Sadhguru offers tips for those looking to reduce their sleep quota, and delves into the relationship between sleep, food, and restfulness.

薩古魯為那些想要減少睡眠需求的人提供了一些小貼士,，并深入研究了睡眠,，食物與放松之間的關系。

#1 Don’t Battle With Life  

不要與生活抗爭

Sadhguru: The body needs rest, not sleep. In most people’s experience, sleep is the deepest form of restfulness they know, so they talk about sleep. But essentially, the body is not asking for sleep, it is looking for restfulness. Your mornings would be pretty bad if your nights were not restful. So it is not sleep but restfulness that makes the difference.

薩古魯：身體需要的是休息,，而不是睡眠,。在大多數人的經驗中，睡眠是他們所知的最深層的放松方式,，因此他們談論睡眠,。但本質上，身體并不是在要求睡眠,，它尋求的是放松,。如果你晚上休息的不好，那么你早上起來就會感覺很糟糕,。所以并不是睡眠,，而是放松讓你感覺不一樣。

If you keep your body relaxed throughout the day, if your work, exercise and every other activity is form of relaxation for you, your sleep quota will go down naturally. The problem is that people have been taught to do everything hard – in tension. I see people walking very tense in the park. This sort of exercise will bring more harm than wellbeing. Don’t go at everything like it is a war. Whether you are walking, jogging or exercising, why don’t you do it easily, joyfully?

如果你一整天都保持身體放松,，如果你的工作,，鍛煉以及各種其他活動都成了你放松的方式，那么你的睡眠需求自然就會減少。問題在于,，一直以來人們接受的教育就是,，所有事情都要努力去做——緊繃著。我看到人們在公園散步時都處于緊張的狀態(tài)中,。這種鍛煉會給身體帶來更多傷害而非健康,。不要做每件事情都像打仗一樣。無論是走路,，慢跑或鍛煉,，為何不能輕松，愉快地進行呢,？

Don’t battle with life. Keeping yourself fit and well is not a battle. Play a game, swim, walk, whatever you like. You will only have a problem if all you want to do is eat cheesecake! Otherwise there is no problem about being relaxed with any activity.

不要與生活抗爭,。保持健康并不是一場戰(zhàn)斗，就去玩玩游戲,、游游泳,、散散步，做任何你喜歡的事情,。如果你唯一想做的事情就只是吃芝士蛋糕的話,，那才出問題了！否則,，放松的去開展任何活動,，沒有任何問題。

#2 Yogic Practices – Shambhavi Mahamudra

瑜伽練習——香巴維大手印

Sadhguru: If you bring certain yogic practices such as the Shambhavi Mahamudra into your life, one of the first changes you will see is in your pulse rate. For example, someone who has just gone through the Inner Engineering program and started Shambhavi, if he checks his pulse before and after dinner and records it, and then practices Shambhavi twice a day for six weeks and checks his pulse again, it would have come down by eight to fifteen counts. If one really sinks deep into restfulness in Shambhavi, the pulse rate will go down further.

薩古魯：如果你將某種瑜伽練習比如香巴維大手印帶入你的生活中,，你會發(fā)現,，首先出現變化的一點是你的脈搏。例如,，某人剛參加完內在工程課程,，并開始香巴維練習，如果他測一下飯前和飯后的脈搏并記錄下來,，然后每天練習兩次香巴維,，這樣持續(xù)六周，然后再檢查脈搏,，脈搏可能已經減少了8-15次,。如果一個人真正沉浸在香巴維放松寧靜的狀態(tài)，他的脈搏會進一步下降,。

With 12 to 18 months of practice, you can bring your pulse rate down to around fifty or sixty in a restful state. If this happens, your sleep quota will go down dramatically because the body is generally restful through the day. Whatever activity you may be doing, it remains restful, so it will not demand more sleep.

練習12到18個月之后,，你放松狀態(tài)時的脈搏率可以下降到大約50或60下。如果到了這種狀態(tài),，你的睡眠需求就會大幅下降,，因為身體一整天基本上都很放松,。不管你在做什么，它都能保持放松,，所以身體就不需要更多的睡眠,。

#3 Yogic Practices – Shoonya Meditation

瑜伽練習——Shoonya 冥想

Sadhguru: There is a certain meditation we teach which is called Shoonya. This is taught in a program that we conduct only in the Isha centers in southern India and the United States. We do not teach it elsewhere because it needs a certain atmosphere, training and other processes. Shoonya can bring your sleep quota down dramatically. It is just a fifteen-minute meditation but you will see, if you settle down into this meditation process properly, your metabolism will drop up to twenty-four percent. Twenty-four percent is the deepest drop you can have in conscious states of meditation. If you go beyond that, you will not be conscious in the usual sense. To be able to be relaxed to a point and then to come out consciously, you cannot go beyond twenty-four percent.

