You Don't Need More Sleep, You Need More Rest. Here's the Shocking Difference.

We've all heard the advice: you must get eight hours of sleep a night. But I've come to believe this rigid rule is not only wrong, but it's the source of immense anxiety for millions of people who lie awake at night, tossing and turning, wondering what’s wrong with them.

The problem, in my view, is a fundamental misunderstanding. We have confused two very different things: sleep and rest. And until you understand the difference, you may never experience a truly peaceful night again.

The Three Types of Work: Body, Brain, and Mind

To understand sleep, we must first understand the work we do during the day. I see it as falling into three categories:

1. Work for the Body: This is physical labor. Think of construction workers or office peons. They give a lot of work to their bodies but may not deeply analyze every task with their mind or brain.

2. Work for the Brain: This involves intense thinking, planning, and strategy. Company owners and scientific researchers belong here. They sit in chairs all day thinking about how to earn more money or solve complex problems. They give a lot of work to their brain but often very little to their body or even their mind (their conscience).

3. Work for the Mind: This is the work of emotion. People who are constantly worrying, living under the strain of tension, anger, or fear, are giving immense work to their minds, but often very little to their bodies or brains.

Now, here is the crucial point: I believe sleep is only needed if the body is given work. Those who work their bodies will fall asleep the moment their head hits the pillow. Sleep will not be needed if only the mind and brain are given work.

Let's imagine the business owner and the laborer both go to bed at 10:00 p.m. The laborer, who worked his body, is asleep instantly. The owner, who worked his brain, will toss and turn until 1:00 a.m. He lies there worrying, "I have millions in the bank, but I can't sleep like my worker!"

Why does this happen? The worker needs sleep for his tired body. The owner needs rest for his tired mind and brain. From 10:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m., while he is rolling around in his bed, his mind and brain are taking their much-needed rest.

The Garment Showroom Analogy for Your Mind

To illustrate this, think of a big garment showroom. At 9:00 a.m., the shop opens, and all the clothes are neatly arranged. Throughout the day, customers come in, pull things out, and mess everything up. By 9:00 p.m., the shop is a disaster.

When the doors close, the workers cannot go home immediately. They must spend one or two hours arranging all the clothes back in their proper order. Only then is the shop ready for business the next morning.

Our mind and brain are exactly like this showroom. From the moment we wake up, we use them, misalign them, and create chaos. When we go to bed at 10:00 p.m., our mind and brain start the work of putting everything back in order. It takes a few hours. During this period, we lie there fearing and lamenting that we are not getting sleep, but what is actually happening is vital, internal "rest."

The Danger of Sleeping Pills: Forcing Sleep, Denying Rest

If you do not get sleep immediately after going to bed, please do not get agitated. We will get sleep only when sleep is needed for us. Why should we worry about it? Our job is to just close our eyes and lie down in a relaxed way.

But many of us panic. We think, "My BP must be high. My sugar must be low." We imagine diseases, and this fear further entangles our mind and brain, delaying the rest process even more. It's a very big disease by itself.

So what do we do? We go to a doctor who, not understanding the difference between sleep and rest, prescribes sleeping tablets. Now, here is the terrifying truth: for all the people who sleep after consuming a sleeping tablet, their mind and brain never do the work of sorting themselves out. A person will not get rest by consuming a sleeping tablet. But he will get sleep.

All those who sleep with the help of sleeping tablets are, in my view, mental patients. They will not have any courage. They cannot take any clear decision. They will always have confusion in their mind. If you take sleeping pills for months, it means you have not sorted out your mind and brain for months.

The Narcotic Deception

If you are worried about not getting sleep, I can give you some guidelines. You can sleep well if you consume alcohol every night. You can sleep well if you use narcotic drugs like opium. What would you do if I gave you such advice? You would abuse me and hand me over to the police.

But if you go to any doctor for sleeplessness, I believe all the medicines and tablets they prescribe contain only alcohol and narcotic drugs such as cannabis or opium. Sleeping tablets cannot be made without using narcotic drugs. All those who consume sleeping tablets should understand that they are, in fact, consuming narcotic drugs. They are bigger narcotic drugs than cigarettes or brandy. As time passes, your dosage will keep on increasing, just like a drinker who goes from a quarter to a full bottle. You are slowly becoming an addict.

So, please do not use any sleeping tablets. If you do not get sleep one day, there is no need to sleep on that day. If you don't sleep for two days, do not worry. You will sleep sufficiently on the third day to cover for all three. Your body has intelligence. It will definitely ask for whatever it needs and get it from us. When our body itself thinks sleep is not needed, if we forcibly give sleep to it, that sleep will turn into poison.