01
What it is
Sleep is not switching off. It is an active, organised process in which the brain moves through cycles of light, deep and dream (REM) sleep, about four to six times a night.
Adults need seven hours or more on a regular basis. Yet in a 2024 national survey, 59% of Indians said they get under six hours of uninterrupted sleep.
How much India sleeps
Key fact
59%
of Indians get under six hours of uninterrupted sleep
Source: LocalCircles survey, 2024
Text version
59% of Indians get under six hours of uninterrupted sleep, according to a 2024 LocalCircles survey.
02
What happens in your body
- Deep sleep: the body repairs tissue, releases growth hormone and strengthens immunity.
- REM sleep: the brain sorts memories and processes emotions.
- Throughout the night: the brain clears waste products, and appetite and blood-sugar hormones reset.
All of this is timed by your circadian rhythm, the body's roughly 24-hour clock. Light in the morning sets it; darkness in the evening lets the hormone melatonin rise and signal that it is time to sleep.
03
Why it happens
- Screens and bright light late at night, which delay melatonin
- Irregular bed and wake times, which confuse the body clock
- Stress and worry, which keep cortisol high at night
- Late, heavy meals, caffeine after mid-afternoon, and alcohol
- Shift work and long commutes
- Medical causes such as sleep apnoea, reflux, pain or thyroid problems
04
How it affects you
One short night leaves you foggy and irritable. Weeks of short sleep raise the risk of weight gain, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, low mood and accidents. Sleep and stress also feed each other: less sleep makes you more reactive, and more stress makes sleep harder.
05
What you can change
The 10-step sleep reset
Build these habits
- 1.Wake at the same time every day
- 2.Get 10–20 minutes of morning daylight
- 3.Move your body during the day
- 4.Eat dinner 2–3 hours before bed
- 5.Keep the bedroom cool, dark and quiet
Drop these
- 6.Drink tea or coffee after 2 p.m.
- 7.Use screens in the last hour before bed
- 8.Use alcohol as a sleep aid
- 9.Nap longer than 20–30 minutes
- 10.Lie awake in bed for more than 20 minutes
Sources: AASM/SRS 2015; ACP 2016
Text version
Do: wake at the same time every day; get 10 to 20 minutes of morning daylight; move your body during the day; eat dinner 2 to 3 hours before bed; keep the bedroom cool, dark and quiet. Don't: drink tea or coffee after 2 p.m.; use screens in the last hour before bed; use alcohol as a sleep aid; nap longer than 20 to 30 minutes; lie awake in bed for more than 20 minutes (get up and do something calm, then return).
06
When to see a doctor
See a doctor if poor sleep lasts more than three months, if you snore loudly or someone notices you stop breathing in your sleep, if you fall asleep during the day without meaning to, or if low mood or worry is keeping you awake.
For long-term insomnia, doctors recommend a structured programme called cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) before sleeping pills.
07
The Ayurvedic view
Ayurveda counts sleep (Nidra) as one of the three pillars of health (Trayopastambha), alongside food and balanced living. Its daily routine, Dinacharya, times the day around natural rhythms: waking early, eating the main meal at midday when digestion is strongest, and sleeping by about 10 p.m.
The Dinacharya day
- 16 amWake with daylight
- 21 pmMain meal
- 37 pmLight, early dinner
- 410 pmSleep
- Kapha
- 6–10, twice a day
- Pitta
- 10–2, twice a day
- Vata
- 2–6, twice a day
Source: Ashtanga Hridaya, Sutrasthana 2
Text version
Ayurveda divides the day into dosha periods. Kapha: 6 to 10 a.m. and 6 to 10 p.m. Pitta: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Vata: 2 to 6 p.m. and 2 to 6 a.m. Suggested routine: wake around 6 a.m. with daylight, eat the main meal around 1 p.m. when digestion is strongest, a light early dinner around 7 p.m., and sleep by 10 p.m.
It also recognises that poor sleep looks different in different people, and links each pattern to a dosha.
Three types of poor sleep
Poor sleep
Vata वात
movement
- Hard to fall asleep
- Light, broken sleep
- Racing mind at night
Pitta पित्त
transformation
- Wakes between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m.
- Feels hot or restless
- Irritable, vivid dreams
Kapha कफ
structure
- Sleeps long but wakes heavy
- Hard to get up
- Groggy mornings
Source: Charaka Samhita (traditional framework)
Text version
Ayurveda describes three patterns of poor sleep. Vata: hard to fall asleep, light and broken sleep, a racing mind at night. Pitta: waking between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m., feeling hot or restless, irritability and vivid dreams. Kapha: sleeping long but waking heavy, hard to get up, groggy mornings. This is a traditional framework, not a medical diagnosis.