HOW TO GET QUALITY SLEEP : BENEFITS - PREREQUISITES - TECHNIQUES.

                                                         

It has been observed that as we age our sleep quota gets reduced due to number of situational, mental & physical conditions & also few new developed habits. 

But , surprisingly this problem has also creeped into younger generation, where they are awake till the wee hours of morning.  Sleep is the most crucial part of our rest. It is during sleep that our body is most active in strengthening our muscles.  We must therefore make sure that we are getting ample sleep. General recommendation is to sleep for 7-8 hours, however everybody is different. Better approach is to evaluate the quality of sleep and making sure that we feel refreshed after waking up. There are few BREATHING TECHNIQUES which if done before going to bed, improves the quality of our sleep

For a QUALITY SLEEP we need to adopt technique that slow down the sympathetic nervous system, its a system that causes relaxation, tranquility that is what we want to be. The problem to the sympathetic system is that when we are anxious , worried , have fear , pain , because of our body, it tries to find out where it's coming from, that is interpreted by our brain & the brain then sends out different chemicals throughout the body causing it worse and worse never allowing to shut down. If we can change our body's chemistry by increasing the parasympathetic nervous system, if we can reverse that sympathetic system from continuously pumping out adrenal causing our body to become jittery , we will make a tremendous change in restoring health & longevity. 

In various research & experiments conducted by renowned international institutions it has been found that, just like in our brain we have a clock that makes us go to sleep & wake up each day, the same brain clock sends chemical signals to the rest of the body. Similarly , every organ in our body & even every cell in our body has it's own clock, it means that just like our brain clock makes us more efficient in solving problems in day time & also so the brain needs to sleep at night, every organ in our body has it's own peak performance time at certain time of the day & every organ needs to sleep or rest & rejuvenate, at another time. All these clocks work together to give us daily rhythms in sleep, metabolism, mood & even gut microbiome. So, when one stays awake late into the night then we feel horrible the next day & if we continue abusing our sleeping process for weeks or months then all the chronic diseases can happen. 

The Power Of QUALITY SLEEP - BENEFITS :

1. Weight loss : studies have found that poor sleep is associated with weight gain & a higher likelihood of obesity in both adults & children. Leptin is a hormone released from fat cells. It suppresses hunger & signals fullness in the brain. When you do not get adequate sleep, the body makes more ghrelin & less leptin, leaving you hungry and increasing your appetite.

2. Metabolism .

3. Balanced Appetite.

4. Mental Health.

5. Mood.

6. Memory.

7. Detoxification.

8. Harmon production.

9. Immunity-your immune system relies on sleep to stay active & healthy.

10. Brain function.

11. Healthy ageing.

For a good sleep to happen, we need to first cool down the internal body temperature which rises due to the digestive process after dinner, then try to lower down the mind-body connection & get ourselves in a relaxation  mode through slowing down breathing rate & relaxing our muscles.

Before we get into the Breathing Techniques , lets note few Prerequisites  for  QUALITY SLEEP :

A) Dinner should be the lightest meal of the day.

B) Do not go to bed immediately after having Dinner.

C) Drink water minimum 45-60 minutes after dinner. Our initial digestive process generate lots of heat & if you drink water during this period it suppresses this process & produces gas that may trouble your night.

D) After Dinner always walk for about 30-45 minutes(don't do brisk walking)  outside your house or terrace or veranda / balcony or inside your room, this speeds up the digestion process in a very systematic way.

E) Stop watching TV , fiddling with your phone , working on computers at least 45 minutes before going to bed. The rays from the screens & the electronic waves effect our mind causing a disturbed sleep. Also, never keep your mobile phones switched ON while going to bed. TV , Laptops / computers should be completely shut down , if possible unplugged from the switch board. If you are charging your mobile phone or Laptop make sure it's in some other room, not in your bed room. Wi-fi connection if there in the house, should be switched off.

F) Always wear a lose dress which should be comfortable, airy & of cotton ,while going to bed.

G) Have a glass of plain water before going to bed.

H) Always try to sleep with your head towards East direction , its best direction to sleep, next is North-East, West is alright, South only if you have no options, North is totally NO. Never sleep with your head towards North, as it may result in a very disturbed sleep with all kinds of dream happening, rise in your blood pressure, increase in flow of blood in your brain which the very minute and thin veins will not be able to hold which may cause stroke or hemorrhage in long run if you continue sleeping with your head in North direction,  as sleeping with head in North direction causes imbalance in the magnetic field of the iron content in your blood influenced by the pull of the magnetic North pole of the planet Earth. But if you are in South America or Australia then should not sleep with your head towards South, it's in the Northern hemisphere  that you should not put your head to North.

BREATHING TECHNIQUES FOR A QUALITY SLEEP :

(See Demo Video)

Breathing Techniques help a lot to get rid of Insomnia , also help you to focus on your breathing and release the tension in your body to prepare you for a quality sleep. These breathing techniques for sleep are best way which include pure relaxation for a deep, calm & sound sleep. You can do any one or couple of these before going to bed.

Our Sages / Yogis have suggested these techniques 1000's of years before - PRANAYAMA (for details please refer to my blog titled : "PRANAYAMA - Life Span Enhancer") .

These Pranayamas can be done by those :

- suffering from insomnia.

- suffering from anxiety or general stress.

- people who have busy schedules .

- who want to get a sound sleep .

