INSOMNIA
Maha Bharatha mentions
that four types of people suffer from sleeplessness: Thieves, people
who have powerful enemies, persons with unfulfilled desires and
those who lost everything.
If the author had to
rewrite the epic now, he would have added “students” as the fifth
category. Unlike in olden days where education was a simple daily
chore, it has become a nightmare with existing hard-hitting
competition.
“Sleep is the best
meditation” says a modern philosopher. Sleeplessness (otherwise
called insomnia) has four facets: 1. Not able to sleep on getting
into bed 2. Sudden awaking in the middle of the night and inability
to sleep again 3. Unable to ‘stay in sleep’ 4. No refreshed feeling
on waking up in the morning.
Students require 8
hours sleep and elders 7. If you are deprived of sleep for two to
three days, you can compensate with a deep sleep the next day and
feel fresh, but continuous deprivation of sleep leads to daytime
sleepiness, a nuisance that weakens your productivity,
concentration, memory and slows-down your reflex actions and
decision making power. It also leads to physical problems like cold
and other diseases.
Sleep has many phases
like entering, deep, drowsy and awakening stages. In-fact deep sleep
for few hours gives the satisfaction of complete sleep. Great people
follow it and avoid hypersomnia i.e. spending more time in excess
sleep.
1.
Tips:
Sleeping pills aren’t meant for long-term. They cause side effects
and even rebound insomnia. Instead manage your stress and anxiety
that are the main reasons for sleeplessness. Do you know that stress
and time management go together? Complete your schedules in time and
sleep at the same time every day. A consistent routine before bed
sends a signal to your brain for better sleep. Reading a book for
few minutes and stepping into sleep is good.
2.
Create a suitable
environment, cool temperature and good ventilation. If you are
allergic to light and sound use eye-masks and ear-plugs available in
the market. Listening to prerecorded class lessons and light music
also helps.
3.
Close your eyes and
imagine a
peaceful
place. Breathe
slowly, making each gasp deeper than the previous. Starting at toes,
tense all the muscles as tightly as you can, and then completely
relax.
4.
Avoid watching the
small screen lying on the cot. Television actually stimulates the
mind rather than relaxing it. Never watch stimulating late night
news before sleep.
5.
Don’t break your sleep routine on weekends. Late
Saturday night-outs and in turn late wake-ups next day, leads to a
disturbed Sunday night. You become more irritated and cranky on
Monday.
6.
If you are not overweight, a bedtime snack or banana
and a cup of milk support you for better sleep. Avoid eating a large
meal within two hours of bed. In the midnight if you are awake
suddenly and get sleep for more than 15 minutes, get out of bed and
do a quiet activity. Don’t lay there worrying. “It's the worry that
gets you, not the lack of sleep” says Dale Carnegie
7.
Napping for few
minutes in the afternoon keeps you fresh afterwards. But don’t sleep
for long time disturbing the body clock. Sometimes we cannot keep
our sleep gates open due to rigid and long work during the previous
day or deprived of previous night sleep. Instead of sleeping early
and suffer late in the night, go for a walk or shopping or engage in
any other work.
8.
Regular exercise for
twenty to thirty minutes helps you sleep better. Consider
eliminating caffeine after four in the evening.
Students who
smoke to be awake for late night studies should know that
nicotine
causes sleep troubles in numerous ways.
PERCEPTIONS
She rejected his
proposal for marriage saying she considered him a friend only. Later
she loved another guy and their marriage was fixed.
The pitiable, unshaven
and gloomy ex-lover attended their wedding. As he stood at the
corner of the hall and watching the proceeding, the unexpected
happened. The bridegroom was bending to tie the wedding knot, but
collapsed and died with heart stroke.
There was pandemonium
but the bride recovered early, looked around and went to her
ex-lover, “If you are you still willing, we will marry here on the
same dais now”. He could not believe but gladly accepted. She
requested the priest to continue the proceedings.
The disapproval:
Even before the speaker
could hardly finish, the participants shouted, “No... How could she
do that? Ghastly... Unethical”.
The motivator asked,
“So... for how much time she should wait?”
A participant rose, “At
least for thirteen days from her husband’s death”. Another one
disagreed arguing that the deceased had not yet tied the three
knots. Another girl rose, “After the memories of love vanished, may
be after a year” she said. The motivator smiled, “She forgot him in
a second. Hence she proposed the other guy.” But nobody was willing
to take it.
He continued, “Now I
present the other version. It was her twenty-fourth birthday.
According to a will she inherits her uncle’s property if she marries
before that date. This poor girl urgently
needs money for her mother’s kidney transplantation. She has to take
a decision unwillingly,” he paused for a moment and asked “Now you
tell me whether she is correct?”
The audience unanimously approved her decision. Then the motivator
said, “Here are three sutras. Who are we to decide when she should
marry? Secondly, never fix other’s standards with your values.
Finally, never form opinions without knowing the full facts.”
He concluded with a fine proverb about ‘perception’: “You can
complain because roses have thorns below them, or rejoice because
thorns have roses above them”.
