Sweet slumber

Sweet slumber

September 2024

Sweet Slumber

As we are well aware, lack of soundsleep can give rise to physical and mental problems. To ensure a
good night’s rest, you could followthe suggestions given by Jamuna
Rangachari in the next few pages

My grandmother’s advice had a good impact  on my well-being and, consequently, my results  too. Whenever I neglected this aspect even later  in life, it proved to be detrimental to me. So,  remembering my grandmother’s wisdom, I still  switch off the lights at 10 p.m. and go to sleep,  ignoring all that is happening around me. 

Many causes of insufficient and disturbed sleep  can be taken care of by modifying our food  habits and lifestyle, with a little help from some  techniques that are simple to incorporate into  our lives. 

Yoga 

Saraswati Vasudevan, a yoga therapist from  Chennai says that yoga, when combined with  lifestyle changes, can be of help. She asks people  to have a physically active lifestyle in tandem  with slowing down their activities towards  the evening. A relaxing evening practice with  seated and lying postures with a focus on long  exhalations during asanas and pranayama will  help the body and mind to relax. 

As most of us have a sedentary lifestyle,  Saraswati asks us to start the day with a  rejuvenating morning practice. Dynamic asana  sequences with conscious breath regulation,  keeping inhalations equal to exhalations, with a  few seconds of breath retention after inhalations  in postures, clear out tamasic energy. 

An evening practice, again with long inhalations  and exhalations, in a slow dynamic asana  practice, with a longer pause after exhalations,  will shift the focus from the mind to the body  and release stagnant energy. Saraswati adds  that this can be followed by some seated and  lying postures that involve staying with long  inhalations, exhalations, and retention after  exhalations. This is best done a couple of hours  before dinner. She also suggests Viparita Karani  (half-shoulder stand), which is an excellent  posture for promoting relaxation and sleep,  and offers a simplified version which all of us  can practise. 

To practise this posture, we need to place a few  floor cushions against the wall and sit on the  cushions with one side of the body touching the  wall. After this, we need to turn around and lie  down facing the wall, with our hips on it, using  any available support. Our head and chest  should lie on the mat, with a support there also  if required. Then, we need to put our legs up on  the wall, stretch them as much as possible, and  keep our arms open in a comfortable position.  We could combine this with pranayama  practice: inhaling with a soft hissing sound  in the throat, which is Ujjayi Pranayama, and  exhaling long and deep with a humming sound,  which is Bhramari Pranayama. We could also  chant OM, keeping the exhalations as long as  possible. This posture should be maintained  for 10–20 breaths. It is best to practise this at  bedtime or about two hours post dinner. 

Acupressure 

Acupressure too can help solve your sleep  problems. Mumbai-based Purvi Maru, a healer  trained in acupressure, says, “Massaging our  wrist daily once or twice a day gives good  results for promoting sound sleep as there are  three very good acupressure points situated  there: H7, P7, and Lu9.” 

Alternatively, we can press these points daily  for one to two minutes each on both hands,  especially before going to sleep. This simple  technique has helped many people in ensuring  good sleep. 

Mudras 

Abhay Kumar Shah, a mudra therapist, tells  us that we need to go to the root cause of the  problem that causes insomnia and states that  there are certain common elements which need to be addressed. People wish to achieve  too much in today’s world. We need to remain  calm instead of overthinking and make our  mind healthy so that it responds positively  under all circumstances. To take control of our  emotions and thoughts, and to keep alertness  at a normal level, here are some mudras which  thousands of people have benefitted from.  Abhay says that many who were on sleeping  pills for years together stopped taking them.  

Common instructions for all the following  mudras: Sit straight in a comfortable position  on the floor or a chair or sofa. Place the back  of your palms on your knees or thighs after  forming the mudra.  

• Jnana Mudra: Touch the tip of the index  finger to the tip of the thumb, keeping the  remaining three fingers straight.  

• Prana Mudra: Touch the tips of the ring and  little fingers to the tip of the thumb, keeping  

the remaining two fingers straight.  These two mudras will reduce anxiety,  overthinking, negativity, and ill thoughts, and  will calm the mind.  

Practise Jnana Mudra for 48 minutes followed  by Prana Mudra for 16 minutes. 

• Shakti Mudra: Touch the thumb to the palm,  with the index and middle fingers, overlapping  the thumb. Then touch the backs of the bent  fingers of both hands. Hold this gesture near  your sternum or at the lower abdomen, fingers  pointing upwards. 

Do this in the evening for at least 16 minutes.  This mudra improves our sense of being  grounded and will induce good sleep as it  increases the energy required for sleep.  

• Shoonya Vayu Mudra: Touch the tips of  the index finger and the middle finger to the  root of the thumb. Put the thumb on the bent  fingers and press a little. Keep the remaining  two fingers comfortably straight.  

Yoga and Mudras can help you sleep better

Yoga Nidra 

When I went to yoga classes in Mumbai, my  teacher made us do yoga nidra once a week for 30  minutes. This routine is practised even today in  the Bihar School of Yoga. It is a kind of guided  meditation cum yoga technique that asks us to  focus on each part of our body, beginning with the  toe, right up to the top of our head. Our instructor  played an audio tape that asked us to focus on  each part of our body. An option was to choose a  sankalp, or affirmation, if we wanted to, for any  aspect of life. She asked us to do this every day at  home too by just ensuring silence and focus.  

I do this whenever possible, and it does help me  relax. Once again, it shows us that sleep does  indeed come with relaxation. 

Sound and music 

Have you ever noticed how the sound of rain  can instantly make you feel relaxed and at ease?  It’s not just your imagination; there is scientific  evidence to support this phenomenon. The sound  of rain that is rhythmic can be very soothing,  acting as a natural form of white noise that helps  drown out other distractions and induce a sense  of tranquillity. 

Apart from this, gentle chants and soothing  sounds are also useful for promoting restful  sleep, which is why most mothers use lullabies to  put their children to sleep. 

Lifestyle 

Lifestyle is deeply connected with sleep. Luke  

Coutinho, a Integrative Lifestyle Expert  from Mumbai, has the following suggestions:  

• Align with the cycles of nature.  

• Enjoy natural light or gentle sunlight in  the morning. 

• Have your last meal of the day before or  close to sunset. Keep it light. 

• Have a fixed sleep and wake-up time. • Do not consume stimulants (coffee/tea/ alcohol/spicy foods) and disturbing news or  have acrid conversations before bed. • Practise gadget detox 30 minutes to one  hour before bedtime. Why? The blue light  from these gadgets suppresses melatonin, the  hormone responsible for regulating sleep. • Do activities that help you unwind: read,  solve crossword puzzles, play sudoku, and  have conversations with the family. • Make your sleep environment pitch dark. • Reflect: What went well for me? Offer  thanks 

• Make love to release feel-good and love  hormones like oxytocin and prolactin. These  relax you and help you sleep. 

Peace within 

Apart from all the techniques, we need to  connect within for peace to get blissful sleep.  All our issues, if any, are then taken care of.  A well-known Hindi proverb says, “Chintan  karo, chinta nahin,” which loosely translates  as “Reflect instead of worrying.” Perhaps,  this is the most effective way to be enveloped  by sweet slumber.

Jamuna Rangachari, the former assistant editor of Life Positive, has authored  two books for children, and compiled and interpreted Teaching Stories-I and II for Life Positive. Write to her at