Getting Up Early traditional and scientific view
Westerners regard Benjamin Franklin’s quote "Early to bed, early to rise,
makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise." As the best advice for success. He
has also quoted a saying: "The early morning has gold in its mouth."
We as Indians are well aware of the merits of early awakening. Ayurveda
preaches us about this virtue in its own unique way.
Dinacharya is a wonderful concept gifted by
Ayurveda to the whole world. Dinacharya
starts with getting up from sleep in the Brahmi muhurtam.
Brahmi muhurte uttishtet swastho
rakshaarthamayushah | A.H.Su.2/1
A person who is interested in preserving
the health and longevity should get up early in the morning in Braahmi-muhurta.
Brahmi muhurta is the second last muhurta before sunrise, which is one hour
thirty six minutes before sunrise.
Brahma jnanam tadartham adhyayanadyapi braahma, tasya yogyo muhurto braahmah|(Indu
commentary on A.S.Su.3/2)
Brahma means knowledge. The time apt for perceiving knowledge is
known as Braahma muhurta.
Difference of opinion exists regarding
Braahma-muhurta. There are 8 yaamas per
day, each yaama consisting of 3hours.
Both day and night are constituted by 3 yaamas each. Each of the rest two yaamas constitute two
Sandhyas,viz. dusk and dawn. Arunadatta,
Indu and Hemadri opine that when day and night
are of equal time, each of it consists of fifteen muhurtas. Hence, a muhurta is of 48 minutes. Braahma-muhurta begins at dawn; it is the
penultimate muhurta of night. Thus the
healthy individual may get up two muhurtas i.e.96 minutes(=almost 1.5hrs)
before sunrise. This regimen is not
applicable for those who are unhealthy.
Braahma-muhurta is the second half of fourth yaama and one should wake
up at that time. As such, the beginning
of the 14th muhurta of night is to be considered as Braahma-muhurta.
Why
one should get up in brahmi muhurta?.
According to Astanga Hrudaya a person who is interested in avoiding
diseases, who is determined to protect his life should get up in braahma
muhurta to avoid vyadhis and alakshmi(poverty). But a person with diseases
should sleep for maintianing the dhatu samyata.
References in various ancient texts
Atharvana veda
Udyanaadityah rasmibhih sirno rogam
aninishat A.V.9/8
A person who gets up in early morning will
be free from diseases
Bhagavadgeeta
Yuktaahaara-vihaarasya
yukta-cheshtasya karmasu | yukta-svapnaava- bodhasya yogo bhavati du-hkhahaa ||
(6-17)
A person whose Ahara vihara is correct,
whose activities and life style is perfect and who sleeps and gets up perfectly
will be free from all miseries
Charaka Samhita
The word Brahmi muhurta was not mentioned
in Charaka Samhita. But while explaining the Adhyayana vidhi ,it has been
explained that it is important for a scholar to get up early in the morning
Adhyayana Vidhi
Tatradhayayana vidhih- Kalyah krutakshanah
pratah utthayopavyusham va krutvaaavashyakam upaspushyodakam devarshi go
brahmana guru vruddha siddhaacharebhyo namaskrutya same shuchao deshe
sukhopavishyato manah purah sarabhirvaagbhih sutramanukraaman punah
punararkaayed Buddha samyaganupravishyaarthatatvam svadosha pariharthe
paradosha pramaanarthe cha evam madhyadine uparaanhe ratrau ca shasvad
parihaapayannadhyayanam abhyasyet | Iti adhyayana vidhih | ca. vi. 8/7
Teeka: praatarvaa utthaya- upavyusham vaa
utthayeti yojnaa|
Upavyushamiti kinchit sheshaayaam raatrau |
Charaka says that one should get up during
upavyusha i.e, when still there is a part of raatri left which is nothing but
Brahmi muhurta.
Astanga Sangraham
Astanga sangraha states that before waking
up in the morning, one should assure proper digestion of food taken during last
night.
Bhavaprakasha
Bhava prakasha stresses the importance of
remembering god after getting up at Brahmi muhurta. He also tells us to touch
and see some auspicious substances like curd, ghee, mirror, sarshapa, bilwa,
gorochana, and flower garland. One should look at himself in ghee for
longevity.
