sleep

We have heard of Kumbha-karna, the brother of Ravana, who slept for six months and kept awake for six months at a stretch. If we analyze our patterns of sleep, we also will find that, when we consider the complete life span, half our lives are spent in sleeping.

Sleep is that condition when one’s body remains here but not his mind – it wanders off to chase multi colored dreams, achieve heights of ecstasy and pleasure that he can never hope to reach otherwise, thrash villains, put behind bars those who defy the law and whom the law find it difficult to lay hands on. Sleep is as essential as food and water. He who complains of disturbed sleep needs pills to ensure that, for at least some time, he is released of the agonies and tensions of life. Sleep is a natural medicine – no, it does not come under the ayurvedic category but, its deficiency results in a chaotic lifestyle. We have heard of people who sleep for only four hours per day and still are able to maintain their tight schedules. They are exceptions. The majority of us need at least six hours of good continuous sleep – it relieves inner stresses, loosens the muscles and prepares us for one more day of activity. The activities could be mental or physical or, more usually, a combination of both. Those who have difficulty in falling asleep are advised to count sheep jumping over a fence or some similar exercise – the intention is to concentrate. As in other spheres, concentration pays dividends. Like the yogis of yore – by sheer power of concentration, they could compel you to do what they wanted.

Our mothers and grandmothers used to sing lullabies or the grand fathers would read aloud bedtime stories to put us to sleep. Today, the kids are so exhausted by the time they retire to bed that lullabies and bedtime stories have lost their importance. That they do not have grandmothers to sing lullabies or grandfathers to read aloud bedtime stories is another matter.

In order to sleep in comfort, ready made mattresses are in the market; to have mosquito free sleep, there are repellants guaranteed to burn for 12 hours; for the more affluent, there are air conditioners that are so silent and tune that you would not even notice their presence. Sleep is a product that has opened the doors for a whole spectrum of other related products to enter the market.

Nice interesting thread sadhuji, although do have a sneaky feeling that u work for an MNC firm. Would've done nice as a brief for an ad agency selling mattresses/airconditioner & everything in-between

unfortunately, i have outlived my sevice period and am a retired person. surprised?

you bet, the mind is still sharp as ever, cool

hello this is my first visit here, sleep certainly comprises an important part of our life, just wanted to know if u people can tell me what can be the consequences if a person does not get the required hours of sleep as might be required, so this again brings another query automatically and this is how many hours should a adult individual sleep so as to get the health benefits?

I saw a research article recently in the Globe & Mail (Toronto) Newspaper about symptoms (peronality) that occur from sleep deprivation. Men tend to attack & put down co-workers at the office while Women tend to become irate and develope angst towards their immediate family .... any way you define it people get grouchy without their ZZZZZ's. But there is much more to it than that .... definitely a habit of good regular sleep helps to build a healthy immune system.

how many hrs.- this one is difficult as it's very subjective but usually a minimum of 6 hrs. is quoted. It's not just sleep but the 'deep sleep state' which is supposed to be more important. This occurs for 1/4 of the whole time we sleep. Although there are breathing exercises & meditations which supposedly take u to the 'deep sleep state' faster,better & longer have never tried them. Happy with whatever is!

well thank u very much for ur replies now if u could also prvide me with some help in this sleep matter only, i have also heard a lot of yoga and that there are many good places in india where this can be practiced, so suppose i get to find a yoga class for me can it ensure that i will get a good sleep and that too with the guarnatee of a perfect health?