薩古魯：我們也教授一種冥想叫做Shoonya（蘇尼亞）。這個冥想課程,，我們只在印度南部和美國的Isha中心開設,。我們不在其他地方教授，因為它需要特定的氛圍,，需要進行一些培訓以及一些其他的過程,。Shoonya可以大幅減少你的睡眠需求。它只是個15分鐘的冥想,，但你會發(fā)現，如果你安下心來進入到這個冥想中,，你的新陳代謝下降程度能高達24%,。24%是你在有意識的冥想狀態(tài)中可以達到的最大降幅。如果再往下降,，你就無法保持通常意義上的有意識狀態(tài),。要想能達到一定的放松度，并且還能有意識地從中出來,，你不能超過24%,。

You will find this fifteen minutes of meditation is equal to two to three hours of sleep in terms of restfulness. Because there are such drastic physiological changes in the body, especially on the level of your blood chemistry, phenomenal things will change – which is why it needs to be taught in very controlled, focused conditions.

你會發(fā)現，這15分鐘的冥想帶來的放松程度相當于2到3小時的睡眠,。因為身體里會出現劇烈的生理變化,，尤其是你血液中的化學成分，將會出現巨大的變化——這也是為何這個冥想需要在非常嚴謹,，專注的條件下教授,。

#4 Bring Natural Foods in Your Diet

飲食中帶入天然食物

Sadhguru: If you are sleeping eight or nine hours a day, one thing to look at is the food you eat. Consuming at least a certain amount of vegetarian material, particularly foods that can be eaten in their natural, uncooked condition is very important for your general wellbeing. When you cook food, a large volume of prana or life energy is destroyed. This is one reason why lethargy can set into the body. If you eat a certain amount of fresh fruits and vegetables, there are many benefits, but one thing you will notice immediately is that your sleep quota will come down.

薩古魯：如果你一天要睡8到9個小時，你就得注意一下你吃的食物,。至少要攝入一定量素食,，特別是要攝入一些天然的、未經烹飪的生食,，這對你的整體健康非常重要,。在烹飪時，食物中大量生命能量都被破壞了,。你的身體之所以感到疲倦,，這就是其中一個原因。如果你吃一定量的新鮮水果和蔬菜,，會給你帶來很多益處,，而有一點你馬上就會注意到，那就是，你的睡眠需求會立刻下降,。

#5 From Stove to Plate – Make it Quick

從火爐到盤子——短時間完成

Sadhguru: In Indian culture, traditionally it is said that any cooked food should always be eaten within 1.5 to 2 hours of being cooked. Keeping cooked food in a fridge for long periods of time and then eating it can raise your sleep quota in addition to causing many other problems to the body. The same is true for canned food. There is something called “tamas” which literally means “inertia.” Food that is kept like this will have a lot of tamas, which can bring down your mental agility and alertness.

薩古魯：在印度傳統(tǒng)中,，食物經過烹煮后應該在1.5-2個小時內吃完。將煮過的食物長時間放入冰箱然后再食用,，除了會給身體造成許多其他問題以外,，還會增加你的睡眠需求。罐裝食物同樣如此,?！皌amas”這個詞，字面意思是“惰性”,。像前面提到的放冰箱的和罐裝食物都有很多的tamas,，會降低你頭腦的靈活性和警覺性。

#6 How Much to Eat

要吃多少

Sadhguru: How keenly you manage your energies is what decides your alertness. To meditate, alertness should be not just of the mind but of your very energy. To assist this, for people on the yogic path, it is said that you should eat only twenty-four mouthfuls, and you must chew every mouthful at least twenty-four times. This will ensure that food is pre-digested in your mouth before it goes in, and it will not cause dullness.