Hari-bhakti-vilasa 1.6:
Diksa nityam brahma-kale subhotthanam pavitrata
Rising every day at brahmamuhurta,
and cleanliness are very important
Karaagre Vasate Lakshmi
Karamadhye Sarasvati, Karamuule Tu Govinda Prabhaate Karadarshanam
Samudravasane Devi Parvatastanamandale,
Vishhnupatni Namastubhyam Paadasparsham Kshamasva Me
Meaning: The front part of the hands (the finger tips) is credited to
Goddess Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth. The middle part or palm is credited to
Goddess Saraswati, the Goddess of learning and the root (the part of hand near
the wrist) to Govinda. So, every morning, one should have a reverent look at
one's hand which represents sincere labor.
I bow to Mother Earth, who has mountains and jungles on her body and whose
clothing is made by the ocean. The wife of Lord Vishnu, please pardon me for
touching you with my feet.
It is considered propitious to start the day with this sincere prayer.
Importance of getting up in Brahmi muhurta.
Early morning is vata dominating period.
Vata dosha is helpful in promoting body movements both internal and external
and thus helps in easy evacuation of bowel. Physical activities such as
excercise and yogasanas can be performed well in vata kala. Meditation also
needs the help of un disturbed vata which can be found early in the morning.
This time is hailed as the best time to
learn, especially learn and realise subtler aspects of philosophy and spiritual
growth. If one tries to find out the secret underlying this then one can
realise that there are probably several changes in physical chemical and
biological atmosphere at around this time, which probably catalyzes spiritual
blossoming of an individual. This is indeed a rejuvenating time as the whole
universe begins to wake up at around this time . The circadian rythms have been
studied in vast details by biologists and physiologists and probably this
period is associated with harmonal changes conducive to blossoming of mind.
Study of variety of electro magnetic radiations ozone effects of other planets
and stars and so on, on the various biological and psychological parameters c
reveals a lot of new insights in the interrelationship of man and the universe.
Vit E and Vit D are found in abundant quantity in early morning suns
ultraviolet rays.
Panchaamrit : pure air , pure water, pure
earth, pure akash and pure light are available only during this time. The atmosphere is sacred because the vibrations of mind
involved in world matters are not emitted from the people since they are in
deep sleep. Mind is also a form of energy. Mind disappears in deep sleep. The
atmosphere is not polluted by the radiations of worldly feelings. Their pure mental rays pervade all over the
world and make the time sacred. Thus it becomes congenial and encouraging
atmosphere.
Disadvantages of getting up lately:
After six kapha domination is seen. So people who get up in kapha kala tend to
be dominated by tamo guna through out the day. Bowel movements tend to be
sluggish under the influence of kapha. Mind and body will be inactive owing to
the influence of kapha dosha. After sunrise people awake and the materialistic
mental radiations are emitted through their physical senses. The atmosphere is
polluted. People will disturb each other dragging themselves to materialistic
discussions. So best time for doing meditation is early morning. Foetid smell in mouth constipation, indigestion , lazyness, and many
kinds of eye diseases arises just because of getting late in day.
Susrutas Ritus in dinacharya
Tatra purvaahne vasantasya lingam madhyaahne
grishmasya, aparaahne praavrishah, pradoshe vaarshikam, saaradamardharaatre,
pratyushasi hemantamupalakshayet. Evam ahoraatramapi varshamiv sitoshna
varshalakshanam dosha upachayaprakopa upasamayah jaaniyaat. Su Sa Su 6-16
In the begining of the day vasanta ritu is
seen midday is dominated by grishma ritu, and last part of day is under
influence of Pravrit ritu, first part of night is dominated by varsha ritu, mid
night is dominated by srad ritu and hemanta ritu where the bala is highest is
seen in earlmorning. So it is always better to get up in a time when the bala
is uttama than in vasanta ritu dominated time where kapha prakopa is seen.
Mechanism
of sleep and waking up
Sleep
occurs in cycles of around 90-110 minutes each. Most people normally go
through 5 cycles during the night (7.5-8.5 hours). If one sleep for 6 hours he
is likely to be on a 4-cycle diet.
Each
cycle includes 5 different stages occurring in particular order.
