Sleep Like a Baby

A child needs no complex explanations on the value and necessity of sleep— they just sleep, that’s all. However, we adults have developed bad habits when it comes to sleep and waking up. We waste time on social activities that should be used for sleep, and we sleep during the hours when our bodies could absorb vitality and strength. We waste time at both ends of the sleep cycle and then wonder why we grow old and tired at middle age.

During sleep, the body undergoes repair work that is critical to our overall health. It is essential to give our bodies plenty of time to do that. Generally speaking, adults need about 8 hours of sleep each day. The best sleep is that taken between the hours of sunset and midnight, and the best time for outdoor activities and the absorbing of vitality are the first few hours after sunrise.

The Yogis suggest practicing the following habits to sleep better:

• Always sleep in a well-ventilated room.

• Use enough bedding to keep you comfortable, but do not bury yourself under a mass of heavy blankets.

• Never sleep in any clothes that you used during the day. It is not healthy or clean.

• Do not pile up too many pillows under your head, one is enough.

• Relax every muscle in the body, take the tension off your nerves, and cultivate a lazy feeling when you get under the covers.

• Train yourself not to think about work or stressful things after your go to bed.

• Concentrating the mind on your feet can help, because it directs the circulation to the lower part of your body, and relieves the brain.

• And above all… do not force yourself to go to sleep, it usually produces the opposite effect. Just assume a mental attitude that you do not care whether or not you sleep right off, that you are perfectly satisfied with things as they are.

Remember these habits before going to bed and avoid as much as you can, late hours of partying at night. Whenever you get a chance, go to bed early and wake up early. Like Benjamin Franklin said:

And if possible, take a short “siesta” during the day to refresh yourself and improve your productivity.

Watch a child sleep, and what it does after going to bed, and try to follow its plan as nearly as possible. Be a child when you go to bed. Live over again the sensations of childhood, and you will sleep like a baby.