Ayurvedic Treatment For Insomnia

‘Ouch! My days appear dragged…My nights are making me an owl…..Even my simple breakfast takes much time to digest…..I’ve started developing dark circles around my eyes…..I always feel exhausted and worn-out. What’s happening to me?’ I often hear these lifeless statements from many of my friends and colleagues. If you are experiencing any one of the indications listed above, then listen you are suffering from insomnia.

According to Ayurveda, insomnia is the basis for angst, nervousness, gloominess, depression, obesity, hypersensitivity, stress, deprived immune system and constant worrying. These symptoms can also be called as the siblings of insomnia. If left unnoticed you’ll more or less be encircled by a shadowy atmosphere where even your bright white dress might look completely black to your eyes??? Only a spiritual healing of an Ayurvedic treatment can perfectly save your head from insomnia and its siblings.

What is insomnia? Insomnia simply means sleepless nights when you are still lying on your bed waiting for a profound sleep to knock your night. People suffering from insomnia experience difficulty in falling asleep and slog to enjoy the comfort of a lasting sleep.  There’s nothing as dreadful as insomniac nights. By the time you are struggling, striving, tossing and turning on your bed, you’d quickly realize that the Sun has come up to serve its purpose. Oh My God! What a kind of irritation it is? How worse it is to stay awake while the entire home sleeps peacefully?

Reasons behind insomnia: What causes insomnia? Is the biggest question in this context. Ayurveda states that insomnia branches out from vata predominant emotions in people who have a medical history of constipation, unbalanced eating habits, improper digestion, regular dehydration and few other health disorders. Sleep is completely natural in Ayurvedic terms and this common sense science recommends human beings to sleep before 10:00 PM at night and wake up before 6:00 AM. This is because our body naturally influences the secretion of melatonin hormone from the pineal gland, when the natural light starts fading and induces sleep. Intake of caffeine-based drinks, hectic routine, siesta, intake of excess alcohol, late night meals and other in the wrong lifestyle changes alters the natural secretion of melatonin and ends up in insomnia.

Ayurvedic treatment for insomnia: According to Ayurveda, good sleep and rest known as ‘Nidra’ is one among the three vital pillars of human health. Taking up an Ayurvedic routine and following it right in your daily lives will gradually make your system complete and your life meaningful. Ayurveda, the natural wisdom has a bunch of fruitful remedies for treating insomnia and few other serious health conditions caused by acute and chronic insomnia.

  1. Healthy and nutritious diet: Ayurveda always insists on the intake of a healthy, nutritious and balanced diet with fresh fruits and green leafy vegetables. After your first Ayurvedic consultation, your Ayurvedic practitioner will help you in identifying your predominant dosha and guide you with a healthy diet containing the food items that would suit your inherited constitution in a hale and hearty manner.
  2. Abhyanga or the Ayurvedic massage: An enlivening Ayurvedic massage can give you all that you need for a calm and composed living. It has proven benefits and is in practice for more than 5000 years. A relieving massage with Ayurvedic essential oils and other medicated oils aids in reducing pain, muscular tension, nervousness, stress, enhances your blood circulation, soothes your nervous system, rejuvenates your mind and helps in alleviating anxiety, fatigue, stress, depression and other mood fluctuations paving way for an entirely new system that will certainly help you in getting a good night’s sleep.
  3. Shirodhara: It can be called as a revivifying treatment useful in treating mental exhaustion, neurological disorders, sinusitis, loss of memory, tension and insomnia. It stimulates relaxation of muscles and increases the concentration power. This therapy engages gentle pouring of oils or other medicated liquids on the forehead for a specific time from a specific distance.
  4. Use of Ayurvedic essential oils: Ayurvedic essential oils have a natural fragrance that calm the senses and soothe the mind gradually. The mesmerizing aroma along with the therapeutic properties like anti-depressant, calmative, soothing, sedative, relaxing and revitalizing help considerably in treating insomnia. You can either add few drops to your bath tub for a warm refreshing bath before going to bed or add two to three drops of essential oil to your pillows to bring in calmness or place a cotton ball near your pillow with few drops of mild essential oils that can help through the entire night in inculcating warming thoughts. The best and most effective Ayurvedic essential oils for insomnia are Lavender essential oil, Clary sage essential oil, Ylang Ylang essential oil, Sandalwood oil, Neroli oil, Roman Chamomile oil, Bergamot essential oil, Marjoram essential oil, Rose essential oil and Basil essential oil.
  5. Soothing physical exercises, yoga and meditation: Regular physical exercises, yoga and meditation are vital for your harmonized living. Everything should be done methodically, preferably in the early hours of the day that has a greater impact on your positive thinking, dynamism, clarity of mind and improves your self-confidence.