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Stage 1 – Drowsy sleep. This is
transition period from wakefulness to sleep where we drift in and out of sleep
and can be awakened easily. our eyes move slowly and muscle activity slows. we
start losing conscious awareness of the external environment. It’s this stage
when we may occasionally experience sudden twitches and hypnic jerks from the
sensation of falling or striking
r
Stage 2 – Light sleep. At this stage our
body is relaxed and prepares to enter deep sleep. Stage 2 usually lasts longer
than other stages - you spend 45-50% of our sleep in Stage 2.
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Stages 3 and 4 – Deep sleep. Deep sleep
is characterized by maximum brain and muscle relaxation with stage 4 being
effectively a deeper version of stage 3. Stage 3 is when we may experience
night terrors, sleepwalking, and sleep-talking occur. People who wake during
deep sleep often feel groggy and disoriented for several minutes. In deep
sleep, there is no eye movement or muscle activity and the body is still.
We usually go less deep each cycle, so
that most of our deep, stage 4, sleep occurs in the first half of the night.
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Stage 5 – REM sleep. REM stands for
Rapid Eye Movement. This stage is very different from all other stages because in
REM sleep brain wave activity is similar to an awakened state. At this stage
body experiences periodic eyelid fluttering, muscle paralysis, irregular
breathing. Our heart rate increases and blood pressure rises. This results in
intense dreaming, which occurs mostly at REM sleep stage. The end of REM stage
is an ideal time for waking up. Some wake up devices like Sleeptracker monitors our body to identify sleep stages
while we sleep and wakes us up at right time.
Stages go in the following order to form a full cycle:
1-2-3-4-3-2-1-REM
Duration
of each stage may vary from 5 to 15 minutes. REM stage lasts for 10 minutes
ending first cycle, with each recurring REM stage increasing in duration, and
the final one lasting an hour. Total cycle ends up taking around 90-110
minutes. First cycles are usually shorter (closer to 90 minutes). The picture
below summarizes how sleep cycles and stages work.
Few additional points that need to be
mentioned.
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Drugs such as alcohol and
sleeping pills can suppress certain stages of sleep. Even though sleep is longer, such sleep may not fulfill
its physiological functions completely.
r Polyphastic sleep which is a popular discussion topic is an attempt
to sleep for just 1 cycle in which you jump directly to REM stage, thus
sleeping for only 20-30 minutes and then staying awake for 3-4 hours, then
sleeping for another 30 minutes etc. This way we can cut down sleeping time to
a total of just 3-4 hours per day. While some people reported success in
adapting to polyphastic sleep, the results and experiences from it are quite
controversial. We definitely need to
research polyphastic sleep in detail before giving it a try.
For early awakening the following conclusions
seem to be obvious:
1.
The best time to wake up is at
the end of the cycle. We should pay more attention to our state when we wake up
to try and identify what stage we are awakening from.
2.
If alarm wakes us up interrupting our dream, very likely we’re
in a REM stage or stage 1 which is a good time to wake up.
3.
If we feel extremely
disoriented when trying to wake up then we’re waking up from stages 3 or 4
which is, well, wrong time to wake up. We should Take another 30 minutes of
sleep.
4.
We should Write down how long
we sleep each day and try to adjust our sleep duration so we wake up at the end
of the cycle. Again, this can be done by paying closer attention to our state
and our feelings at wake up time.
5.
Experiment slowly – we can’t
change our sleeping pattern in one day, but we can do it easily over time with
small steps.
Scientists have discovered that certain brain structures and
chemicals produce the states of sleeping and waking. Understanding these
control mechanisms helps doctors pinpoint what can go wrong and plan effective
treatments.
A pacemaker-like mechanism in the brain
regulates the circadian rhythm of
sleeping and waking. ("Circadian" means "about a day.")
This internal clock, which gradually becomes established during the first
months of life, controls the daily ups and downs of biological patterns,
including body temperature, blood pressure, and the release of hormones.
The circadian rhythm makes people's
desire for sleep strongest between midnight and dawn, and to a lesser extent in
midafternoon. In one study, researchers instructed a group of people to try to
stay awake for 24 hours. Not surprisingly, many slipped into naps despite their
best efforts not to. When the investigators plotted the times when the
unplanned naps occurred, they found peaks between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. and between
2 p.m. and 3 p.m.
