Nearly everybody suffers from insomnia at some point in their lives and though for most this amounts to just the occasional sleepless night or a short more prolonged bout, for an unfortunate few it is a lifelong affliction which shows very little sign of lifting.

Why sleep is important

You may feel yourself to be invincible and whilst you quite possibly are you still need to get a good nights sleep!!!

Sleep refreshes your whole body and you can not function without a regular sleeping pattern. The average nights rest is said to be between 7 ½ and 8 hours per night. Though some people can get away with 4 others need 10 or even 11, it depends on only one factor, YOU!! And more importantly how your metabolism and inner system works and how much refreshing it needs.
Once you have worked out how long you need stick to it and make sure you stick to a regular sleeping pattern, as disruption to this is one of the main factors of insomnia.

Other causes of insomnia

• Anxiety

• Depression

• A general feeling of ennui and boredom

These need to be tackled head-on. The Ayurvedic method particularly recommends yoga, meditation and other relaxing exercises to chases away the stresses and anxieties of everyday life. You can not hope to get a good night’s sleep if your mind is switched on, so do your best to take yourself away from this by soothing yourself before you go to bed.

• Frequent ingestion of stimulants, particularly illegal drugs and prescription medicines

• Eating heavy food before bed

• Behavioral insomnia

Behavioral insomnia is when you are already suffering from sleep deprivation and you become over anxious to fall asleep. If this occurs then it is a vicious circle which needs breaking.

Ayurvedic Causes of Insomnia

In the Ayurvedic teachings insomnia is a fire disorder and its health restoring strategies encompass cooling off the burning in vata (nerve humour) and pitta (fire). The treatment concentrates on cooling off this bad junction by re-balancing pitta.

Ayurvedic Herbal Remedies for Insomnia

There would seem to be quite a contradiction with the herbs required to treat insomnia. Because ironically though the idea is to “cool-off” the afflicted doshas, you do so by using hot spices!! This is because the heat generated warms the internal system back into a state where it can begin the process of cooling off!!

Basically this apparently strange combination works because all the herbs and the body condition compliment each other perfectly which allows the re-balancing and healing.

The most effective herb for this remedy is calamus root and the by-products of.

The best way to ingest the root is to take it in powder form on a teaspoon added to warm water or milk three times a day.

Calamus root can also be taken with brahmi and alma as part of shirodhara technique.

To carry this out, you add the herbal combination to warm water and leave until almost all of the water has evaporated. You then add sesame oil and drain away the rest of the water. You then apply the mixture as a soothing head massage, which will relax the senses sufficiently to ensure a good nights sleep.

We all suffer from insomnia from time-to-time, but by applying the soothing Ayurvedic therapies we can prevent it becoming a nightly torture.