Yoga is not for him who eats too much nor for him who eats too little. Nor is it for him who sleeps too much or keeps awake too much.
—BHAGAVAD GITA, 6:16
Gentle sleep is nature's soft nurse.
—SHAKESPEARE
T his happened in Pune soon after the partition of India. I was a young doctor working in the army hospital. We were living in a large, spacious bungalow on Prince of Wales Drive that had recently been vacated by a senior British officer. The house had an artificial pond stocked with goldfish, and a beautiful garden with flowers now in full bloom.
One evening we were sitting on the veranda sipping tea when I saw Mr. Bhide single-handedly push his little red Morris car through the main gate. He had one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the front window and sweat was pouring from his face and staining his clothes as he pushed.
Bhide was an insurance agent with whom I had become friends after he made two unsuccessful attempts to sell me a policy I really didn't need. He was a simple fellow in his early thirties and I liked him a lot. He was not a tremendously successful agent, partly because he could never get himself to
offer rebates or cuts to his clients, as other representatives did. It
was against his principles. But he was happy and contented with his lot.
Bhide joined us for tea. As we were sitting together, a brand new, shiny, sky-blue Hillman car drove up to the bungalow, and a young man in a stylish three-piece blue suit walked up to us and asked for Colonel Nelson, the former occupant. "He left India two months ago, I told him. Bhide recognized the gentleman, whose name was Dhanukar, and chatted with him for a few minutes before he drove off.
The two men had been together in school, Bhide told me. Dhanukar had built a beautiful new house and now had purchased this car, which cost at least five times more than Bhide's rattling little Morris. "They say he makes a lot of money, 7 ' Bhide said. He sat quietly for a moment after telling me this. But then, true to his nature, he smiled and said, "It really doesn't matter. I am very happy, and I sleep well."
In that moment, Bhide revealed the secret of sound, refreshing sleep.
Sleep ordinarily means a period of rest for both body and mind. It appears to be a creative process, during which the mind rests and prepares you for the day's work. The rest gained during sleep is considered essential for the body and the ever busy brain. When you awaken from a sound sleep, you feel fresh and ready to tackle the world with renewed vigor.
But the truth is, fatigue and insomnia are among the most prevalent disorders of our age. Tiredness and lack of adequate sleep are two of the most common complaints made by patients visiting a physician's office these days. And both are linked with stress.
Stress is both a cause and an effect of poor sleeping. Although sleeplessness can be caused by fever, physical pain, or foods containing a stimulant such as caffeine, stress is a much more common causal factor. When you are stressed and anxious, you are likely not to sleep well. You may have trouble getting to sleep, or you may fall asleep at 11 p.m. but wake up
again at 2 a.m. unable to sleep again. When you sleep badly, instead of waking up fresh and clear, you get out of bed feeling stressed and anxious, afraid of not being able to function well. It is a vicious cycle.
But it is a cycle that can be broken, and usually without sleeping medications. In this chapter I will share with you a number of very practical suggestions to help you sleep peacefully and well.
The Stages of Sleep
Sleep has been the subject of extensive research over the past several decades. It is now known that the brain, like the body's organ system (cardiovascular system, digestive system, respiratory system, etc.), remains active during sleep although we are not conscious of it. The activity of the brain generates faint electrical waves that can be recorded by the EEG (electroencephalograph).
Although the sleep research is still in its childhood if not its infancy, we know that there are several stages of sleep including a stage of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, and at least four stages of NREM (non-REM) sleep. During the night we pass through several cycles of both REM and NREM sleep.
It is during the REM stage that we experience dreams. Behind our closed eyelids the eyes dart about and the brain engages in rather busy, even turbulent activity. Breathing is uneven, blood pressure fluctuates, body movements increase, and blood flow to the brain can increase by up to 40 percent. Paradoxically, it is also during this REM phase that we experience the deepest level of slumber.
REM sleep appears to be the most important part of sleep. As long as you have your quota of REM sleep and dreaming, you will have enough rest and energy.
Exactly why REM sleep is so important is not yet clear. The Nobel laureate Sir Francis Crick speculates that it is during this phase that the brain sorts information gathered during the day and “downloads" it into the cerebral cortex for permanent
storage. We do know that there is a connection between REM sleep and memory, and it is postulated that during this phase of sleep the brain is actively involved in building neural circuits m order to consolidate the knowledge we have acquired earlier and accord it a permanent lodging. From a “psychological" point of view, during dreams we express our hidden thoughts, feelings, and unfulfilled desires, a process that may be vital for our well-being.