Always end up your day with a small prayer before going to bed. This really helps a lot. There is no use in worrying or staring at the ceiling when the complete city sleeps in silence. Come on! The gift of sleeping right and tight at night just demands these simple and startling steps. Enjoy your sleep and all I have to say you is ‘Good night, sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite’. Bye! Bye!

Thought for the day:

Insomnia is a gross feeder. It will nourish itself on any kind of thinking, including thinking about not thinking.    -By Clifton Fadiman.

Suggested reading:

  1. NATURAL INSOMNIA TREATMENT Best Essential Oils to Use for Chronic Insomnia, Sleep Disturbances, Night Fears & to Restore Natural Sleep Cycles
    By KG Stiles
  2. Beat Insomnia Quickly (Bullet Guides) By Sara Kirkham
  3. Overcoming Sleep Disorders Naturally By Laurel Vukovic
  4. Sleep Tight: Sleep well tonight and every night By James M Brunton

Reference Links:

  1. Insomnia by Wikipedia
  2. What Is Insomnia? What Causes Insomnia? by Medical News Today
  3. Ayurvedic Cure for Insomnia by Onlymyhealth
  4. Melatonin by University of Maryland Medical Center

8 Branches of Ayurveda: A Comprehensive Analysis

Ayurveda is a comprehensive system of healing with elite therapies and countless remedies for treating everything related to humanity. This extensive science of life is categorized into 8 different branches and is jointly known as Ashtang Ayurveda.   Ayurveda is the only science that treats every human being as a unique individual with exceptional physical and mental set up. It does not recommend the same medicine for different persons and takes the principle of the popular adage that says, ‘One man’s food is another man’s poison’. All the credit goes to Ayurveda for introducing separate branches for surgery, aphrodisiacs and pediatrics as a part of the universal system of medicine. The 8 imperative branches of Ayurveda are:

1. Kayachikitsa (Agni Treatment) or Internal Medicine: The Ayurvedic treatment based on digestive fire known as ‘Agni’ is defined as Kayachikitsa. This branch deals with general medication mainly due to improper functioning of the digestive fire, which is solely responsible for transforming food into the essential elements of energy for the human body.  It takes care of treating many health disorders related to Agni like diarrhea, fever, anemia, nausea and few other general health conditions that mainly occur when there’s a change in an individual’s way of living.

2. Balaroga chikitsa (Child Disease Treatment) or Pediatrics: This branch is also known as Kumaraya Bhritya, deals with the treatment of diseases of children including pregnancy and childbirth. Generally the Ayurvedic medicines according to this branch are not very powerful and low doses are recommended to protect the health mechanism of children.  An extensive range of sickness issues related to children are treated and Ayurveda always recommends quality breast-feeding (without any germs in breast milk) for the complete growth of children.

3. Graharoga chikitsa or Psychiatry: Ancient people trusted that their life was often being affected by Grahas (bhoot) means ‘demons or devils’. This branch deals with treating the psychological problems like psychosis, epilepsy, lunacy and other mental disorders due to the influence of ghosts, evil spirits etc.

4. Urdhvanga Roga chikitsa (Treatment of Disease in Head and Neck) This part specially handles the prediction, diagnosis, prevention and treatment of diseases in the upper part of the body like head and neck. Eyes, ears, nose, throat, head, teeth and mouth related health conditions are treated with an unique tool known as Shalaka, for which this branch of Ayurveda is also known as Shalakaya Tantra.

5. Shalyaroga chikitsa (Treatment of disease caused by a foreign body) Shalyaroga chikitsa can also be called as the surgical science that has been healing human race for thousands of years together.  This branch of Ayurvedic healing was of great use during the wartimes where the warriors were affected by foreign bodies like swords, arrows and other such sharp weapons. It also deals with diseases caused by external sources that need surgical treatment. Piles, urinary stones, abdominal damages, cataract, fistula and accidents are also treated through this system. The ancient physician ‘Sushruta’ is still remembered for his expertise in this field and is celebrated as the father of plastic surgery.

6. Damstra Roga Chikitsa (Treatment of diseases caused by poisons) This division of Ayurveda is also known as Toxicology as it treats the diseases caused by the poisonous insects, reptiles, plants, minerals, metals and certain other toxins.

