Tag Archives: Sleep

How to pause and relax? How to fall asleep ? – Casper and Bumblebee

How to Sleep without trying

Casper the Alien and Bumblebee the Ghost had teleported to the Blue Mountains in Jamaica by now.

Love for coffee, Janga, Dance Hall and Ras Kitchen had made them migrate the cold Himalayan valley for warmer pastures. We join them having some Ackee and Plantain with some VYBZ Kartel playing in the background.

BumbleBee:  Blessed day today. These vibes are so relaxing. When I was alive I never understood the real meaning of relaxation the way I do now.

Casper: Well it’s impossibly hard for you humans to really relax, when your society promotes action the way it does. What do they say: “Empty mind is the Devils workshop”. Bambooclat!!!!

BumbleBee: Since Birth I have been fed on that Crap. So activity became second nature to me, I couldn’t imagine life without activity. I was called Lazy, Lethargy, no good, if I wanted to give up on being active, till it became a part of me……. Funny part is I used to consider sleep as an activity too. something I need to achieve…

Casper: Ya man! The stupid human ego, never lets you guys rest, relax, be calm, sleep. Even your God’s are misinterpreted by the religious dealers. Imagine how many shops will shut if man recognises the real meaning of relaxation. The stupid urge to keep doing, achieving, hoarding with no reason is what keeps businesses running.

Bumblebee: Well the animals are better. Their unintelligence helps them trust the universe more. As a Human, I was always coming in my own way. I used to keep doubting, try to enforce myself on life as if I could change anything.

Casper: Well the fault is not yours Brother. That was fed to your consciousness when you were growing up. These impressions were made in the depth of your mind when you were very fragile. It’s impossible to escape.

BumbleBee: Well I never realised this till my time was done. Everyone around me was always in a race, but when my life ended I could see the foolishness of it all. Everyone was on a different track, trying to beat each other.

Casper: Well in Rat Races even if you win you remain a Rat Rat Rat. But tell me how do you feel about it now. If you had the chance to live again how would you pause and relax? How to fall asleep if you are human?

How To Fall Asleep if you are a Human

BumbleBee: Well there is no method to it, there can’t be, I used to read so many books, did 23 types of different asanas, meditated in multiple ways, used all the essential oils, changed mattresses, but nothing worked. The more I tried to silence my mind and fall asleep, the more my mind became activive. You can’t beat activity with more activity.

Casper: That’s a shitty situation. So how to Fall Asleep then?

BumbleBee: How to fall asleep should not be the question. The people who realise the difference between action and activity are good in choosing the former and letting go off the latter just by being mindful(realising).

Casper: What is the difference between Action and Activity?

Bumblebee: Action comes naturally, for eg, if a human feels hungry he eats, activity happens as a result of the EGO and inner disturbances. Action is when your response is demanded by the situation, Activity is when the situation doesn’t matter, it is an exhibition of inner restlessness, not a response.

Casper: Interesting. So actually its not just about how to fall asleep, it’s also about how you stay awake. As you carry your mind, consciously or subconsciously with you all the time, while awake or asleep.

Bumblebee: Yes. Actions come out of a silent mind and activities out of a restless one. Actions are spontaneous and relevant activity is irrelevant and usually a pouring of your restlessness that you have been carrying from the past.

Sadly on Earth, wars have become mental, restlessness has been induced on humans through overload of news and information, the internet, digital media has trapped people in a loop of excitation.

Casper: Yes we are aware, our research displayed shocking results. Humans excitability index has gone up, earlier humans were more sensitive, after the internet, humans have become used to absorbing a lot of data, the new default is really disturbing, the human mind has become used to always processing and never resting.

BumbleBee: Yes so imagine, on one side humans are unconsciously being trained to think and keep thinking through this subtle schemes and on the other side fake gurus are selling sleep programs to temporary silence minds. Which is never possible, the human is a whole organic entity. You cant hack your way into all this.

Casper: The humans are the only race we have noticed who are capable of magic but also the only one hell bent on destroying itself. So how does the reailsatiton of action and activity help?

BumbleBee: It makes us humans more mindful, it helps us seek less excitement, it is the perfect antidote to the data loaded digital world. As those who recognise the difference between the two, value their energy more, they are not jumping from one thing to the other, on the contrary, being wise in choosing the information they want to relate with and absorb. Free will is being put to use in a good way,

Casper: Well absolutely right. We learnt mindfulness as a single applicable teaching hidden behind all human religions.  They call it different things, but it is the art of focusing on the present moment action, the here and now. Only if humans were wise enough to recognise this instead of wasting their lives on superficialities.

BumbleBee: Well everyone has their own way of recognising the value of being totally and absolutely present.  That is the gateway to recognising and separating action and activity, only after understanding what action is, can it be dropped in order to answer your question of how to pause and relax, and how to fall asleep.

Casper: Ahh! So you are saying that being mindful to how you are delegating your energy helps you identify what is necessary action and restless activity, which in turn helps you conserve the energy and also learn to drop activity and eventually action as well so that you can rest.

BumbleBee: Well its not about how to fall asleep, its all about how to properly stay awake.

