If you are battling insomnia these days and are looking for a sustainable solution to your sleep trouble, these Ayurvedic tips to prevent insomnia are exactly what you need.
First, I want to say that I feel you. Night-time anxiety, the endless tossing and turning and dozing off at the break of dawn are well known to me. I have been in the same boat for over 6 years as a young mother. It got me to a point of such exhaustion, that nothing else mattered. I was just so tired of being tired. Enter my love for the study and practice of Ayurveda, which changed my quality of sleep completely as I was able to implement these Ayurvedic tips to prevent insomnia!
We all know sleep is pretty important. In Ayurveda, it is so important that it is one of the main pillars of health. In fact, it goes as far as saying that we can’t really heal from ANY disease fully unless we address sleep. That’s because when we sleep, our body does its magic that it cannot do during the day. Repairing, rewiring, replenishing, reprocessing – all of these are essential for our health and mental wellbeing.
So what does Ayurveda have to offer for insomnia prevention?
Ayurveda has plenty of simple, easily implementable tools. The tricky part is that most of these tools have to do with our daily habits – and changing them is a walk that not everyone is ready to walk.
Let’s underline here that insomnia is a dis-ease that has its root cause in our lifestyle. The good news here is that since it is life-style related, it can be remedied!
If you are ready to take back your wellbeing into your hands, wait no more. Try these Ayurvedic practices for restful sleep!
Ayurvedic tips to prevent insomnia:
- Set a fixed bed-time every night before 10 pm.
- Have a light and early dinner, ideally before 7 pm (leaving 2-3hrs for digestion before your bedtime).
- Switch off all technology at least 1h before bed (Click here for an explanation why exposure to tech in the evening is not helpful for insomnia prevention)
- Dim the lights
- Have a glass of warm milk with a pinch of nutmeg before bed (try this recipe for a nourishing night time tonic here!)
- Do a yin yoga pose or two, like “legs up the wall” (Viparita Karani). This will soothe your nervous system.
- Try Aromatherapy: scents like lavender or sandalwood promote sleep and calm the mind. Try them in a diffuser, as a pillow spray or apply (in a base oil) on your wrists.
- Journaling before bed. Putting any chaotic thoughts down on paper before bed will be a relief for your anxious mind.
- A warm bath or shower will wash off the worries of the day.
- Self-oil massage before bed will have a grounding effect. It doesn’t have to be the whole body – only the feet and hands will do, too.
Note: do not try all of these tips at once. Pick one that resonates and stick to it until it is fully integrated into your routine. Only then you can move onto the next one. This will have much more impact on your nervous system than trying all of them for a week and then dropping out.
These Ayurvedic tips will help you keep insomnia at bay.
However, that being said, no amount of lavender or nutmeg will fix your sleep if the big pieces of the puzzle are not there. And those big pieces will mainly be (for most of us): a fixed bed time, early dinner and a no-tech policy pre-bed. I know. It’s the hardest ones. But start with whichever of these tips appeal to you the most. Heck, start with the easiest or the most pleasurable one. Then, build from there, finding enjoyment on your self-care journey.
So which one of these practices will you be trying first? I would love to hear your sleep stories – you can drop me a line at hello@leanonayurveda.com or contact me via my social media.