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 14^th 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

Early Morning is considered as the best time to worship God. Early morning is also known as "Brahma Mahurat" in the Hindu Mythology. It is regarded that prayers made at this time reach directly to the God. Early Morning Shloka (Sloka) is given here which also serves as the first prayer of the day to the almighty.

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.

r 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.

r 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.

r 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.

r 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.

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.