We all know the importance of sleep for our basic functioning in life, yet most of us can’t put our screens away at night when we know it’s past our planned bedtime. Sleep cycles are hindered, roommates get angry, necks stiffened in the process of getting just one more swipe in.
How Modern Medicine Explains Your Sleep Procrastination
Sleep experts attribute this to various causes including genetics, lack of self-regulation, maybe even some FOMO going on. These experts offer a variety of sleep routines involving winding-down schedules as the go to solution. If the problem is that you are wanting “me” time during the pandemic, they also recommend you consider giving yourself priority by scheduling that “me” time earlier in the day.
Ancient Medicine Sees Sleep Procrastination Like This
If you are actually wanting to fall asleep but can’t, and the modern winding-down routines are not working for you or you find it difficult to stick to them, ancient medicine offers several options. Since these involve the betterment of your energy centers and prana, they are by definition more all-around, wholesome solution to your problem falling asleep.
- It may be a matter of energy imbalance. If the areas where energy concentrated in your body are not aligned, this will prevent you from sleeping. In this case, a getting into the habit of repeating a breathing practice might help. Do, for example, the Ninefold Purification breaths of the Bön tradition of Tibet or the eight movements found in Yantra Yoga, as ways to balance your energy to help you sleep.
- One of your three “humors” may be disturbed. According to the ancient art of Ayurveda (traditional Indian medicine), we have three humors: lung (air or wind), tripa (bile) and pedken (phlegm). If your wind humor (lung) is disturbed, you will experience particular trouble sleeping as wind is linked to prana. To get over this type of issue, it helps to go to sleep earlier you’re your normal time, sleep in warm clothes and to eat warm food such as soup just before bedtime. In addition, taking the natural supplement Agar 35 for one or two months will help coordinate your wind energy, to help you sleep. This supplement is said to not be addictive and without repercussions to your health, even after months of taking it.