I am a very light sleeper. I wake up to the slightest sound and light disturbances and have a hard time getting back to sleep again. I have to sleep in my bed on my cushion on the same side of the bed every night. I can't tolerate any change in that, but otherwise I am quite flexible. When I visit my parents in Mumbai or visit my in-laws in Pune, I take at least a week to get used to the surroundings there, though it is not completely new to me. Count the stars the first few nights. I count the dogs barking outside or the insects making noise outside. I also count the different wavelengths at which my husband and the other people in our family snore. All my family members can sleep at the drop of a hat, and I am the only odd woman out who is a night owl. My mother-in-law says that I think too much and that is the reason I can't fall asleep soon, but I have stopped wasteful thinking long ago and have become calmer and more mature and patient, at least I think ;)
Today, the circadian clock in my body woke me up at around 5 am. I realized that it's still time to get up to make my son's tiffin box. I just lay in bed and next to me was my son, who also got up at 5 am today. He usually gets up just 15 minutes before he leaves for school, does everything fast, and dashes off. But today it was different. We both got up unusually early and just whiled away the time till it was 6:15 am.
A good night's sleep can't be bought even if you have a million rupees, and sometimes even if you have nothing, you can go to sleep fast. It is such a paradox, isn't it? Sleep is one factor that is very conveniently ignored or mistreated by many people and is not taken very seriously. Sleep is very important for rejuvenation, for back-end activities of the body to do cleaning, to restore the balance of the body, to repair dead cells and to help in the creation of new cells. I know many people who sleep late at night, around 11:30 or 12 on a daily basis. And get up again by 5 or 6 am the next morning. Many people watch back-to-back movies on Friday and Saturday nights and sleep through the day. And that fatigue carries on to the next week also. In the long run, it takes a toll on the body and the signs of aging and fatigue set in quickly. Lack of sleep or less sleep could also lead to many diseases. It's definitely not something that should be taken for granted, is what I feel.
When I faced problems with falling asleep, someone suggested that I listen to Lalitha Sahasranaam while sleeping, and it really worked wonders. I also took up a book called Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker, and it helped me understand the intricacies of sleep patterns and dreams, etc. I found the book quite informative and it cleared many of my doubts. I also started exercising regularly, either a short or a long walk, and that helped me too to fall asleep quickly at night. But there are a few nights which are not like others, and it's hard for me to stay awake when the people around me are sleeping soundly.
What do you do to fall asleep quickly? Do you have a self-care routine or a pattern that you can share with others?
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