Whatever the reason or reasons, it is surely important to get our nightly quota of both NREM and especially of REM sleep in order to maintain health and creative living. But how much
sleep do we need? And what can we do to ensure we get our full measure?
Myths About Sleep
People have many misconceptions about these questions. Here are several of the most common:
— Everyone needs eight hours of sleep.
— If I have a sleepless night, I will not be able to function the next day.
— Only sleeping pills can help insomnia.
— If I don't treat my insomnia, it will lead to illness or a poor diet, containing too many sweets, fatty foods, and deep- fried foods that have a lot of hidden fat, and a nervous breakdown.
— Insomnia is inevitable in old age.
— A few alcoholic drinks in the evening will help me sleep.
Let's spend a few minutes dispelling these myths. I'm sure you will feel a lot better once you know they are not true!
* People have differing needs for sleep: Some people truly do seem to need eight or more hours of sleep in order to maintain health and clarity. Babies, of course, can easily sleep 18 or 20 hours out of each 24. (Interestingly, sleep is important for the production of growth hormone. Because babies need this
132 YOUR LIFE IS IN YOUR HANDS
substance in abundance, they need vast amounts of sleep.) But there are many people who seem to do just fine on six hours or even four. Darwin, Napoleon, and Churchill all slept very little
but slept well.
The inventor Thomas Edison typically slept only an hour or two, but took a number of brief "catnaps" during the day to refresh himself. Most of us can get away with less sleep if we follow Edison's example. Whatever amount of time you typically spend in bed, it can be safely reduced by up to two hours on the condition that the lost sleep is replaced by one or two short naps of a few minutes each during the day.
Sleeping too long can make your sleep more superficial. Gradually reducing the duration will automatically make it more profound.
In short, some people are able to sleep much less than
others without any harmful effects.
* There is no evidence that a person becomes unable to function effectively after a sleepless night: In an experiment several years ago in a school in California, a student remained awake for eleven days and was able to function normally. All the same, perception of fatigue and impaired ability in performance becomes apparent in a majority of individuals after two or three days of continuous deprivation of sleep. Good, refreshing sleep allows the body to recover from fatigue, prepares the body for self-repair, and is essential for the healthy mind and body. Dreaming enhances this process.
* Natural means of healing insomnia are better than sleeping pills: Sleeping pills are not really the solution to the problem. Most of us do not understand the natural, simple laws of good sleep. Once we do, tranquilizers and sleeping tablets should be unnecessary in all but the most extreme cases.
We consume sleeping pills and tranquilizers by the ton, but they can be quite harmful. When you use these medications, you really have dullness or drowsiness rather than good sleep, and you wake up with a kind of hangover. After eight weeks on tranquilizers or sleeping pills, most people get less of the deeper
stages of sleep. They may sleep longer, but the quality of rest is not good and becomes gradually worse with continued use of the pills. People start to have periods of sleeplessness, tossing and
turning. So they take larger doses of the pills, and may become addicted to them.
Unfortunately, physicians are taught quite a bit about sleep inducers, and very little about natural sleep. It almost seems as if modern doctors, who find it convenient to prescribe these drugs rather than spend time talking to their patients and educating them about how to sleep naturally, are a kind of legalized "drug pusher."
Nature tells us when to go to sleep. Our brain sends messages saying, "It's time to sleep," but we do not acknowledge them. We yawn, our head becomes heavy, our eyelids weigh down, we lose concentration. The messages are clear, but we ignore them or fight not to comply with them.
The secret of good sleeping is to recognize these signals and the body's natural rhythms, and to respect the laws of nature behind them. Each individual has a preferential time to go to sleep. You can't sleep when your body's clock says "wake up." When you begin to feel sleepy, that is the best time to lie down and sleep. When you sleep in accordance with your biological rhythms and the laws of nature, the sleep is gentle and refreshing.
