Wellness Rituals for Sleep

Ananda's emotional healers Shikha Sud and Chandana Ganguly offer insight into how you can achieve a good night's sleep.

It’s late at night- you know your body needs sleep but cannot get yourself to settle down.

What do you do? Do you reach instinctively for your phone, hopping on to the late-night social media wagon, or do you grab the remote and open an OTT platform?

There are those who would try to numb their overthinking mind with the erstwhile Candy Crush genre of games or challenge themselves with a game of Sudoku or Scrabble on phone. And then there is that rare breed of voracious reader who would use this opportunity of sleeplessness to read a thrilling novel that is simply unputdownable or conjure up a midnight craving for some carbs.

None of these distractions offer any solace.

Why is sleep important?

The sleep function of the body plays a vital role in resetting, healing, and replenishing the body. It has a similar effect on the mind - our sleep allows us to rest the mind, release impressions and stress from the day, process some of the challenges that we face and achieve a sense of inner harmony and balance.

The quality of sleep (how quickly one falls asleep, the depth of the sleep and how you feel when you wake up) is often an indicator of the person's well-being.

When a person sleeps, their conscious mind can be resting but their subconscious remains active. As a result, when a person is unable to sleep well, we can find it is due to excess stress in the subconscious or overactivity (stimulation) of the conscious mind. When a person has enough time for themselves, and they have the tools and resources to deal with their stress, their sleep quality can greatly improve.

What can I do to help me fall sleep?

Here are a few tips to calm your nervous system and get some well-deserved shut eye at the end of a hard long day.

Settle the Unconscious
Not being able to sleep or waking up feeling lethargic are all indicators that there is conundrum taking place in the deep unconscious. Pour the chaos and the chatter on paper. Write and vent all those to-dos and illogical thoughts, images and words that are floating in your mind. Then keep the paper aside - or simply destroy it - and feel the silence of sleep dawning on you.

Create A Morning Routine
A clear separation between your day and rest times will help your mind adjust- a slow mindful morning routine ensures that the mind is not charged with stress and to-do lists the moment you wake up. Let the first thing and last thing in the morning be something positive and affirming. Be it a chant, a sense of gratitude or a positive image or thought. These are the times that the subconscious mind is most impressionable - your thoughts and feeling in these times can deeply affect your quality of rest and productivity in the day.

Have A Sleep Ritual
A wholesome nourishing sleep routine ensures the parasympathetic nervous system is activated and the mind finds closure to the activities of the day. Trick your mind into believing it is time to let go and rest now. Create a simple sleep ritual that suggests to the mind that it is time to sleep. Perform this ritual, whatever you choose it to be, every night till the mind begins to create an association of sleep with that ritual. Dim the lights. Keep the phone away. Play soft instrumental music that signals calmness and security to the mind, which may be in fight and flight mode from all the stimulation it got through the day.

Make Yourself Comfortable
If you are a frequent traveller travelling across time zones, then remember home is where you are. Create impressions of home with aroma or familiar items from your bedroom to make the mind feel at home even in strange lands.

Cater to Cravings
It is natural for cravings to surface late in the night when cortisol is high. A glass of turmeric milk, infusions such as chamomile tea, or anything that is light on the belly will help. Start to take charge of your cravings slowly.

Address Disturbances
Review your day and bring mental closures to any outstanding chores or big experiences. For example, if you remember you had to have a big conversation with someone which you couldn't, mentally visualise them before you and have that conversation, so your mind finds a sense of completion with it.

Sleep Hygiene Matters
Go device free at least 45 mins before and have simple sleep hygiene practises - a cool dark room, soft lighting, a heavy blanket or light breathable fabrics, if that is something that is comforting for you.

If you have tried everything and still nothing seems to be working, then reach out and seek help. Ananda's Sleep Enhancement programme addresses the root causes of sleep disturbances, offering tailored solutions to promote restful nights and overall well-being.

Learn more about our Sleep Enhancement programme.
Explore our healing story on Holistic Treatment for Insomnia.