Sleep easy with Ayurveda - Align to your Ayurvedic clock 

/

Sleep - we spend a 1/3 of our life doing it, so would you consider sleep to be critical to your health? Well according to Ayurveda it is one of the three pillars to sustain our health and life yet it's probably fair to say that we don't give it the attention it deserves. Some of us don't get enough, some of us over indulge and most of us are probably not getting the quality of sleep that we need. 

Sleep is an essential part of our circadian cycle. It is the time of day where our body's soldiers work hard to clear out the toxins and at the same time nourish, repair and replenish all our body's cells and tissues. It is rest and repair time and a good night sleep is sometimes all the medicine we need.

As a light sleeper, disturbed and interrupted sleep is something that I struggle with from time to time and I immediately notice the impact on the day cycle and on my wellbeing and as a result it's something I am very conscious of. This usually happens during seasonal changes, when I have a lot on my mind, or if I've had a late night or a glass of wine or the occasional heavy food item. However, when I listen to my body's natural signals of tiredness and maintain good sleep practices I will usually sleep pretty well and have never been dependent on artificial sleep aids.

Ayurveda teaches us that our 24 hour clock can be sliced into 6 sections and each section is influenced by one of the three doshas and when we adhere to the activities that suit that time of day we stay in balance and flow more naturally. The shut eye that we get between 10pm and 2am is critical to our wellness - so don't miss this window for a deep sleep. 

Our sleep cycles will alter with the rhythms of nature, the sun, moon, seasons, our age and it also depends on our constitution. If you have a vata or pitta dominant constitution you may be vulnerable to sleep issues.  We can use some simple sleep hacks to get a more restful sleep:

  • Prepare for a restful sleep with some sleep hygiene rituals - opt out of the harsh blue industrial lights, choose dim lights and no devices (turn off wifi to reduce positive ions!) in the last 60-90 minutes before bed. Sounds simple but how many of us can actually manage this?

  • Leave your phone in the kitchen and wake up naturally with a traditional alarm clock

  • Aim to sleep by 10pm to catch your sleep in the evening kapha cycle

  • Finish your light plant-based evening meal by ideally by 6-7pm

  • Wake up as close to sunrise as possible, cleanse and invigorate your mind and body

  • If you must, limit caffeine to the morning only

  • Give yourself a warm oil foot massage

  • Go for a spiced hot milk drinks - check out my goodnight milk blend

  • Keep a regular sleep routine and timings

  • Do some gentle breathing (my favourite for sleep is Bhramari) and meditate and

  • Write a gratitude journal or offload your stresses in a diary so you don't carry them into your sleep and instead write or recite some affirmations.

  • Relax your senses, play gentle sounds, wear an eye mask and ear plugs to help if you are a light sleeper, use some soothing essential oils such as lavender

  • Work on restoring your gut health as it plays an huge role in our sleep quality

If your sleep has been off kilter for a while, maybe it's time for a seasonal cleanse? Join me for one of my virtual retreats. You may also want to consider a shirodhara or Indian head massage treatment. Image taken from my book - Ayurveda.