* Serious health problems—mental or physical—are unlikely to arise because of insomnia: Michael Stevenson, director of the North Valley Sleep Disorders Center in Mission Hills, California says that no human being ever died from insomnia. Further, there appears to be no long-term or permanent damage in persons who have insomnia. If you stay awake long enough, you will simply doze off. Before you fall asleep, you may have some difficulty maintaining any kind of cognitive relationship with the world, but after you sleep for a few hours you will return to normal.
It is important to take the fear of not sleeping and the potential, imagined effects of not sleeping out of your mind. The fear of having a nervous breakdown or getting some disease as a result of not sleeping is unfounded.
* In old age, it is likely that people actually need less sleep: In old age it is likely that people actually need less sleep that probably is true because the body metabolism changes, but the elderly who take regular exercise and keep occupied sleep well. Some of the elderly complain of lack of sleep although they have adequate sleep. A survey by the National Institute of Health, however, did reveal that 17 percent of the population in the USA suffers from insomnia and the incidence is 25 percent among individuals over 60 years of age, leading to anxiety and subsequent problems.
Many people resort to sleeping pills as a long-term solution to insomnia. However sleeping pills not only lose their effectiveness after a few months but they may also disturb your sleeping pattern and may even contribute to your insomnia. Of course the most effective therapy is to identify the cause of insomnia—identify the problem and solve it.
Besides anxiety, stress, and worry, smoking, alcohol abuse, and excessive caffeine in coffee, tea, and colas can cause insomnia in prone individuals. Breathing disorders, noise, and other physical disorders can cause insomnia. Extremes of temperature or light can interfere with the sleep pattern.
* Alcohol interferes with normal sleep patterns: It is popularly believed that a few alcoholic drinks in the evening or before bedtime make you sleep well. This is not true.
Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant. It makes you initially drowsy, and may actually help you fall asleep, but it disrupts normal sleep patterns later in the night. You usually awaken once the effect of the alcohol has begun to wear off. Even if you do manage to remain asleep, the deepest and most refreshing levels of sleep may be reduced or disturbed. These negative effects are more likely to happen if you had the drinks within two hours of bedtime.
Secrets for Better Sleep
I recommend that you do not use medications to change unhealthy or unwanted patterns of sleep. If at all, the use of mild
tranquilizers or sedatives should be restricted to acutely ill patients, on a short-term basis. Instead, use natural relaxation
techniques and cut down on food, drinks, and lifestyle habits that counteract sleep.
Natural relaxation techniques such as deep breathing (pranayama) and meditation are very helpful in falling asleep. A few minutes of alternate nostril breathing is veiy relaxing and can help you settle into sleep. Japa, that is, repetition of a mantra or a name of God makes your mind quieter and helps you fall off to sleep (see Chapter 15). It is said that the poet Tennyson could not sleep one night. He started repeating his own name, "Tennyson . . . Tennyson . . . Tennyson . . ." and fell asleep.
Cutting down or eliminating caffeine, in colas, tea, and coffee, especially after midday, is very helpful. Caffeine is a stronger stimulant than many people realize, and its effects last many hours. This may be all you need to put an end to insomnia.
As mentioned above, alcohol is a major hindrance to sleep. Evening or nighttime drinks are likely to reduce the effectiveness of your sleep by waking you up after a few hours, and by causing disturbances in the all-important dreaming stage.
It s better not to have a TV in the bedroom. The fast-moving images on the screen can interfere with settling into restful sleep.
I suggest not watching TV at all, especially action movies, shortly before going to bed. Rather, read a book or listen to some soothing music.
Once you're in bed, don't keep looking at the clock. Anxiety about falling asleep will not help you sleep!
Similarly, trying to sleep never works. It's like taking a train.
If you miss the ten o'clock, it really doesn't matter. There will be another soon. Relax, and step into the next one when your body's clock next summons you.
Regular exercise is very helpful in promoting better sleep at night. You will find that half an hour's brisk walking or cycling (in the morning, if possible) will help you enjoy more restful sleep. For more about exercise, please see Chapter 11.
Insomnia may have its roots in lack of fulfillment. When you
136 YOUR LIFE IS IN YOUR HANDS
enjoy your work and feel that it is worthwhile, you have what is commonly called "job satisfaction," an important factor in being at peace with yourself. Tranquility of mind, as the story of Mr. Bhide at the beginning of the chapter demonstrates, is very important to help you avoid insomnia and sleep well.
