PRACTISE BODY MINDFULNESS

For the past 17 years, Bindu M Kutty and her team at NIMHANS have been studying the effects of vipassana, a meditation technique, on the human body. A significant portion of this research has been on the benefits of vipassana on sleep.

This research is significant because a deficit of sleep eventually leads to a plethora of disorders including cardiovascular diseases, autoimmune diseases and diabetes. Working in an institute that researches mental health, Kutty has observed that a majority of neuropsychiatric cases are closely associated with sleep disorders and abnormalities.

"Not getting enough sleep totally derails the regular functions of a human body. It affects your attention, alertness, cognitive abilities and mood. Animal studies have also proved that sleep deprivation can be fatal," she adds.

While meditation practices often involve chanting of mantras or picturing an image, vipassana practitioners focus on the body as their primary meditation object. Simply put, the idea is to 'scan' the body from head to toe and pursue observation of self. Inspired by early Buddhist teachings, the vipassana technique practised in India is largely framed by guidelines set by Satya Narayan Goenka, a meditation teacher of BurmeseIndian origin.

After studying effects of vipassana across a cross-section of over 100 participants, Kutty and her team have found that practising this form of meditation regularly leads to better quality of sleep, enhanced brain plasticity and better cognitive abilities.