Ayurveda for Sleep
Disorders
A sleep disorder is also known as
somnipath and is a medical disorder of the sleep patterns of
a person. Sleep disorders includes sleep apnea, failure
to fall asleep, failure to go back to sleep, and recurrent waking up during the
night. Sleep disorders can make you feel
exhausted, fatigued, and irritable, making it difficult for you to concentrate in
the daily activities during the day.
Sleeping well is essential to
your physical health and emotional well-being.
Lack of sleep or disturbed sleep can severely affect your overall health
and quality of life. With correct diagnosis, most sleep disorders can be effectively
treated.
There are various types of sleep disorder like sleep apena,
insomnia, narcolepsy, sleep walking , snoring and teeth grinding.
Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea is a common sleep
disorder in which your breathing momentarily stops or pauses during sleep. These
breathing pauses can last from a few seconds to minutes. This is as serious
sleep disorder as when the breathing gets disrupted you either wake up or go to
light sleep from deep sleep. People with long term sleep apnea stop breathing recurrently
during their sleep and that results in lack
of oxygen supply to the brain and the rest of the body.
You may have sleep apnea if you
snore loudly while you sleep and you feel tired even after a full night’s
sleep.
The two main types of sleep apnea
are:
- Obstructive sleep apnea this is the more
common form that it is caused by a blockage of the airway when the throat
muscles relax. - Central sleep apnea – this occurs when your brain fails to send signal to the muscles to breathe.
Males suffer from sleep apnea
more than females. Those who are above the age of 40, are overweight, have a
large neck size, enlarged tonsils, have family
history of sleep apnea and have nasal obstruction due to allergies or sinus problems are always more at risk of
sleep apnea.
In many cases sleep apnea may go undiagnosed
for many years till it becomes very critical.
Narcolepsy
Narcolepsy is a neurological malady
caused by the brain’s incapability to regulate sleep-wake cycles normally.
This is a chronic sleep disorder
characterized by an irresistible urge to sleep during the day or daytime
drowsiness. People with narcolepsy often find it difficult to stay awake for
long periods of time in the day , irrespective of the surroundings. Narcolepsy
can cause serious disorder in your everyday routine.
In the modern medicine system
there is no known cure for narcolepsy. But a change in lifestyle, dirt and
support from your family and friends can help you cope with it to a great
extent.
Common narcolepsy symptoms are
- Excessive Day time Sleep
- Cataplexy (sudden loss of muscle control).
Often, - Hallucinations.
- Sleep paralysis( inability to move or talk at
the beginning or end of sleep) - Micro sleep (very brief sleep episode during which you
continue to function)’ - Night
time wakefulness. - Rapid entry into REM sleep even during naps in
the day
Narcolepsy is not a mental
disease it is a nervous system disorder. Narcolepsy can occur in men, women,
children, and the elderly at any time. In maximum cases, signs first appear between
the age of 10 and 25.
Insomnia
Insomnia or sleeplessness during
night is one of the most common sleep disorders. It is characterized by difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep despite
the opportunity for adequate sleep. People suffering from insomnia usually awaken
feeling unrefreshed and fatigued. Several adults experience insomnia at some
point, but some people have chronic insomnia.
You know you have insomnia when
you cannot get sleep at night for long
duration, have great difficulty in falling asleep even after a tiring day, you wake up too early, keep awakening at
night, do not feel rested even after a long nights sleep, feel tired and fatigued
in the daytime, lack of sleep makes you irritable, depressed and stressed ,
have difficulty in paying attention,
focusing on tasks or remembering and/or
develop gastrointestinal disorders due to lack of sleep.
Someone with insomnia will often
take 30 minutes or more to fall asleep and may get only six or fewer hours of
sleep for three or more nights a week over a month or more.
Main causes of Insomnia-
- Stress and depression
- Excessive intake of tea, caffeine or alcohol
- some medications or drug abuse
- change of environment or work schedule
- Poor
sleeping habits - Diet and eating too late at night
- Aging
Sleep is very important for your
overall health and long term insomnia involves risk factors like lack of concentration
at work, slowed reaction time while driving, mental problems, overweight and
obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure.
In Ayurveda insomnia is known as Anirda and it is believed that that an
inappropriate diet, lifestyle, stress
and the toxin build up in the body causes sleeplessness.
Sleep Walking
Sleep walking is a sleeping
disorder that makes people get up and walk or perform other complex behaviours during their sleep.
Sleepwalking is more common in
children then in adults and generally weans off on its own by teenage. But
regular sleepwalking in both adults and children may be a signal of an
underlying sleep disorder.
Incidents of sleepwalking normally
occur when a person is in deep sleep. In all the cases the sleepwalker is incapable
to respond to anything during the event and almost never remembers sleepwalking
when awake. In certain cases, sleepwalking is accompanied with incoherent speaking.
Episodes of sleepwalking can
range from quietly walking about in the room or house to getting agitated,
doing some activities and even getting
out of the house and driving long distances.
The typical symptoms of
sleepwalking are- getting out of the bed and walking about, sit up in bed with
eyes open and have a glazed , glassy eyes look, not responding or communicating
and yet doing some activities, disoriented or confused for a short time after being
awakened and feeling tired and fatigued in the morning.
The main cause of sleepwalking is
not known but it is believed that sleepwalking can be a genetic disorder. The
main reasons of sleepwalking can be – sleep deprivation, fatigue, stress, depression,
anxiety(like separation anxiety or school bullying in children) , fever, sleep schedule
disruptions, some medications and alcohol.
Sleepwalking is generally harmless
but sleepwalkers can at times injure themselves, disturb others, become a social
embarrassment and lastly feel fatigued and tired due to disturbed sleep leading
to other health complications.
Ayurveda and Sleep Disorder
Sleep along with diet and lifestyle
is one of the pillars of health and is important in maintaining health and
balance in the body. The body and mind repairs and heal themselves when you
sleep. Good sleep acts as a rejuvenator of the mind and body and enables you to function at the highest levels during the
waking hours.
Ayurveda states that the amount of sleep you need depends on your
mind-body constitution or body type – Vata (Wind), Pitta (Fire), and Kapha
(Earth). Ayurveda does not recommend the same pattern and time of sleep for
everyone but,does maintain that a good quality and quantity of sleep is a must
for all to lead a healthy and blissful life.
Kairali Ayurveda prescribes various
lifestyle changes, dietary changes and herbal oil massages and medications for
various sleep disorders. The treatment differ for each individual. The Ayurvedic
physician will choose a specific herbalized oil that is individually prepared
for your condition. Ayurvedic oil massage gives the body a soothing and rejuvenating
effect and helps the body to release the
stress and opens up the channels for the toxins to flush out of the body. The
motion of massage creates heat and friction which enhance circulation and help
cleanse the body of chemical impurities that could be causing the sleep
disorder.
Sleep disorder ayurvedic
medications by Karali Ayurvedic Group –
Manasamitram Gulika
– An exceptional Ayurvedic medicine in
tablet form for the treatment of anomalies like insomnia, , anxiety, and sleep
disorders.
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