Sleep is so unique a process. Even with all these researches, no scientists can today accurately tell why living things sleep or what induces sleep. Ayurveda puts great emphasis on sleep and gives you the guidelines of healthy sleeping habits.The quality and quantity of sleep are equally important. Your selection of hours for sleep is also equally important.

How Much Sleep Do You Need

A healthy adult person requires 6-7 hours of sleep. Having a consistent sleeping pattern is also important. Children, old age people, and people suffering from diseases can sleep longer than seven hours.

When to Sleep

Sleeping under the moon is good for health while sleeping under the sun is detrimental. That is, sleep during night only. People tired of physical exertion, sex, diseases, etc can sleep during day time too. The best time to sleep is between 10.30 pm and 5.30 am.

More about Daytime Sleeping

Day sleeping is harmful to healthy persons, while it is recommended for people are tired after sex, physical exertion, speech, long journey, alcohol consumption, anger, fear, sadness, etc. People suffering from diarrhoea, old people, children, weak people, people suffering from thirst, hunger or pain, etc can sleep during daytime.Daytime sleeping in not healthful for obese persons; people who take fatty food on a daily basis; people suffering from toxins; and people with throat diseases.

Sleeplessness or Insomnia

High atmospheric temperature, old age, diseases, mental disturbances, etc causes sleeplessness. It can cause other health problems like fatigue.

For a Good Night’s Sleep

Applying coconut oil or sesame oil on head and whole body before you bath is good for promoting sleep. Massage the bottom of your feet with sesame oil before going to sleep – it can promote sleep and can cure headaches.

About Use of Sleeping pills

Ayurveda never recommends use of sleeping pills. Instead of sleeping pills, you can try yoga, meditation, travelling to serene locations and the techniques of bringing your mind to under your control.Having a balanced lifestyle can help you get normal hours of sleep. Stress causes sleeplessness, which leads to several other problems. Thus, having good amounts of sleep is important for healthy mind and body.

Sleep. It refreshes, rejuvenates and restores. Though our bodies are, for the most part, quiet during sleep, there is actually a bustle of activity going on inside us. Getting baby to sleep and having your baby on a regular sleep schedule is so important, that it is worth exploring and discussing.
Not only is a proper and regular sleep schedule vitally important for your baby’s health, it also improves mood, function and physical development. Here are five major benefits that regular and sound sleep offer your child:
1. It helps your baby grow strong and develop quick reactions and coordination: studies show that babies who get regular sleep have improved reaction time, better reflexes and even better use of oxygen.
2. It helps keep baby’s mood even and happy: obviously, babies get cranky and cry longer and more often when they are tired, and if they are sleep deprived, or on an irregular schedule, they can be very challenging to deal with.
3. It helps with memory function and development: Dr. Nilesh Dave, medical director of the Sleep Center at UT Southwestern Medical Center says “During sleep, your brain will process a lot and turn it into long-term memory,” he says. “Memory is a function of what we think sleep does.”
4. It keeps baby from falling asleep at times that are not part of the planned schedule: I’m sure every parent has experienced times when their baby fell asleep in the car, or while out somewhere, only to have the baby wake up irritable and still tired. If a baby is well rested, and if the parents plan their activities to accommodate baby’s established sleep schedule, then more often than not, the baby will stay awake in the car, etc, because it’s during the established non – sleep time.
5. It keeps baby’s hormones balanced: Our bodies use sleep to release certain hormones, Dr. Davé says, including those essential for growth and development.
So, if sleep is so important, how do you ensure that your baby gets enough sleep? Getting baby to sleep does not have to be difficult. Here are some basics that might help:
1. Establish a bedtime routine: This helps your baby settle down, (and helps adults wind down after a long day as well). Allocate about thirty minutes before baby’s bedtime to soothe and relax your child. Read, sing or play lullabies, or just sit quietly in a rocking chair, holding your baby.
2. Only put your baby down when it’s time for sleep: Using the baby’s bed for anything other than sleep gives the child confusing messages about what the bed/ or bedtime really means. If it is clear to the baby that the bed is for sleeping, the chances of the baby settling down are better.
3. Make the baby’s bedroom dark, comfortable and quiet: limit distractions.
4. Don’t play actively with your baby before bedtime: this can over stimulate the baby and make it more difficult to calm down in time for the scheduled bedtime.
5. Stick with the schedule: babies very easily can get off schedule, and it can play havoc with their mood and with their health.
6. Calm and soothe yourself and your baby: take some deep breaths. Your baby will pick up on your own relaxed state and this will help you both get quiet and peaceful.
7. Know when to seek help: talk to your baby’s pediatrician for more ideas for establishing a regular sleep schedule for your baby.
I might add that getting baby to sleep and on a regular sleep schedule is important for the baby’s parents as well, for all of the above reasons. Everyone benefits from a regular sleep schedule!

Sleep deprivation can have serious effects on a person’s health. It can affect a person physically and mentally. It will affect your ability to think, deal with stress, and keep your immune system healthy. Concentration can drop and memory can become impaired from long term sleep deprivation. Problem solving skills are disabled and decision making skills are compromised as well. Getting 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night is what most people need to be well rested and healthy.
Long term sleep deprivation can also cause hallucinations in severe cases. Slurred speech, depression, irritability, and slowed reactions times can happen as well. You can also get hypertension and heart disease too from sleep deprivation.
Older people tend to be more susceptible to sleep deprivation than younger people. Hormone changes and physical changes that happen as we age are likely the cause of this. For example menopausal women are going through many changes and sleep deprivation is very common among women. Most problems that older people have is the ability to get deep restorative sleep.
Dramatic weight changes have common effects of sleep deprivation. More commonly weight gain than weight loss. Not allowing enough time for sleep will cause sleep deprivation as well. Repeatedly getting awoken from loud noises, working at night, traveling across time zones, medical illnesses that cause pain and difficulty breathing can all cause sleep deprivation.
Certain sleep disorders can cause sleep deprivation. Obstructive sleep apnea is a very common disorder where there is an obstruction of the nose and throat because of enlarged tonsils or a deviated nasal septum. This disease can cause pauses in breathing while sleeping , snoring, morning headaches, and daytime fatigue. Nocturnal myoclonus is t he jerking of legs while sleeping that causes short awakening. It causes insomnia and daytime fatigue. Narcolepsy is a rare sleep disorder of dream sleep, the main symptom of it is uncontrollable sleep during the day.
Decreased productivity and car or work accidents result from sleep deprivation. If sleep deprivation becomes too much of a problem it may be best to go to the doctor to prevent and accidents. Accidents are most likely to happen in the mid afternoon and in the early morning hours. Adding naps in the afternoon may prevent accidents from happening through it will just add to sleeplessness in the night.
There are treatments available to help with sleep deprivation. Keeping a sleep diary can help you and your doctor determine the cause of sleeplessness. Include any medications taken, any stressful situations, date, time, and what you ate that day, whether you exercised or not, and lastly add how you slept the night before and how it affected you during the day.
Hypnosis may be helpful; it has been used for years to treat many disorders. It will benefit a person that has sleep deprivation related to emotional issues, anxiety, and stress. In cases where physical impairment causes sleep deprivation surgery may be the only way to treat it. Surgery is limited to treating sleep apnea. These surgeries involve areas such as the throat and nose.
Alternative Health Supplements offers a variety of sleep aids that can also give relief from sleeplessness. Sleep and Relax Tea by Bell. It has all natural ingredients like chamomile, spearmint leaves, citronella herb, passionflower herb, orange flowers, linden leaves, and valerian root. This product will relax you and give you a well rested feeling in the morning. It even tastes great.