Sleep is the best form of relaxation, close to meditation; that’s why those who sleep well always stay well and feel well. However, in today’s world, getting sound sleep has become a rare occasion because millions of people suffer from sleep disorders like sleep apnea, insomnia, restless leg syndrome, and narcolepsy. In addition, the number of those who get a very broken, fitful sleep is many times higher. Sadly, many of these individuals resort to sleeping pills and drugs, which ultimately make the problem worse. This is because we do not consider these as serious issues and avoid the fact that these sleep disorders interfere with our body’s ability to recuperate the energy needed for the next day. We usually make a huge mistake by viewing sleep merely as a time of inactivity for the body. Whereas, in reality, during the hours of sleep, when we appear to be most passive, something within us is intensely active, recharging the body cells for the next day.

Medical science has acknowledged several causes that lead to sleep disorders. The biggest hindrance contributing to sleeplessness is poor mental health. Our habits of negative thinking and unrighteous actions during the day cause sleep disturbances during the night. Repeated suppression of the voice of one’s conscience impairs mental health, which results in negative personality traits and insomnia. Another important factor that affects our sleep is the food we eat. It’s a medically proven fact that poor mental health adversely affects one’s eating habits, which, in turn, drastically influences our sleep and health. For instance, those who have several cups of tea, coffee, and colas intake lots of caffeine, which contributes to their inability to sleep.

There have been a lot of deliberations and debates over the hours of sleep one should have. After all, how much sleep does one need? Well! Doctors say that different conditions require different lengths of sleep. Under the best of conditions in terms of sleep, fresh air, water, food, physical work or exercise, and positive influences, one would stay asleep as long as one’s system needs; then they will wake up automatically. Remember!! Our consciousness will automatically return when the purpose of sleep is fulfilled. Hence, there is really no such thing as oversleeping. However, there is certainly such a phenomenon as under sleeping, because, for some reason or another, our sleep gets sacrificed in pursuing other pleasures of life. The old adage, “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise,” seems to fall on deaf ears in our times. But in this whole hustle and bustle, we tend to forget that it is the quality of life that matters most, not the quantity. Hence, if we jeopardize our sleep for silly reasons, we are knowingly undermining our health. So, it’s better to be wise for our own health benefit and make it a habit to disengage the mind from thoughts daily before going to bed to give it sleep-inducing relaxation.

(Writer is a spiritual educator & popular columnist for publications across India, Nepal & UK. Till Date 8500+ Published Columns have been written by Him)