DON'T LOSE

SLEEP OVER
'staying awake'.

M E D I TAT E .

WellSpan York Hospital, USA, con rms that Heartfulness Meditation helps bring down the
impact of insomnia, giving hope to millions suffering from this new age disease.

Meditation helps combat several diseases related to the effects of insomnia by

improving quality of sleep, alleviating anxiety and depression.

A study on the impact of Heartfulness Meditation on insomnia brings cheer to chronic insomniacs
as they stay awake to greet 'World Sleep Day' on March 16, 2018.

Daaji (Kamlesh Patel), the fourth global guide of Heartfulness, says, Sleep is very essential to help
maintain mood, memory, and cognitive performance. Daytime alertness and memory are impaired
by loss of sleep, especially when it is sustained over a few nights. For many, meditation has become
a mainstream practice over the years and the study on its impact on alleviating sleep-related
diseases is very encouraging.

INDIANS AND SLEEP 5 per cent wake up over stress at work

33 per cent Indians snore; up to 14 per cent

93 per cent of Indians suffer from sleep
deprivation; getting less than 8 hours per
night
58 per cent believe their work suffers due
to lack of adequate sleep
11 per cent have fallen asleep at work due
to a poor night's sleep
38 per cent witnessed a colleague falling
asleep at work
Lack of sleep also affects family
relationships according to 19 per cent
87 per cent of Indians say lack of sleep
affects health
72 per cent of Indians are waking up 1 to 3
times per night
snore as loud as or louder than they speak
Only 2 per cent of Indians discuss their lack
of sleep with a physician
Source: Nielsen Study, [link] An ongoing research
study at the WellSpan York Hospital, USA, to
assess the impact of Heartfulness Meditation on
insomnia, has shown promising results. Twenty-
eight participants diagnosed with chronic
insomnia completed an eight-week study
involving the practice of Heartfulness Meditation
as an intervention to help with insomnia. The pre-
and post-Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) scores
were measured. The mean ISI scores reduced
from 20.6 to 10.8, almost by half and the result
was statistically signi cant (p<0.001).
Interestingly, some of the patients have been
able to come o their pharmacological
treatments as a result of the practice.
A growing body of medical evidence links
inadequate sleep with anger, anxiety, and
sadness. A signi cant proportion of the adult
population su ers from sleep problems, and
many of them potentially having chronic
insomnia. Treatment options include both
pharmacological and non-pharmacological
measures. Pharmacological treatments may be
associated with signi cant adverse e ects.
Dr. Raja Amarnath, a senior consultant at
Apollo Hospitals, Chennai, says, In di erent
studies approximately 25% of adults mentioned
that their sleep was not satisfactory. At least
10-15% have symptoms of sleep deprivation,
negatively a ecting their daytime work, while
6-10% meet the diagnostic criteria for insomnia.
While the situation is quite alarming there is
hope beyond medication. The results of the
study on the e ect of Heartfulness Meditation
points towards the alleviating e ect of
meditation on sleep and sleep-related
disorders. Impact of Insomnia Indicated by
Various Other Studies
Population-based surveys indicate that the
prevalence of anxiety disorders is about 24%
to 36% in subjects with insomnia complaints.
80% of depressed individuals have at least
one insomnia condition compared to 36%
without depression.
Obese people are more likely to suffer from
sleep disturbances. Chronic sleep deprivation
leads to obesity. This bidirectional risk is
observed across all age groups.
People with sleep duration of less than six
hours were 7.5 times more likely to have a
higher body mass index (BMI) than those who
sleep longer.
Acute sleep loss of 3 to 4 hours a night
resulted in marked increase in blood pressure
in men, providing association between sleep
deprivation and cardiovascular risk.
In healthy individuals, white blood cell
count increases during deep sleep indicating
the body's readiness to combat infection.
Poor quality of sleep raises the risk of
accidents while driving and at the workplace.
Chronic sleep deprivation is directly linked
to the development of anxiety, depression,
obesity, hypertension, heart disease, diabetes,
cancer etc., and also causes impaired
immunity and delayed wound healing,
ultimately laying a path to premature death.
Chronic shortening of sleep time results in
circadian rhythm disorders. Sleep problems
are also prevalent among children and
teenagers due to the availability of computer
games, Internet and television. Studies show
that this has resulted in obesity, cognitive
impairment and emotional disturbances. In
adults, sleep disturbances lead to a wide
range of health problems such as diabetes,
cardiovascular disease, anxiety, depression,
early aging, alcoholism and other substance