 

Sleep Shortcuts – Why and how to sleep better?

After years and years of research on health and wellness, mostly through the night, I came to the understanding that I should be doing most of my research through the day and focus more on how to sleep better.

Sleeping better is one of the pillars of  a healthy lifestlye along with exercising and healthy eating.  As of this moment, it is elevated to the most important pillar as google rates the search for “how to sleep better” very high.

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Everyone wants to know how to sleep better without even understanding the actual benefits or hazards of sleeping habits. As the west started getting into sleep hygiene, India went into nightlife pollution.

But this article will help throw light on why your ignored sleep cycle is the secret behind many of your physical and mental ailments.

I have summarized some shortcuts which can fast track your sleep hygiene. The shortcuts mentioned below our explained in the article in detail.

How to sleep better

Why and How to sleep better?

The digital disco plays the best beats when you are about to sleep.  Cyber black holes suck you in as soon as you pick up your phone right before sleeping and soon what was supposed to be 15 minutes becomes 3 hours.

I think all of you who have found the topic of this article interesting can relate to the statement above. Many might argue that even if they sleep at 3 a.m. they can complete their sleep by waking up late or sleeping during the afternoon or covering up on the weekend.

But it is essential to establish optimized circadian rhythm, sleep cycle, throughout your life to ensure proper hormonal function which are essential for disease prevention, determine your mood, optimizing body temperature and ensure quality rest.

Here are some good and bad impacts of sleep cycle which will tell you why you should learn how  to sleep better.

how to sleep better

 

Ensuring Optimal Sleep Cycles

Optimal sleep cycles based on research ensure proper hormonal secretion. The best time for quality sleep  based on hormone secretion is between 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.

It is impossible for modern lifestyles to make sense of this timeline. But the rates at which stress, depression and substance abuse are going up, we need to backtrack a little on  modern lifestyle if we have to live better.

You can either look at this video for in-depth discussions on why and how to sleep better or look at the summary below to find out how to sleep better.

 

  1. Digital Curfew – Set a curfew beyond which no technology should be used, avoid screens and engage in more human activities.
  2. Use technology well– Download flux for windows, Twilight for android and use the blue light filter on your iPhones if you have to use your phones late at night.
  3. Bedroom should be a sleep sanctuary– Make your bedroom into a sleep zone, don’t use it for everything else, that way you will condition your minds neural framework to relate the rooms ambiance only to sleep.
  4. Lower Room temperatures– Ideally between 16-20 degree Celsius.  Take a warm bath before bedtime, use socks if you feel cold.
  5. Get more sunlight– Between 6 am to 10 am  in the morning for 10 to 15 mins is enough to reset cortisol rhythm.
  6. Ensure darkness– Make your bed room devoid of any lights when you sleep as even your skin has photo receptors which can sense even less light.
  7. Workout in the morning–  Resets your cortisol rhythm ensures proper sleep cycles and lower blood pressure in the evening.
  8. Meditate- Let Buddha sing you a lullaby.

For more about circadian rhythm by  reading the book Sleep Smarter by Shawn Stevenson  and follow him on social media and youtube to know more. If you learn how to sleep better you will  not only do good to yourself but the environment around you.

Spontaneous neural emmisions

The usual end of day upswing with the creative juices overflowing onto my keyboard….A combination of good reading, a crazy workout regimen and some musical garnishing from across the world sets the tone for the most beautiful slumber that seldom happens, so I type instead.

The 9 dedicated hours bartered for better bread and the above average attention span that compulsively notices more than the obvious, are the other, less eventful, daily bits in the life of this inchoate polymath. Far away from the ostentatious big city lights, the heavenly Himalayas offer a conducive platform to galvanize me to what I am really capable of being.

With knowledge feeding the mind, exercise and proper nutrition feeding the body and a mix of family, the surrounding sanctity and music feeding the soul, the decision to come back home has done justice to life’s essential triad. Initially, I resented how the lack of opportunities in this town was impeding my gregarious nature, but it took time to recognize the underlying benefits. The serenity of this place gradually disseminates into peoples identities, providing their garrulous and erratic personalities with a much needed solidarity. I was lucky to have gotten through my initial resentment to reap the fruits of my patience.

It’s close to midnight

Something evil’s lurkin’in the dark
Under the moonlight
You see a sight that almost stops your heart
You try to scream
But terror takes the sound before you make it
You start to freeze
As horror looks you right between the eyes
You’re paralyzed

‘Cause this is thriller
Thriller at night
And no one’s gonna save you
From the beast about to strike
You know it’s thriller
Thriller at night
You’re fighting for your life
Inside a killer
Thriller tonight, yeah

These lines might be the sub conscious reason behind my insomnia. Anyhow they are salutary nonetheless, as typing is better than snoring any given day. The dedicated 9 hours beckon, compels me to sing a lullaby to the anti slumber devils and sleep after they do. More on universal edification, why Indian politicians are digging deep mining for gold cause a sage dint dream about Gold in a crocodile pit and why Kanye had to hire a stadium to propose Kim, when I make this a perfunctory practice.