![]() ![]() To find out which rituals will work best for you, it helps to understand insomnia from an Ayurvedic perspective. A 2006 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that participants who made modifications like reducing stimuli in the bedroom and learning relaxation techniques improved their sleep more than those who took drugs. There is growing evidence that small behavioral changes can make a big difference in getting some good shuteye. Whether it’s yoga to reduce muscle tension, breathing to slow the heart rate, or an herbal massage to calm a racing mind, a simple routine can be the most effective and safest road to a better night’s sleep. “And some insomniacs have higher levels right before they go to sleep.” But Khalsa, who is studying how a form of Kundalini yoga breathing called Shabad Kriya helps people with insomnia, offers good news: “Treating the arousal should treat the insomnia.” By creating a routine of soothing rituals, you can bring your nervous system back into balance and transform your sleep patterns for good. “There is very good evidence that people with chronic insomnia have elevated levels of arousal in general,” Khalsa says. Your body will secrete more stress hormones, and your temperature and metabolic rates will rise, as will your heart rate. In this state your mind will race or your palms might sweat. It may be stuck in a state known as arousal, where your sympathetic nervous system is triggered. You may feel that you’ve adapted to the intense rhythm that modern life requires, but if you’re experiencing sleepless nights, your nervous system is probably rebelling. These days, who hasn’t worked long hours without taking a break, binged on too much caffeine, or left the cell phone on 24-7? Beneath the symptoms of insomnia are the anxiety, fatigue, and stress that our increasingly fast-paced world seems to be creating. “Sleeping pills are not always a cure they treat the symptom but not the underlying problem,” explains Sat Bir Khalsa, a Kundalini Yoga teacher who’s also an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and a neuroscientist at the Division of Sleep Medicine of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. But as Bradley discovered, drugs aren’t always effective, some have negative side effects, and worst of all, as soon as you stop taking them, the insomnia often returns. Last year in the United States, about 42 million sleeping pill prescriptions were filled, an increase of 60 percent since the year 2000. To get a decent night’s sleep, many Americans are turning to pills. It affects a whopping 54 percent of adults in the United States at one time or another, and insomnia that lasts more than six weeks may affect from 10 to 15 percent of adults at some point during their lives. ![]() Insomnia-the inability to get to sleep or to sleep soundly-can be either temporary or chronic, lasting a few days to weeks. “I feel much stronger and more solid, more vibrant.” “All those things combined have basically cured my insomnia,” she says. ![]() Within three months, Bradley was off the drugs. He also helped her understand the best bedtimes for her body type and encouraged her to make changes to her lifestyle, such as eating a bigger lunch, and not teaching evening yoga classes.ĭrawing on her yoga background, she began doing Sarvangasana (Shoulderstand), Halasana (Plow Pose), and restorative poses before going to bed. He put Bradley on a regimen of herbs, tea, self-massage, and breathwork. “I couldn’t sleep at all without taking drugs like Ambien.”Īfter the prescription sleeping pills became less effective, Bradley decided to explore an alternative route, making an appointment to see Ayurvedic doctor John Douillard, director of the LifeSpa School of Ayurveda in Boulder, Colorado. “I was in really bad shape,” Bradley says. But after she contracted West Nile virus in 2004, her sleepless nights became intolerable. “I’ve been something of an insomniac my entire life,” says the 56-year-old owner of Blue Spruce Yoga in Lakewood, Colorado. Leslie Bradley remembers lying awake as a child, unable to sleep. Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members!
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