Refreshed and energized - this is how you should feel when you wake up every morning. If you don’t, there is a high chance that your sleep quality is poor. Khurshed Batliwala and Dinesh Ghodke, Sleep and Well-being experts and Faculty with The Art of Living in their recent book, ‘Sleep Your Way to Success’ share some reasons why you don't wake up feeling recharged every morning and instead feel groggy. Here is an excerpt from the book. (presentation slightly altered)
A lot of people could wake up feeling disoriented and groggy. If this happens once in a while, that’s alright. If it happens too often, then this is a clear indication that the quality (and quantity) of sleep they are having is not good enough. There could be many reasons for this. Here is a quick checklist of some of the most common reasons why people could wake up tired even when they feel they have slept more than enough.
1. You didn’t sleep enough.
Sleeping less than 8 hours is detrimental to your body-mind complex. Give yourself an 8-hour sleep opportunity each night.
2. You take sleeping pills.
There are no “sleeping” pills actually available on the market. This medication just sedates you. Sedation is not the same as sleep. When sedated, you get none of the benefits of natural sleep. Besides, these are habit-forming and make you addicted to them and mess up other systems in your body. Wean yourself off them as soon as you can if you are taking them, always in consultation with whoever recommended them to you in the first place – a good ayurvedic or homeopathic doctor can help.
3. You are exposed to light.
While you are sleeping, you have some light in the bedroom. Even tiny lights can disrupt your sleep. The solution is to blackout your bedroom, completely. You could also be exposing yourself to bright lights when you go for a bathroom visit in the middle of the night. That can signal the brain to start the wake cycle making it difficult to go back to bed.
4. Did you commit any of the unforgivable before-you-fall-asleep acts?
Here are the 4 before-you-go-to-bed acts that can alter your sleep cycle negatively.
1. You had coffee or tea towards late evening, or you are having too many cups of coffee and/or tea in a day. The caffeine in these beverages messes up your sleep rhythm.
2. You had alcohol. Alcohol will interfere with normal sleep cycles and play havoc in your brain. You may get knocked out by having too much alcohol, but that is not to be confused with sleep.
3. You exercised vigorously after 8:00 pm. Vigorous exercise may release hormones like adrenaline into your bloodstream. This increases your heart rate, makes the brain active, and raises the core body temperature all of which as a Harvard study blithely puts it - May keep you up at night “hooting with the owls”.
4. You ate just before you went to bed. Make sure you eat at least three hours before you go to bed.
5. You are anxious or excited about something.
Do practices like Yoga and meditation to relax the body and soothe the mind. You will sleep much better.
6. You need to change a few things about your room or clothes.
Your room could be too hot or too cold. There could also be a lot of noise in the surroundings. The poor air quality of your bedroom is affecting your sleep. Your bed and pillows are uncomfortable to sleep in. The clothes you are wearing could be too uncomfortable or tight.
7. You are sleeping in a new place.
You may have noticed that when you go on a holiday, the first night or two, you may not get good sleep. This is natural. It’s an evolutionary response from deep within the brain. The brain needs to be convinced that there is no danger in the environment before allowing the body to switch off completely. Meditation, chanting, and keeping a few familiar things in the room would help.
Gain more insights about sleep in the book, ‘Sleep your Way to Success’. Buy the book.
Learn tools to improve your sleep in The Art of Living’s Sleep & Anxiety Workshop.
