Remedies for Sound Sleep

For the last couple of weeks, we’ve been talking about sleep. Today I’d like to offer a few remedies for sound sleep.

Essentially, there are five types of remedy: bedtime teas, bedtime milk drinks, local application of herbs on the on forehead, oil on feet, and pillow remedies like sachets and essential oils.

Enjoy a soothing bedtime tea like lavender, chamomile, nettle tea, catnip tea or yarrow tea, or any combination of these herbs. I also like to make a summer bedtime tea from mint, lemon balm and catnip, a teaspoon of each to a cup of water. Be sure you steep the tea rather than boiling it.  If you are picking fresh herbs from your garden, you’ll need to use more than if you were using dried herbs, which are more concentrated. A tablespoon per cup is good for fresh herbs.  You can also use valerian as a bedtime drink—one or two teaspoons of valerian powder in warm water.

Bedtime milk is a favourite Ayurvedic remedy for sound sleep and also has rejuvenative properties. Try mixing two pinches of nutmeg in a cup of boiling milk.  Simmer for a minute and drink. Or you can make saffron-nutmeg milk. Take a cup of hot milk at bedtime with a pinch of nutmeg and a pinch of saffron. This works best if you soak the saffron in a little hot water for at least 20 minutes and add the saffron and its soak water to the milk.

The special Ayurvedic herb ashwagandha is a great ally for sleep. Take a teaspoon of ashwagandha with a cup of hot milk two hours before sleep. You can also combine ashwagandha and a couple of pinches of nutmeg. If you are pitta and find ashwagandha too heating, use shatavari instead, or a mixture of shatavari and rose.

For local application, you can mix a some ashwagandha into a paste with a little milk and rub it on your forehead at bedtime. You can also mix some nutmeg with an equal amount of ghee and apply around the eyes and forehead at bedtime.

As we’ve mentioned before, oiling the soles of your feet at bedtime is a great way to promote sound sleep. You can use an oil medicated with ashwagandha for a stronger effect. You can also rub castor oil on the soles of your feet to promote sleep.

For pillow remedies, you can use a lavender sachet, lavender eye pillow,  or a sachet filled with valerian. You can also put a drop of sandalwood oil or lavender oil on a handkerchief and tuck it inside your pillowcase.

I hope these remedies help you as we approach the hot summer nights.

Next week, we’ll talk about dreams and their significance in Ayurveda.

 Alakananda Ma M.B., B.S. (Lond.) is an Ayurvedic Doctor (NAMA) and graduate of a top London medical school. She is co-founder of Alandi Ayurveda Clinic and Alandi Ayurveda Gurukula in Boulder Colorado, as well as a spiritual mother, teacher, flower essence maker and storyteller. Alakananda is a well known and highly respected practitioner in the Ayurveda community both nationally and internationally.

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