abuse. Chronic sleep restriction among many
individuals may eventually impact society in
terms of loss in productivity and increased
health costs.
POSITIVE EFFECTS OF MEDITATION ON SLEEP
Medical literature supports the practice of
meditation for enhancing well-being, and
several studies have shown that meditation can
ght insomnia and improve quality of sleep, in
turn, improving health. According to the
National Science Foundation in Virginia, our
brain produces 50,000 thoughts per day.
Ninety- ve per cent of these thoughts are
repetitive, restrictive, and a spiral of anxieties
and worries about the past and future.
Dr. Raja Amarnath comments: Even though
the body is at rest, the mind cannot unwind.
This is the fundamental cause of stress leading
to sleep disturbances. Training our minds to
meditate by ignoring thoughts brings us to the
awareness of the present and creates a
balanced state within, thereby removing
stress.
RELAXATION RESPONSE
During sleep, there is a reduction in heart rate,
blood pressure, respiratory rate and minute
ventilation, and there is decreased oxygen
consumption and carbon dioxide elimination.
Meditation induces similar physiological
changes, except that the person remains alert
although the physical body goes into a state of
deep relaxation.
ENHANCING MELATONIN
Meditation augments the synthesis of
melatonin in the pineal gland, a hormone that
regulates the natural sleep cycle. Stress inhibits
the production of melatonin. Increased risk of
breast cancer is linked to the reduction in
melatonin levels due to sleep deprivation. By
enhancing melatonin levels, meditation reduces
this risk. Soon after beginning a meditation
practice, many people have reported better
quality of sleep as well as needing less sleep.
ALLEVIATING ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION
Meditation regulates the mind, directly
reducing anxiety and depression. This e ect is
noted in both beginners and advanced
meditators. Brainwaves are stimulated in the
same way during meditation, relaxation and
various sleep states, including deep sleep,
boosting the Alpha, Theta and Delta waves and
reducing the stress-associated Beta waves.
POSITIVE EFFECTS ON AILMENTS THAT
AFFECT SLEEP
Meditation has proven e ective in the
prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of
hypertension, ischemic heart disease, bronchial
asthma, COPD, anxiety neurosis, depression,
cancer, certain degenerative diseases and many
chronic pain conditions. Sleep disturbances are
common in these conditions, which are then
also improved by meditation. Meditation also
in uences the cognitive behavioral and
emotional aspects of these patients, thus
improving their overall prognosis.
Meditative practices thus help to integrate the
brain functions, regulate the various
physiological mechanisms resulting in a state of
mental, emotional and physical well-being.
THE PATH OF THE HEART:
HEARTFULNESS ENHANCES SLEEP QUALITY
Heartfulness Meditation is a simple heart-based
meditation practice that helps with stress,
burnout and emotional wellness. The simpli ed
Raja Yoga meditation techniques of
Heartfulness are designed to suit our modern-
day hectic world, and are e ective in improving
sleep and quality of life when practiced
regularly.
In Heartfulness Meditation we rest the mind on
the Heart with one single thought, ignoring all
other thoughts as uninvited guests. Regular
practice of this very act trains the mind to
pursue only necessary thoughts and ignore all
unwanted ones. This results in true regulation
of the mind, where the mind is guided by the
heart and unwanted thoughts are reduced.
The heart is the seat of intuition and wisdom.
Connecting to the depth of the heart develops
sensitivity, emotional strength and a
connection to one's inner self. The Heartfulness
technique for cleaning the mind, by removing
deep impressions through autosuggestion, is
useful for removing mental clutter. Otherwise,
the burden of emotional stress remains if
thoughts remain in the mind.
When we are stressed, it takes longer to fall
asleep and often it is disturbed sleep. In deep
meditation on the heart, we dive deep into the
ner layers of consciousness, physical
awareness is lost, and we are less a ected by
thoughts, emotions and stress. Sleep can be
instantaneous, deep and undisturbed for a
balanced mind that is trained through regular
meditation.
ABOUT HEARTFULNESS:
Heartfulness is a system of Raja Yoga
meditation founded at the turn of the 20th
century. A century later, Heartfulness has been
embraced globally by groups in civil society,
government departments, schools, colleges and
the corporate world. Discover more at
www.heartfulness.org. In over 130 countries and
supported by thousands of certi ed volunteer
trainers, over a million people are practicing
Heartfulness. This number continues to grow
globally through hundreds of Heartfulness
Centers worldwide.
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