薩古魯：你將你的能量保持得多敏銳,，決定了你的警覺性有多高,。要進行冥想，不僅頭腦要保持警覺,，你的能量也要保持警覺,。為了幫助你做到這一點，人們說,，走在瑜伽道路上的人一頓飯應該只吃24口,，而且每一口都至少要嚼24下。這樣就可以保證食物在你的嘴里提前消化好再進入胃里,，而且這樣也不會讓你遲鈍,。

If you do this during your evening meal, you will easily wake up at three-thirty in the morning. In the yogic system, this period is called the Brahma Muhurtam. It is an ideal time to do yogic practices because there is an extra support from nature at that time for your sadhana.

如果你晚餐時這樣進食，第二天早上你很容易就會在3點30分醒來,。在瑜伽體系中,，這個時段叫做Brahma Muhurtam。這是進行瑜伽練習的最佳時間,，因為這時候,，大自然會給你的靈性練習提供額外支持。

#7 Don’t Forcefully Deny Sleep

不要強迫自己不睡覺

Sadhguru: How much sleep your body needs depends on the level of physical activity you perform. There is no need to fix the quantum of either food or sleep. When your activity levels are low, you eat less. When they are high, you may eat more. The same goes for sleep. The moment the body is well rested it will get up, whether at 3 AM or 8 AM. Your body should not wake up to an alarm bell. Once it feels sufficiently rested, it must come awake.

薩古魯：你的身體需要多少睡眠取決于你的體力活動程度,。沒有必要去固定飲食量或睡眠時間,。你活動量變少時,，你就會吃的比較少,?；顒恿慷嗔?，你可能就會吃的多一些。睡眠也一樣,。身體一旦休息好了,，自然就會醒來,，無論是凌晨3點還是早上8點。你的身體不應該被鬧鐘叫醒,。一旦身體得到充分的休息,，它就一定會自己醒來的。

If you forcefully deny sleep to the body, your physical and mental capabilities and whatever else you have will drop. You should never do that. You must give the body how much sleep it needs. But if the body is somehow trying to use the bed as a grave, it won’t want to come out.

如果你強迫身體不睡覺,，那么你的生理和心理功能以及其他能力都會下降,。一定不要這樣做。你必須要給身體它所需要的睡眠,。但如果身體想把床當成墳墓,，那它就不會想起床了。

Somebody will have to raise you from the dead! It depends on how you are handling your life. If you are in a mental state where you want to avoid life, you will naturally tend to eat and sleep more.

得有人讓你起死回生才行,！這就取決于你如何對待人生了,。如果你處于一種想要逃避人生的精神狀態(tài)，那么你自然就會吃的更多,，睡的更多,。

#8 Don’t Sleep Right After You Eat

餐后不要立即睡覺

Sadhguru: There are quite a few people who are in such a mental state that unless they load themselves with food and make the body dull, they cannot fall asleep. You must give sufficient time for digestion to happen before you sleep. I would say 80% of the food that you eat will go waste if you fall asleep within two hours of eating. If you are in a condition where you cannot sleep unless you have a full stomach, you need to address this issue. This is not about sleep, this is a certain mental state.

薩古魯：有相當一部分人都處于這樣一種精神狀態(tài)中，除非他們往身體里塞滿食物,，讓它變得遲鈍，不然他們就無法入睡,。在你睡覺之前,，必須要留出足夠的時間讓身體進行消化。我會說,，如果你在用餐后2小時內就睡著了,，那么你吃下去的食物80%都會浪費掉。如果你只有吃飽了才能入睡,，你就需要解決這個問題,。這和睡眠無關，而是精神狀態(tài)的問題,。

#9 The Right Position For Sleep

睡眠的正確姿勢

Sadhguru: When the body is positioned horizontally, you can immediately make out that your pulse rate drops. The body makes this adjustment because if blood is pumped with the same force, too much will go into your head, causing damage. The blood vessels which go upward are a finer arrangement compared to those going down. As they go up into the brain, they become almost hair-like, to a point that they cannot take an extra drop.

薩古魯：當身體躺下時,，你立即就能發(fā)現你的脈搏率下降了。身體做出這樣的調整是因為,，如果這時心臟以同樣的力度將血液向上輸送,，就會有太多血液進入頭部，從而給身體帶來損傷,。與下行的血管比起來,，上行的血管更加精細。越往上走,，血管就越細,，進入腦部的血管就像頭發(fā)絲一樣細,，細到哪怕多一滴血，它們都無法承受,。

When you sleep, if you place your head towards the north and stay that way for 5 to 6 hours, the magnetic pull of the Earth will cause pressure on your brain because iron is an important ingredient in your blood. It is not that if you sleep this way you will fall dead. But if you do this every day, you are asking for trouble. If you are beyond a certain age and your blood vessels are weak, it can result in hemorrhages and paralytic strokes. If your system is sturdy, you may not sleep very well because there is more circulation in the brain than there should be.

