Insomnia and its Ayurvedic Management
Sleep is perhaps the best and most affordable treatment we have. Luckily, our body has a built-in self-correcting mechanism. Unfortunately, when the self-correcting mechanism is disrupted, the adverse effects are felt throughout the body. I see this a lot in my practice. Patients do not usually correlate their irritability, mood swings, and even their aches and pains to their sleep, but there is a significant relationship between the two.
Insomnia is the most frequent of the sleep disorders, and interestingly, it is diagnosed about 40% more in females than in males. Insomnia is also not a trivial problem to suffer. Insomnia, in particular the severe form that is defined as females sleeping less than 3.5 hours or men sleeping less than 4.5 hours, has been defined to cause a shortened lifespan. Insomnia progresses to become debilitating and life threatening even in older patients. The long term effects include depression, diabetes, and hypertension.
Ayurvedic Understanding of Sleep
According to Ayurveda, sleep or nidra, is one of the three primary pillars of life along with food and the balance of vital energy. The quality of your sleep is defined by the balance of the three doshas — vata, pitta, and kapha — and how they interact with manas, the mind.
Here’s what’s important to know: vata is responsible for starting sleep, pitta is responsible for sleep maintenance. Insomnia typically occurs when vata becomes aggravated and pitta becomes imbalanced and vulnerable as a result. This imbalance manifests as a depletion in the bodily tissues, which, in Ayurveda, is associated with a depletion in ojas, which is the refined essence of vitality and resilience. For this reason, I focus on balancing vata when treating insomnia.
Addressing Mild and Moderate Insomnia
When treating the majority of patients who suffer from mild and moderate insomnia, I begin with herbal formulations that specifically balance vata and pitta. Commonly, I use Tagara (Valeriana wallichii), Jatamansi (Nardostachys jatamansi), and Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera). Unlike conventional sleep aids, these formulations do not result in grogginess.
Along with herbal formulations, I often recommend therapies that can be performed externally. Talam combines a specific oil and herbal powder which is placed on the crown of the head. Sirobhyangam is a gentle oil massage of the head. Finally, an excellent to use, at-home therapy, is the foot massage, Pada Abhyangam.
When Further Purification is Required
For complex and more chronic cases, I incorporate sodhana — a mildly more intensive cleansing framework. This entails the internal administration of ghee, followed by Swedanam (sudation therapy), and Virechanam (therapeutic purgation) to address and clear imbalances within the body.
From this point, head-specific therapies shift focus. These include Nasyam (medicated nasal application), Shirodhara (the oil pouring treatment), Sirovasti (oil kept in a cap on the head), and Sirolepa (medicated paste application). These head therapies are employed when milder herbal therapies and external therapies have failed.
Why This Matters Beyond Just Feeling Tired
Chronic insomnia is not something you can just will yourself to get over or shrug off. There are real consequences to chronic insomnia. The condition has both physical and psychological effects. The condition is damaging over both the short and long terms. We see patients who come in after years of sleeplessness who are not just fatigued. They have physical ailments, low mood and high anxiety which are all part of the condition.
Frequently Asked Questions
In Ayurveda, insomnia is seen as a Vata imbalance which destabilizes Pitta and over time drains the deeper tissues.
Herbs that are helpful in insomnia include Tagara, Jatamansi, and Ashwagandha.
Shirodhara is the pouring of a continuous stream of warm oil on the forehead and is used as therapy for chronic insomnia in a broader cleansing treatment.
Yes. Chronic insomnia can cause significant health concern. While the severity of health conditions can vary, studies show chronic insomnia can cause depression, diabetes, hypertension, and significantly shorten your lifespan.
Insomnia is a serious issue and can have devastating effects on your mind and body. It is important to have immediate and effective treatment methods readily available. We take insomnia seriously at Kottakkal Ayurveda and offer comprehensive treatments that go from herbal and ayurvedic oil therapies to more advanced therapies such as Panchakarma. Each of these therapies focuses on the root of your insomnia rather than just the symptoms of insomnia.
About the Author
Dr. Prasanth is a licensed Ayurvedic Physician and specializes in many ailments such as insomnia, stress and anxiety, and gastrointestinal and skin disorders.
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