INSOMNIA, MELATONIN, BHRAMARI, & PRAYER

Stress, which is absolute normal today (12/11/2023) in EVERYONE’s life can cause sleep issues. Rise in the stress hormone - cortisol, inhibits the production of Melatonin. Melatonin is an absolute must for a good night's sleep. Complete disruption of Circadian Rhythm, due to uneven sleep wake patterns, and untimely eating habits, increases sleep issues.

Dr. Satchin Panda’s research and explanations help us understand how to deal with this problem. Yoga also has a solution for insomnia. 

A few things that might be done to help get a better night’s sleep: 

• Sleeping at a consistent time (+/- 1 hour is OK once in a while)

• Dimming the lights 15 minutes prior to sleep, allows melanopsin cells behind the eyes to trigger the SCN (Suprachiasmatic nuclei) to activate the Pineal gland to release Melatonin. 

• Doing 5 to 10 bhramari pranayams help activate the pineal gland. The prescription for chronic insomnia is up to 60 Bhramari pranayams. But, I doubt that one can reach beyond 15 before becoming super sleepy. Not all pranayams can be done after meals. But, Bhramari is one such that can be done anytime to get to relaxation. It is important to understand that Bhramari has a deep hum at the end. Humming itself has many many benefits:

  • Vagal toning, increasing the Parasympathetic bias of our body

  • 15 fold increase in nitric oxide, increasing our brain functions, pulmonary functions and cardiac functions.

  • Vibrations that are a stimulation to the mechano-sensitive stem cells :)

  • humming is a long exhale - which helps slow our heart rate (that's the first thing that happens when we start falling asleep)

• Colder temperatures help us sleep better so use your temperature control accordingly. It shouldn't be uncomfortably cold though.

• Reading something peaceful helps - something that is happy and inspiring 

  • A dark novel or horror movie would take our Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) to Sympathetic mode - which would trigger HPA (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal) axis and release adrenaline and then cortisol. 

  • Thus, inspirational, happy, and/or motivational literature helps.

  • The world is full of souls that illuminate, we can avail them in our night time routine.

• Complete darkness ( NO NIGHT LIGHTS or open windows) as we fall asleep, helps us get a better quality of sleep and thus: 

  • Enhances our cognitive functions

  • Allows repairs and restoration of the entire body

  • Enhances immune functions

  • Allows better memory formations/consolidation

  • Helps avoid myopia, research suggests.

Last, but not least: A beautiful secret that I have : Prayer. Before we get to prayer, here I share my philosophy:

• Depression == Looking at our problems (That causes stress)

• Passion == Thinking about how to eliminate others’ problems (That gives joy)

Stress expert, Dr. Elissa Sarah Epel (UCSF), says about the 3 main ways of coping with stress:

• Mind controls mind ( Awareness, beliefs, mindsets, affirmations)

• Body controls mind ( Breathwork, Yog Nidra, Exercise)

• DISTRACTION

I like the distraction at night and pranayam in the mornings. As I fall into my bed, I start a very fulfilling prayer ritual. I start by praying for 5 week old fetuses. There are hundreds of thousands of them on earth and I pray for their good health. Then as boring as it might sound, I pray for all the 3 month old fetuses. I eventually pray for all the ladies that are delivering babies; wishing for their smooth delivery, quick recovery, good health, peace, joy, and support that they deserve.  Next, I pray for newborns and so on and so forth. I have hardly reached 10-years olds in my prayers🙂as I am in deep slumber by then.

The happiness of wishing well, plus the monotonicity of the prayer is a wonderful recipe for sliding into peaceful slumber. 

My Guru, Shri Pramukh Swami Maharaj, used to wake up at nights and pray for people who were suffering. He has inspired me to do this.

The below chart from my Kids-Yog class theory explains some benefits of Melatonin and Bhramari. Please note that the benefits of Melatonin that are shown here, are merely what is proven by science already. There are many more melatonin receptors that scientists are trying to understand the functions of.

With loads of love,

Suchi