7. Jara Chikitsa or Gerontology: It is also known as Rasayana for its power of revitalizing and preventing the body from the symptoms of aging. This branch provides special treatment for augmenting the quality of living along with prolonged existence. Geriatrics or Jara chikitsa suggests natural herbs, Ayurvedic oils and other natural medications to retain the texture of the skin, body’s natural shine, enhanced memory power, munificence and improved physical strength as well.       

8. Vrsha Chikitsa or Aphrodisiac treatment: According to the spiritual science of Ayurveda, sex is one among the essential component of human life that enhances his health and grants him the endurance and the power to pave way for his future generations. This branch is also known as Vajikarana and it deals with the aphrodisiacs therapy for being paid with good descendants and virility, proffering remedies for contentment and delight in real sex. It washes away the problems related to infertility in men and women.

Isn’t it really amazing to hear that most of the sophisticated healing therapies of these days were in practice even before Edison threw light on this dark world?!!! This is more than enough to prove the supremacy of this age old medicinal science and its acumen in treating mankind.

Reference Links:

  1. Sushruta Samhita by Wikipedia
  2. Eight Branches Of Ayurveda by Ayurvedamrita
  3. The Eight Branches Of Ayurveda by MED INDIA

Think Ayurveda To Think Better

Your thoughts decide your actions and your actions define ‘YOU’. There are myriad emotions that are exclusively indulged with humanity. Only you can smile, you can talk, you can discover and you can create. Thinking positive indicates that you are a proud owner of a healthy physique that keeps your thinking sound as well. Ayurveda talks about the constructive effects of positive thinking that helps you keep going on and on. Pessimism or negative thinking can even stop the functioning of your heart and collapse the brain’s functionality. Every human being has his own problems but just the severity of the problem differs. You can laugh at a person if he says he is free of troubles because in this materialistic world only a five-headed snake can be free of worries. It does not count whether you have problems or not but it matters how you deal with it and Ayurveda paves way for such an optimistic living.

Optimistic thinking: There’s a popular book named ‘You Can Win’ by Shiv Khera where the author beautifully lists the mentality of Pessimists’. 3 of my favorite lines in that excellent piece of writing are:

‘Pessimists don’t see the doughnut, only the hole,

Pessimists forget their blessings and count their troubles

Pessimists stop sleeping in bed when they hear that more people die in bed than anywhere else’

Yes my dear friends! This is the way that negative thinking affects your life and the best way to come out of this dark world is to think better with the natural and holistic healing of the ancient science named Ayurveda.

Ayurvedic treatment for optimism: According to Ayurveda, a healthy mind is the key to a healthy body and your attitude decides it. In this mechanical epoch that drains you, demands more than your potential with taut deadlines and cumbersome workload ends up in mental stress, difficulty in striking balance between your work and your family, anxiety, fear, fatigue and deep depression. When every single problem is placing you in the darker side of the world, let it know that you are strong with the real power granted by the natural Ayurvedic essential oils, meditation and yoga along with the robustness to turn the tide.

Ayurvedic essential oils for positive thinking: Essential oils of lavender, marjoram, grapefruit, thyme, sandalwood, jasmine, lemon, peppermint and ylang ylang possess an adorable fragrance in nature. These oils have soothing, calmative, stimulating, energizing and revitalizing properties that can enrich your spirits along with your mind and body. Using these essential oils either as a massage oil or to your bath tub or in your diffuser will calm your nerves, relax your muscles, alleviate stress, lighten your pressure, uplift your mood, kindle your thoughts, augment your mind power, improve your memory power, balance your emotions, fortify your immune system, strengthen your will power, encourage a peaceful sleep while invigorating your system for a replenished crack of dawn.

Meditation: Ayurvedic way of treating humanity can never be fulfilled without meditation. Spend some quality time for yourself and let that time of eminence be your meditating time especially in the early hours of the day when your environment is calm and composed. Meditation with deep breathing exercises can empower your mind while promoting positive feelings and preparing your body to adapt to new challenges and your mind to learn luminously, think undeniably, regulate stressful situations, recall your past and retain your balanced system for the days of harmony ahead you.

Being an optimist is the best way to setting your life as a role model for your younger ones to lead their life with great trust as real optimists always see an opportunity in every threat:)

Reference Links:

  1. You Can Win by Shiv Khera
  2. The healing force is within ourselves by Ayurveda France
  3. Attract more positive energy by Rejuvenation Lounge