Book Review: Restful Sleep: The complete mind/body program for overcoming insomniaAuthor: Dr Deepak Chopra
Publisher: Crown Trade Paperbacks
Pages: 136
"If you really want to sleep don't try to sleep", is the message physician Dr Deepak Chopra's Restful Sleep gives out to unmindful insomniacs who look to bottled pills and alcohol to overcome their bedroom dilemmas. Sleep has been one of the biggest casualties of our fast-paced lifestyles. Search the word 'insomnia' on Google, you will find 23 million sites that tell you about the problem and how to deal with it. Only, if sleep could be just a click away....
The light that made you lose sleep
But unfortunately, it's not. And that's where Chopra's remedial therapies may have an effect. Chopra delves into why we've forgotten how to sleep. He reasons that modern lifestyle - with the advent of the electric bulb and the clock - has interfered with our circadian rythms to such an extent that we've given up on a peaceful sleep.
Chopra writes, "Throughout history people stayed at home at night, and, among other things, slept. They lives mostly in the country and those who didn't were too frightened of the poorly lit streets to take chances. By the beginning of the twentieth century, people were moving to the cities, and also moving further and further from the natural rythm of dark and light, of sleep and waking. They were certainly going out more, but were probably sleeping less and definitely sleeping worse."
Know your type
He constantly refers to Ayurveda where the body is divided into three types (doshas) based on its reactions to the environment - Vata (governs bodily functions and is concerned with movement), Pitta (governs bodily functions concerned with hear and metabolism) and Kapha (governs bodily functions concerned with structure and fluid balance). Chopra provides you a questionnaire that helps you know your body type. Chopra notes that there is a fundamental correlation between difficulties with sleep rythms and unbalanced Vata dosha. The Pitta comes closest of the three doshas to sleeping the normal eight hours while if sound-sleeping Kaphas have a sleeping disorder, it would be more to do with oversleeping than insomnia.
The remedies
Chopra says most insomniacs actually sleep more than they think. He suggests they should tabulate the number of times they wake up at night. In doing so, most patients will actually find out that they wake up less often than they believe. Other than that, he recommends to poor sleepers that they should:
1. not be concerned with time
2. make lunch the heaviest meal of the day
3. avoid alcohol and caffeine
4. avoid watching TV after 9 pm and read in a room other than the bedroom
5. massage their bodies with sesame or coconut oil before going to bed
6. exercise (a few are provided in the book itself)
7. sleep before 10 pm and rise early
8. make the day more dynamic and satisfying
The verdict
Instead of making the text preachy, Chopra, thankfully peppers it with anecdotes of patients and research notes from Standford University. If he suggests you a particular therapy, he gives you a scientific reason for doing so. He seeks to demolish certain myths you associate with sleeping and fatigue. He says the mind is more active when you're asleep than when you are awake. He tells you why dreams are important and cautions you about more critical disorders such as sleep apnea. To an Indian audience, the book may not offer much. The reason - it's written for a Western audience that doesn't know much about Ayurveda. However, don't sleep over these 'grandma's tips'.
Publisher: Crown Trade Paperbacks
Pages: 136
"If you really want to sleep don't try to sleep", is the message physician Dr Deepak Chopra's Restful Sleep gives out to unmindful insomniacs who look to bottled pills and alcohol to overcome their bedroom dilemmas. Sleep has been one of the biggest casualties of our fast-paced lifestyles. Search the word 'insomnia' on Google, you will find 23 million sites that tell you about the problem and how to deal with it. Only, if sleep could be just a click away....
The light that made you lose sleep
But unfortunately, it's not. And that's where Chopra's remedial therapies may have an effect. Chopra delves into why we've forgotten how to sleep. He reasons that modern lifestyle - with the advent of the electric bulb and the clock - has interfered with our circadian rythms to such an extent that we've given up on a peaceful sleep.
Chopra writes, "Throughout history people stayed at home at night, and, among other things, slept. They lives mostly in the country and those who didn't were too frightened of the poorly lit streets to take chances. By the beginning of the twentieth century, people were moving to the cities, and also moving further and further from the natural rythm of dark and light, of sleep and waking. They were certainly going out more, but were probably sleeping less and definitely sleeping worse."
Know your type
He constantly refers to Ayurveda where the body is divided into three types (doshas) based on its reactions to the environment - Vata (governs bodily functions and is concerned with movement), Pitta (governs bodily functions concerned with hear and metabolism) and Kapha (governs bodily functions concerned with structure and fluid balance). Chopra provides you a questionnaire that helps you know your body type. Chopra notes that there is a fundamental correlation between difficulties with sleep rythms and unbalanced Vata dosha. The Pitta comes closest of the three doshas to sleeping the normal eight hours while if sound-sleeping Kaphas have a sleeping disorder, it would be more to do with oversleeping than insomnia.
The remedies
Chopra says most insomniacs actually sleep more than they think. He suggests they should tabulate the number of times they wake up at night. In doing so, most patients will actually find out that they wake up less often than they believe. Other than that, he recommends to poor sleepers that they should:
1. not be concerned with time
2. make lunch the heaviest meal of the day
3. avoid alcohol and caffeine
4. avoid watching TV after 9 pm and read in a room other than the bedroom
5. massage their bodies with sesame or coconut oil before going to bed
6. exercise (a few are provided in the book itself)
7. sleep before 10 pm and rise early
8. make the day more dynamic and satisfying
The verdict
Instead of making the text preachy, Chopra, thankfully peppers it with anecdotes of patients and research notes from Standford University. If he suggests you a particular therapy, he gives you a scientific reason for doing so. He seeks to demolish certain myths you associate with sleeping and fatigue. He says the mind is more active when you're asleep than when you are awake. He tells you why dreams are important and cautions you about more critical disorders such as sleep apnea. To an Indian audience, the book may not offer much. The reason - it's written for a Western audience that doesn't know much about Ayurveda. However, don't sleep over these 'grandma's tips'.
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