Best Direction For A Deep Sleep
We all have heard that sleep is vital to your overall health & well- being.
Also, It provides fuel for our body to work throughout the day.
What happens during the sleep ?
There are 4 stages of sleep.
The 1st & 2nd stage, you are in a subconscious state where you wake up at a call of your name. Here your body & mind prepares itself for sleep.
The 3rd stage is in deep sleep, where you're in deep sleep, preparing your body for the next day. This stage is important as it fastens the ageing process.
In the 4th stage you're in a dream state. Here sometimes, your mind becomes relaxed when you find a solution to your unanswered problems.
Thus, it is very essential to fall into a deep slumber and have sufficient hours of sleep at night.
What is Vastu ?
Vastu is an ancient Indian science of architecture and environmental harmony and wellbeing, which works in a most scientific way taking advantage of the benefits bestowed by nature. It is the science of directions that combines all the five elements of nature Panchamahabhutas for enhanced health, wealth, prosperity, and happiness.
How is Ayurveda & Vastu helpful for a better sleep ?
Ayurveda’s Triad of Health includes Aahar (Diet), Vihar (Balanced Living), and Nidra (Sleep). So much importance is accorded to restful sleep, and so of course, Ayurveda has a lot of recommendations about how to get it.
Vastu teaches that your sleeping direction ought to be in correlation with the magnetic pull of the earth.
Which direction is best for sleeping ?
South-North: Sleep with the head towards the south and feet towards north. East-West: East is a good direction too; sleep with the head towards the east and feet towards west.
Avoid sleeping with the head towards the west.
Never sleep with the head towards the north.
Ayurveda and Vastu concur on sleep direction
North
While finding our true north (the north star has always been used for navigation) is spiritually and navigationally sound, north-facing sleep is not recommended at all, as it can cause issues with blood circulation, increased stress, physical and psychiatric issues, and insomnia. (The only exception is for yogis that want to practice lucid dreaming and astral travel, and I haven’t met any such yogis--I would absolutely recommend that yoga maya be avoided). Dr Vasant Lad says, “Only dead people sleep pointing north.” Indeed, the Hindu custom is to arrange a corpse with the head pointing north till the body is cremated, because the belief is that that is the route for the soul to exit the body, as Lord Ganesh’s myth suggests.
East
Sleeping with your head towards the East is supposed to be great for everyone, particularly students, because it enhances memory, improves concentration, and is good for overall health. The sun rises in the east, and it is considered a direction of positive waves and force of action. It makes a person feel rejuvenated and energized. It is also supposed to be good for meditation and spiritual pursuits. Vastu consultants often advise that kid’s beds be head-to-the-East and feet-to-the-West in direction. East-West sleep enhances creativity, is good for conception, and balances all three Doshas (Vata, Pitta and Kapha humors). Studies have shown that people who sleep in this direction have shorter REM sleep cycles and eye movement (compared to north-south sleep), implying fewer dreams and a more sound sleep.
West
Sleeping west to east is not advised. There are some who suggest that it increases Rajas, or ambition, and restlessness, but there are better ways to do that; some even consider it to be a neutral sleeping position. However, according to Vastu, sleeping with one’s head to the west can lead to restless and disturbed sleep, nightmares, and a tendency towards violence.
South
If one goes by the theory of magnets, a mutual attraction between the negative south and positive head creates harmony in sleep. According to mythology, south is the direction of Lord Yama, and promotes heavy, deep sleep, like the restorative sleep of death. Vastu practitioners consider this to be the best type of sleep for health, lowering blood pressure and promoting positive energy, wealth, prosperity, and harmony.
Does it really matter which direction we face while sleeping, can earth’s weak geomagnetic field have an impact on our neurons ? Now here’s the good news! A 2019 scientific study found evidence of humans having working magnetic sensors that send signals to the brain.
Bees, turtles, fish, birds, and some mammals (whales, bats, cows) use their magnetic sense as homing devices and for navigation, in conjunction with cues like sight, smell, and hearing. These animals share the same ancestors we do. Thus far, science was looking for uniquely human behavioral responses to magnetic fields, but when the parameters of the study were changed to whether humans can sense the magnetic field, we obtained the evidence we were looking for: there is a sensory ability in our subconscious brain to detect magnetic signals.
One question that still pondering around your head which direction is best for sleeping ?
Indeed, humans can sense the earth’s magnetic field. Scientifically, there is so much unexplored about the world, and I’m awed by the fact that we don’t know what we don’t know.
Does sleep direction actually impact our quality of rest?
Ayurveda and Vastu assert that it does. Now you can go to sleep on it…with head facing the south or east.