How to fix your sleeplessness problem by ending the "thought loop"

In this article, we will explore how to fix the sleeplessness problem by using natural methods like meditation and herbs.

I've observed that in 99% of cases, sleeplessness occurs because of the never ending "thought loop" which keeps on running as a result of constant worry or stress. As long as the loop runs on the tapes of your thoughts (usually extremely negative ones), you never get to sleep at night because the thoughts never let you sleep! That is until the next morning or so when every muscle in your body gets so tired and exhausted that even processing a thought seems like climbing a mountain.

 

But that's not a good way to sleep, that's called sleeplessness. The fix or solution for this is a mix of two lifestyle changes (6M-R) and one natural herb (N or Nutmeg). This is a very simple solution but requires utmost will-power and persistence to stick to a schedule for at least a week. If you can do that, consider yourself won! But don't declare victory too soon because stress and negative energies have a strong tendency to hold you back and pull into the abyss.

Here is the three step formula:

6M (Meditation at 06:00 PM)

Attacking the "thought loop" problem requires you to tackle the stress, so this step is the most important. Stressful or negative thoughts are like a virtual equivalent of the physical bile or acidic substance that helps digest food in your stomach but causes pain and nausea if your body has too much of it. Just as bile causes extreme acidity in your body, stressful thoughts cause pain and suffering to your mind (which is a 100 times worse). To fix this and get back your sound sleep, you have got two options:

1. Either solve the problem causing the stress (get that pay hike you want, repay that mortgage loan, buy that house you want, etc.).
2. Keep vomiting the stressful or negative thoughts at regular intervals (meditation).

Until the gods of the materialistic world don't bestow their favors upon you with point one, you take the help of spiritual gods and stick with point two! Of course, proper spiritual science (the vairagya of hinduism or dhamma of buddhism) is a different subject altogether and we aren't going there at all. We are just using meditation as a tool to solve our sleeplessness problem.

There are various forms of meditation but for solving our stress/sleeplessness problem, mindfulness meditation is the best candidate. This involves simply sitting at a place for 20 minutes with eyes closed and mind focused on every breath that comes in and goes out of the nostril (cross-legged is a preferred seating position but even chair would do).

You simply have to observe your breath, there is no need of deliberate breathing. If thoughts come (of course they will, you have got so much stress!), simply observe or note them. Don't be excited or triggered by them, just note them calmly and then return back to focus on the breath. At beginning, it may well happen that you are so immersed in those thoughts that you forgot to pay attention to the breathing. Don't worry, as soon as you realize that, be calm and refocus on the breathing again.

Keep doing this process daily and you'll become perfect in the art of "vomiting" all the negativity and stress out of your life! instead of circling your mind like hawks and feeding on your mind again and again at night, the negative bile just went out and you will have a good night's sleep. Don't believe me, practice it and discover for yourself as the Buddha said! Being humans, we will always keep accumulating stress of course, so we must always strive to vomit them out at regular interval.

Now, why 06:00 PM? For some unfathomable reasons, the two times of the day when there is twilight (sunset and sunrise) are the times most conducive for meditation (hence, feel free to substitute 06:00 PM with AM if you want). You see, meditation is quite a struggle in the initial days. All that negativity and stressful thoughts don't want to come out, they want to stay inside your system and ensure that you get your due karmic retribution. But being an independent soul or aatman, you also have the will power to change that prophesy. Whether you win or not will depend on whether you are able to persist with the schedule daily and how sincerely you practice meditation. The twilight is there to just give you a little edge in this battle!

R (Reading at 01:00 AM)

Of course, you are expected to go to bed long before 01:00 AM. But as mentioned in the introduction, it could be the case that your sleeping cycle would have been already gone haywire (otherwise you wouldn't be reading this post, would you!). 01:00 AM is just the latest "cut-off" time you must set for yourself if you want to break this habit. Earlier the better, of course!

So, whenever you finish your daily activities and go to bed, always carry a book along with you. It should be interesting enough that it should pique your interest for at least 2-3 pages (but not too much interesting otherwise you may end up reading it until next morning!). Once you read the initial 2-3 pages, your mind should be tricked into drifting automatically and you should be able to sleep a sound and natural sleep. The success of this step also depends on how well you've practiced the earlier step (meditation).

N (Nutmeg)

Nutmeg (also called Jai phal in Hindi and Jaaji kaye in Kannada) is a great natural herb that can help you in fixing your sleep cycle. Just like the twilight, its here to give you a small edge in problem solving! You can add a little (half teaspoon) nutmeg powder to milk before you drink it or consume it in one of the other ways as described here.