Most people sleep during the night as
dictated by their circadian rhythms, although many nap in the afternoon on the
weekends. In societies where taking a siesta is the norm, people can respond to
their bodies' daily dips in alertness with a one- to two-hour afternoon nap
during the workday and a correspondingly shorter sleep at night.
Mechanisms of
"sleep clock"
In the 1970s, the location of the
internal clock in rodents was found to be the suprachiasmatic nucleus. This
cluster of cells is part of the hypothalamus (see Figure 3), the brain center
that regulates appetite and other biological states. When this tiny area was
damaged, the sleep/wake rhythm disappeared and the rats no longer slept on a
normal schedule. Although the clock is largely self-regulating, its location
allows it to respond to several types of external cues to keep it set at 24
hours. Scientists call these cues "zeitgebers," a German word meaning
"time givers." These are as follows:
Light. Light striking eyes is the most influential zeitgeber. When
researchers invited volunteers into the laboratory and exposed them to light at
intervals that were at odds with the outside world, the participants
unconsciously reset their biological clocks to match the new light input. The
circadian rhythm disturbances and sleep problems that affect up to 90% of blind
people demonstrate the importance of light to sleep/wake patterns.
The pacemaker-like mechanism in brain
that regulates the circadian rhythm of sleeping and waking is thought to be
located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus. This cluster of cells is part of the hypothalamus,
the brain center that regulates appetite, body temperature, and other
biological states.
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Time
cues. As a person reads clocks, follows work and
train schedules, and demands that the body remain alert for certain tasks and
social events, there is cognitive pressure to stay on schedule.
Melatonin. Cells in the
suprachiasmatic nucleus contain receptors for melatonin, a hormone produced in a predictable daily rhythm by the
pineal gland, which is located deep in the brain between the two hemispheres.
Levels of melatonin begin climbing after dark and ebb after dawn. The hormone
induces drowsiness in some people, and scientists believe its daily
light-sensitive cycles help keep the sleep/wake cycle on track.
Our clock's hour hand
As the circadian rhythm counts off the
days, another part of the brain acts like the hour hand on a watch. This clock
is located in a cluster of nerve cells within the brain stem, the area that
controls breathing, blood pressure, and heartbeat. Fluctuating activity in the nerve
cells and the chemical messengers they produce seem to coordinate the timing of
wakefulness, arousal, and the 90-minute changeover
between REM and non-REM sleep.
Several neurotransmitters (natural brain
chemicals that neurons release to communicate with adjacent cells) play a role
in arousal. Their actions help explain why medications that mimic or counteract
their effects can influence sleep. Adenosine and
gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) are believed to promote sleep. . Adenosine is
created over the course of the day; high levels of adenosine lead to sleepiness
Acetylcholine regulates REM sleep. Norepinephrine, epinephrine, dopamine, and the newly discovered hypocretin peptides
— also known as orexins — stimulate wakefulness. Individuals vary greatly
in their natural levels of neurotransmitters and in their sensitivity to these
chemicals.
Homeostatic sleep propensity (the need
for sleep as a function of the amount of time elapsed since the last adequate
sleep episode) must be balanced against the circadian element for satisfactory
sleep.Along with corresponding messages
from the circadian clock, this tells the body it needs to sleep.Sleep offset (awakening) is primarily
determined by circadian rhythm. A person who regularly awakens at an early hour
will generally not be able to sleep much later than their normal waking time,
even if moderately sleep-deprived.
Sleep duration is affected by circadian rhythm which is regulated by the gene DEC2. Some people have a mutation of this gene; they sleep two hours less
than normal. Neurology professor Ying-Hui Fu and her colleagues bred mice that
carried the DEC2 mutation and slept less than normal mice
Conclusion :
After understanding all the mechanisms
in sleeping and waking pattern one can conclude that will power will help us in
waking up comfortably in brahmi muhurta. And once our circadian rythm is tuned
perfectly its pretty easy to wake up regularly in brahmi muhurta. While some
people have genetic advantage over others in getting up early, with practice
any one can enjoy the luxury of perfect health just by practicing to wake up in
brahmi muhurta.