Deep Sleep: How Do You Prepare Yourself?

This post is a potpourri of some discussions we’ve had in classes this week and links sleep with the yogic concept of santosh. So this fits in with this month’s Sanskrit Challenge as we explore the Sanskrit term santosh and its practical applications, especially with regards to sleep.

For those familiar with yama and niyama (the ten yogic codes of morality), santosh is the second point of niyama and means mental ease. As you might imagine, santosh is when the mind is in a balanced state – unhindered by stress, worry, anxiety, or nervousness.

Now we come to the sleep aspect. Of late, I have come across many discussions about sleep. NPR had a week-long special on sleep, articles on sleep have come across my desk, and a few have talked to me personally about sleeping issues.

It is commonly accepted that sleep is the time when the body and mind get restored – all the way down to the cellular structure. Numerous sleep experts, doctors, and specialists express views on how to enhance sleep. One element they all talk about is that the mind should be stress-free. To that end, they recommend ways to prepare for a proper night’s rest: Relaxation, deep breathing, meditation, gentle music, stopping all email and gadget habits 30min before going to bed etc. These types of recommendations are common across the board. And this is certainly consistent with yogic teachings. A restless (no pun intended) mind will never experience deep sleep.

One other prevalent theme sleep experts touch on is the number of hours of sleep needed for the average adult to feel rested and restored. Generally, their recommendations fall between 7 – 9 hours. On this point there is a distinction between what most sleep specialists recommend and the yogic ideal. In yoga, sleep is measured qualitatively, not quantitatively. Specifically, it is not the number of hours one sleeps that is the measuring rod, but rather the depth of sleep one experiences. The deeper one sleeps the less sleep is needed where some yogis will sleep a mere 2 – 3 hrs per night and awaken perfectly rested and feeling fresh. The ideal sleep is a dreamless sleep where one has no recollection of thought during that period. In that state of perfect rest, both body and mind are efficiently rejuvenated in a short amount of time, so less sleep is needed.

Setting aside this distinction, both modern researchers and age-old yogis agree that one key element for taking proper rest is a stress-free mind, i.e. a mind absorbed in a state of santosh.

Question: What are ways you prepare yourself for a good night’s sleep? How do you achieve a state of santosh before bed? Share with us any tips you have – as your answers may be very helpful to those looking for ways to deepen their sleep.