Coping with Sleeplessness

 Addressing Sleep Disorders

All of us will go through a bout of sleeplessness once in a while and we recover from it the next night. Problems arise when the “occasional” bout becomes a string of nights with no sleep or interrupted sleep - a troubled sleep pattern can actually affect our physical and mental health. 

Sleep plays a vital role in numerous physiological processes, including the regulation of metabolic, hormonal, and immune function, all of which are essential for cardiometabolic health. Numerous studies have linked disorders and disturbances of sleep to cardiometabolic outcomes, including obesity, hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Disturbances in sleep also contribute to other adverse outcomes such as falls, disability, and chronic pain.  Adverse mental outcomes can include chronic fatigue, depression, and cognitive decline. So what can we yoga practitioners do when we encounter prolonged sleeplessness in ourselves or in a loved one?

As with any problem, approach this puzzle methodically to find a solution. 

First, we build up the awareness of why our sleep is compromised.  Observe yourself and your environment - the most common causes of sleeplessness are noisy environment, poor air quality, sleeping during the day, too much stimulation before bedtime (bad news on TV, upsetting movies or phone calls), stress/depression/anxiety (hello COVID), lack of exposure to sunlight, consuming too much caffeine, sleep apnea, or maybe even the restless leg syndrome. 

Once we identify  the root cause of our sleep disturbance, we set out to remove it one by one. 

Noisy environment? If you can’t remove the noise, get a white-noise machine, they really work.

Poor air quality? Consider placing an air-purifier in your bedroom.

Healthy eating habits - eat the physician-recommended mediterranean diet, limit your caffeine to 2 cups per day, don’t eat dinner past 7-8 pm at night to give your digestive system a good rest.  

Napping during the day?  Stop; take a relaxing walk in a park instead.

Too much screen time right before bedtime with noisy shows or upsetting news? Read a calming book instead.

Stress, depression, anxiety? 

Meditate before bedtime (if your don’t know how, plenty of meditation apps are available, such as  Insight Timer or Calm).

Engage in 10-15 minutes of pranayama (breath control) techniques before sleep: box breath and dirgha pranayama (3-part breath) are recommended since they are simple and highly effective and can be used while in a supine position.  

Reflect on your day - consider keeping a gratitude journal. 

Move - spend at least 20 minutes in a simple yoga practice daily, with the basic stretches being the cornerstone of your daily routine. 

Evaluate your  light needs  -  are you are spending enough time outdoors? Like all living organisms, we need sunlight to support our vital functions. A prolonged light deprivation will affect both our physical and mental health adversely.

If your mental anguish does not respond to these simple techniques, consider finding a mental health provider for professional help. Maintaining our mind health is just as important  as maintaining our physical health. Consider them intertwined an in constant need of your attention.

Other causes - some sleep disruptors such as sleep apnea and restless leg syndrome require a doctor’s visit. 

Practicing Box Breath for Stress Reduction and Lung Health

(Adapted from the WELL + GOOD magazine)

Box breathing is rooted in an Ayurvedic form of breathwork called pranayama that originated in India and is practiced in yoga, explains Tal Rabinowitz, founder and CEO of The DENMeditation in Los Angeles. “It has incredibly ancient roots, with different techniques for calming, bringing in energy, refining focus, and relaxing the nervous system; however, the military popularized it and brought it mainstream,” she says. “Mark Divine, a former Navy SEAL who is also an experienced martial artist, introduced it to the special operations community in the military, showing the world that by simply breathing, you can achieve the desired calming effects in just moments.”

On the civilian side, box breathing’s received some pretty high-profile praise from health and wellness pros. Among them is Patrick K. Porter, PhD, neuroscientist, author, and creator of the meditation app, BrainTap, who says it’s a useful way to reboot your brain after a year’s worth of pandemic stress.

The practice itself, which gets its name because there are four equal parts to it, is super simple. It works on the principle that slowing down your breathing helps you to relax, increases your oxygen intake, releases tension, and stimulates the vagus nerve, which is the longest nerve in your body and starts in the brain. One of its main functions is to slow the sympathetic stress response, says Erika Polsinelli, a Kundalini yoga teacher and founder of Evolve by Erika, a virtual wellness center. She points out that some pilot research published in the journal, Brain Stimulation,shows that stimulating it may improve anxiety.

And the more you do box breathing on a regular basis, the more you will notice stress doesn’t affect you the same way, says Rabinowitz. “So absolutely use it when needed, but don’t just wait for a stressful moment,” she suggests. “Find five minutes wherever you can, and watch the way you react to life start to change.”

How to do box breathing:

Set a timer for five minutes. 

Sit with a straight spine on the floor or in a chair with your feet flat. 

Close your eyes and inhale for a count of four. 

Hold your breath for a count of four. 

Exhale for a count of four. 

Hold for a count of four. 

Repeat until the alarm sounds.