On the other hand, if you accumulate wealth by means that are not right, not in accordance with Dharma or the dictates of
your conscience, you can never sleep well.
Even if you are earning your income by honest means, an increase in income is often associated with a decrease in sleep time. People use up some of their potential sleep time either planning how to increase their assets or working overtime. If you push yourself too much, fatigue is inevitable. The pressure to stay awake at all costs eventually impairs not only your ability to remain effective, but also the ability to fall asleep when you want to; overwork and its associated stress in due course leads to insomnia. According to Michael Aldrich, director of the University of Michigan Sleep Disorders Center, insomnia is often an early sign that a high achiever is on the road to "burnout.”
So take it a little easier. It's not worth destroying your health to accumulate wealth. How will you be able to enjoy it?
If stress and anxiety are keeping you awake, it is important to treat the cause, not just the symptom. Simply taking some sleeping medication to knock you out will not help in the long run if the situation that is the source of your anxiety remains the same.
In olden days, grandmother used to say, "Take a cup of warm milk before going to bed. You will sleep better.” Her advice was excellent and is now scientifically proven. Milk neutralizes the excess acid in the stomach and improves the quality of sleep. It has a pharmaceutically based value, as it contains traces of the amino acid L-tryptophane, which has been shown to promote sleep. Some sleep clinics have been prescribing 1,500 to 2,000 mg of L-tryptophane to induce sleep. Sleep is likely to improve after a week or so.
Another medication that has been used recently with success is a synthesized form of the natural hormone melatonin,
which is available in the US but not in the UK (at the time of writing). Neither of these medications appears to have the significant negative side effects of most tranquilizers and sleeping tablets. But I believe it is better to take some warm milk than medications.
Some Questions about Sleep
* How much slee P * too little? It is difficult to be precise. Research suggests that two or three hours of REM sleep and dreaming may be adequate.
* What aboutw ho go to bed very late? Isn't it unhealthy? It s true that the natural cycles of nature suggest that we go to bed early and wake up early with the fresh morning air, and for most people this seems the most healthy pattern. But I know some very efficient and hard-working people who go to bed veiy late and get up late as a routine.
They are very successful in life, and appear to be quite healthy. There is probably nothing wrong with this; their biological clocks just got set that way.
* Doesn't the yoga tradition see sleep as a different sort of consciousness? How does that relate to the scientific research? From the time of the ancient Vedas, tradition has described several states or stages of consciousness. Ordinary life is said to consist of three: waking, dreaming, and deep sleep, and modern EEC research has clearly delineated these three.
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the ancient textbook of yoga, says that "sleep is a wave of thought about nothingness" (I, 10). That is to say, deep, dreamless sleep is not an absence of thought waves in the mind, but a positive experience of nothingness. (Research indeed shows that the brain is active even in deep sleep.) Sleep cannot, therefore, be confused with a waveless state of the brain. If there were no thought waves, we should not wake up remembering that we knew nothing during sleep, yet are able to say that we slept well! Sleep is a state of consciousness.
138 YOUR LIFE IS IN YOUR HANDS
When you are sleeping you are in bliss. You don't remember the past and you don't worry about the future.
Burning the midnight oil, or using stimulants to keep awake, interfere with natural refreshing sleep. Why interfere with the laws of nature? You have done your bit from dawn to dusk. Now call it a day and have sweet dreams. Sleep, Shelley said, is the time "when gleams of a remote world visit your soul.''
Tips to help you sleep
• Read a good book instead of fretting before going to sleep.
• People who are excitable, whose moods change quickly, who are prone to anxiety, worry, restlessness because of their particular body constitution and subtle physiology may suffer from insomnia more often as they grow older. Regular exercise in the mornings help these people to sleep better at night; of course it helps everyone that way.
• No exercise should be undertaken too close to bedtime.
• Avoid alcohol two hours before bedtime. Excess alcohol may make you drowsy and sleepy. This sleep, however, is not refreshing.
• Established bedtime rituals like a warm bath, a cup of hot milk, a few minutes of reading are all helpful.
• It is better to wake up at the same time in the morning regardless of the time you went to sleep.
• Remember everybody's cycle of sleep is different five hours' sleep may be more than enough for one person, while eight hours may not be sufficient for another person.
• Do not self-medicate with tranquilizers or sleeping pills.
• If you are a regular meditator you should have no problem with sleep.