1) Pace Breathing : this is a technique where in we are going to breath through our nose for 5 seconds & exhale through our mouth for 10-15 seconds. As we exhale through our mouth we are going to utter a word to let our mind concentrate on what we are saying to distract our mind body connection. This is necessary because the more we think about our pain, stress, fear , worries , ailment, stress ,etc., the condition seems to get more worse. So, in this technique , first we breath in through our nose for 5 seconds, then as we breath out through our mouth for 10-15 seconds , we will say AAAA....OOOO....MMMMMMMMMaaa , this we will do for 5 minutes . As you do this , after doing 5-6 times you will find your system immediately calm down. Its better if you can do this 3-4 times a day & specially before going to bed. As our body needs time to undergo a change , so do this daily with patience.

2) 4-7-8 Breathing Technique : can be used to decrease stress & help you sleep. In this technique sit in Yoga position - Sukhasana , Vajrasana or Sidhasana or any other yogic sitting posture which you are comfortable in, but I would prefer Vajrasana as it helps in digestion (also this posture strengthens back, leg & pelvic muscles, stretches knees,ankle & hips), keep your back comfortably erect , place your tongue on back of your upper front teeth connecting the gum & focus on that, this will divert your mind from outer issues , stress etc. Then inhale through your nose for 4 seconds , hold your breath for 7 seconds , then exhale through your mouth for 8 seconds with your tongue being on the same position. Some suggest , while doing this to do diaphragmatic breathing , ie when you are breathing in your stomach should  expand or bulge out & while you breath out your tummy should go in or contract, but myself prefer not to go for any diaphragmatic breathing after dinner or any meal, results of diaphragmatic breathing can be best obtained when you are in near empty stomach.

3) Anulom-vilom Pranayama : This is also known as alternate nostril breathing. You can do it before going to bed, minimum  1 hour after dinner. If you are doing this pranayama daily in the morning then automatically you will get a good sleep, in such a situation need not do again before going to bed. Start this Pranayama with 5 minutes & gradually as you progress do for 10-15 minutes.

In this , sit in any cross legged posture or on a chair if having problem sitting cross legged, all body muscles should be in relaxed mode & back comfortably erect. Place your left hand on your lap with palm facing upward, now with the thumb of your right hand block your right nostril & with counting of 10 slowly & smoothly inhale through your left nostril, hold your breath for 3 count, then with the ring finger of your right hand block your left nostril then slowly & smoothly exhale through your right nostril counting 12-15, then inhale from the right nostril with count of 10, then hold for count of 3 , then again block your right nostril with your thumb & exhale through your left nostril with count of 12-15, then again inhale through your left nostril with count of 10 & so on.

 

4) Chandrabhedan Pranayama : Sit in Kushasana or Sidhasana or Vajrasana or any yogic sitting posture you are comfortable in, my preference is Vajrasana, keep your back comfortably erect , body should not be tensed or stiff , relax your muscles, then with your thumb press your right nostril & through your left nostril do slow & deep inhalation & in the same way slowly exhale through your left nostril. Repeat this for 5-10 minutes. This exercise cools down your body & relaxes your mind & body , slowly you will start feeling sleepy. This Pranayama lowers Blood Pressure , improves heart condition , takes care of acidity and provides many more benefits.

Those of you who are suffering from hypertension or very high BP may make a slight alteration in this technique, they can after inhaling through the left nostril then block the left nostril with the ring finger of your right hand & exhale through the right nostril, then again block your right nostril with your right hand thumb & inhale from the left nostril. Here inhalation has to be always through the left nostril & exhalation through the  right nostril.

5) Long Exhalation  6-2-12 : must have noticed that when we are stressed , tensed or in anxiety then we do deep inhalation but our exhalations are short, resulting in imbalance of oxygen & carbon-di-oxide in our body & brain resulting in mental stress enhancement , rise in our blood pressure level. In this routine first sit in any of the yogic sitting postures, back should be comfortably straight, all muscles should be relaxed , then we need to take a deep breath through our nose with count of 6, our chest should swell like a balloon, then hold the breath for 2-3 counts & then exhale through your nose with count of 10-12. Do this for about 3-5 minutes to start with, as you progress do for 10-15 minutes.

6) Sambhavi Mudra : Sit in Kushasana or Sidhasana or Padmasana or any yogic sitting posture of your choice,  keep your back comfortably erect, relax your muscles. Place both your palms on your knees facing upwards or in Gyan Mudra / Vishnu Mudra where tips of both the thumbs should touch the tips of both the index fingers of each hands forming a ring👌, focus both your eye balls to a point between both your eyebrows , close your eyes & through your nose slowly inhale & slowly exhale. You may count 10 while inhaling & count 10-12 while exhaling, don't hold your breath, the process should be very smooth and continuous. Concentrate totally on you breath ( exhalation & inhalation). This technique relaxes &  cools your mind, body and all internal energies in a very balanced way, every muscle gets relaxed , increases flow of oxygen in your brain & drains out any excess carbon-di-oxide from your system resulting in a very deep, sound sleep & when you get up in the morning you will feel refreshed & charged-up. Even when you are lying down on your bed , maintain that breathing momentum. Try to sleep in SABASANA posture with your head in line with your body , maintain that same inhalation & exhalation momentum, it's considered the best.

Note : Always seek the advice of your physician prior to starting any new diet or exercise routine. Never disregard, avoid, or delay obtaining medical advice of a physician because of something you have read & watched in this blog &/or the demo video. 

For Demo Video in HINDI please watch my YouTube channel :  fitnessfun50 

For "HOW TO GET QUALITY SLEEP":  Demo Video - please click on the link provided 

below 👇:

https://youtu.be/bYYoNB5Qaqk