Title : Insomnia and its cure by Ayurveda
Abstract:
Urbanization and modernization together are the contributors to lifestyle diseases. This lifestyle impacts on health and well-being. Sleep is one among the best elixir and tonic of life. It is a natural rejuvenator to refresh every living being in the earth. Any alterations in the quantity, quality as well as the patterns of the sleep, contributes to various disorders of sleep. Sleep disturbances occur in many of the psychiatric illnesses and is also as a component of the diagnostic criteria for specific disorders. According to National institute of health, the prevalence of sleep disorders in America is approximately among 14.71 % of the population. A higher prevalence of sleep disorders related to initiation and maintenance of sleep (28%) was reported in an urban population from India. Among these sleep disorders, insomnia is the commonest clinical presentation which is 40% more common in women than in men. If left untreated, insomnia increases the risk of developing diseases like depression, diabetes, hypertension and possibly even death in older individuals as per reported studies. Non-pharmacological management of Insomnia that is noninvasive is gaining interest among patients with insomnia. In Ayurveda, Sleep or Nidra have been explained as one of the triads for sustaining life. The alteration of the same as well as etiopathogenesis along with the management is being explained in the classics in the terminology “Nidranasa.” Based on the severity of the presentation, insomnias are approached to be managed at the Outpatient level in mild to moderate cases and as inpatient for the severely affected, so as to perform the sodhana ie., the purificatory therapy.
