgive everyone who knowingly or unknowingly hurt you that day.
✧ Forgive yourself for knowingly or unknowingly hurting someone that day.

Now leave it all behind and let your body perform this incredibly healing ritual. ✧

References

Mathew Walker. Why we sleep.

Telles, Shirley, et al. "Ayurvedic doshas as predictors of sleep quality." Medical science monitor: international medical journal of experimental and clinical research. 21 (2015): 1421.

Agnivesha, Charak Samhita, with Charak Chandrika Hindi commentary, by Dr Tripathi Brahmanand and Dr Pandey Ganga Sahay, Sutra Sthana Chapter 21, Verse No. 36, Chaukhamba Surbharti Prakashan; 2007. p. 406