在你睡覺時,，如果你頭朝北睡上5-6個小時，地球的磁引力就給你的腦部帶來壓力,，因為你血液中有一種重要成分－－鐵元素,。并不是說你這樣睡覺就會導致死亡。但如果你每天都這樣睡,，就是在自找麻煩,。過了一定年紀后，而且你的血管很脆弱的話,，這樣睡可能會引發(fā)腦溢血和癱瘓性中風,。如果你的身體系統(tǒng)很強健，你可能會睡不好,，因為在你腦部的血液循環(huán)太快了,。

If you are in the northern hemisphere, East is the best direction to keep your head when you sleep. Northeast is okay. West is alright. South, if you must. North, no. In the southern hemisphere, don’t put your head to the south.

如果你在北半球，睡覺時,，頭朝向東方是最佳選擇,。東北方向也可以。朝西也還行,。如果不得不超南,，就朝南。但朝北,，不可以,。在南半球，頭就不要朝南,。

#10 Keep Your System Pure

保持你的身體系統(tǒng)純凈

Sadhguru: The nature of a human being is such that while every other creature adapts to the situations it is placed in, a human being is able to create the situations that he wants. That is what makes us distinct. If you have any sort of concern for yourself, you have to be conscious about what goes into your system.

薩古魯：人類的本性就在于,，其他生物都是努力去適應它所生活的環(huán)境，而人類卻能夠創(chuàng)造他想要的生活環(huán)境,。這也正是我們人類的獨特之處,。如果你真的對自己有所關心，你就必須對任何進入你身體系統(tǒng)的東西保持意識,。

The question is not of how long you live but how well you live. What you hear, what you say, how you eat – these things are practiced in yoga because by keeping the ambience, our tongue, our mind and body pure, there is a certain freedom, intelligence and blissfulness to your existence.

問題不在于你可以活多久,，而是你活的有多好。你聽什么,、說什么,、如何進食——在瑜伽體系中，所有這些都會需要去練習,，因為通過保持一定的氛圍,，保持我們舌頭,、頭腦和身體純凈，我們的存在就能有一種自由,、智慧和喜悅,。

Let me tell you a joke. Two Presbyterian nuns were driving in the Montana countryside and they ran out of gas. So they walked to a nearby farm which was five miles away. They found the local farmer – he was sloshed out – and they asked him, “We need some gasoline.” He said, “Take it from my tractor.” So they went to the tractor, but they did not have a can. Then they saw an old chamber pot. So they emptied gasoline from the tractor into the chamber pot and carried it to the car, five miles back. They were slowly pouring it into the car. A Baptist priest was passing by. He saw these nuns pouring things from the chamber pot into the gas tank, and he stopped, backed up and said, “Sisters, I really appreciate your faith, but believe me, it doesn’t work like that.”

我來給你講個笑話。長老會的兩位修女行駛在蒙大拿鄉(xiāng)村的路上,，然后發(fā)現車沒油了,。她們就走到了5英里之外的一個農場上。修女們找到一個當地的農夫——他正喝得醉醺醺——她們就問農夫,，“我們需要一些汽油,。”他說,，“從我的拖拉機里取一些吧,。”她們就走到拖拉機旁,，但她們沒有容器,，然后她們發(fā)現一個舊夜壺。修女們就將拖拉機里的油全部倒進了夜壺里,，然后提到汽車這邊,，5英里回程。她們慢慢地把汽油倒進車里,。這時一位浸信會教士正好經過,。他看見這兩個修女從夜壺向油箱里倒東西，他就停下來,，退回來說道，“姐妹們,，我真心欣賞你們忠貞的信念,，但相信我，這樣是不管用的,?！?/inherit>

If you just pick up some things here and there and put it into your system, it won’t go very far.

如果你只是隨便將一些東西塞入你的身體系統(tǒng)，你的身體就無法走得太遠,。

Love&Grace,

Sadhguru

愛與恩典

薩古魯

原文鏈接：

isha.sadhguru.org/blog/lifestyle/health-fitness/10-healthy-tips-to-reduce-your-sleep-quota