Sleep problems, food and daily routine for a healthy mind

Insomnia and sleep habits, food and mood, exercise, daily routine and eating disorders – simple steps that protect mental health.

Chapters on this topic

Chapter 13: Sleep, Food and Movement

Three pillars under the mind : Lifestyle supports a clinic. It does not cancel one.

Chapter 16: Daily Mental-Wellbeing Routine

Dincharya for a modern nervous system : Good enough most days beats a rare perfect day.

Chapter 26: Eating Disorders

Food, body image, and a body that must be kept alive

Stories from real life (14)

The Three O’Clock Waker – Meera, 52, runs a small provision shop in Nashik. For two months she has woken at three every morning, heart heavy, mind replaying old…
Maggi at Midnight – Kabir, 17, has board exams in three weeks. He skips breakfast to save time, grabs a samosa at lunch, and by evening is starving.…
Counting Every Step – Grace, 29, a marketing executive in Manchester, started jogging to feel better after a breakup. Soon she was running twice a day, even with…
Kavita, Age 34 – Thirty-four-year-old Kavita felt as though she were constantly running on empty. She was exhausted all the time, her mood was perpetually low, and she…
The Timetable on the Fridge – Ananya, 16, in Chennai, is in Class 11. Her day is a blur of school, tuition and phone. She wakes late, skips breakfast, studies…
Night Shift, New Baby – Rahul, 33, works night shifts at a call centre in Gurugram. His wife Pooja works days and they have a four-month-old baby. Rahul sleeps…
The Pension Day Routine – Mr Iyer, 70, retired from a bank in Coimbatore, lost his routine when work ended. He wakes at odd hours, watches television most of…
Raj, Age 31 – Raj worked in the demanding world of IT, where long hours and late-night coding sessions were worn like a badge of honour. His daily…
The Quiet Plate – Diya, sixteen, from Kolkata, was a top student and a state-level swimmer. After a cousin joked about her "round cheeks" she began cutting out…
The Hidden Cycle – Sofia, twenty-two, lived in a shared flat in Manchester and worked in a bank. Everyone thought she was the one who had it together.…
The Man at the Fridge Door – Ahmed, thirty-eight, an accountant in Dubai, ate quickly and alone, often standing at the fridge late at night. He would eat far past comfortable…
Eight Foods and a Packed Lunch – Little Arjun, seven, from Chennai, ate only a few foods: plain rice, one brand of biscuit and dry toast. New smells made him gag.…
Not Quite Anything – Jamal, seventeen, in Leeds, played football and began to cut back what he ate to "get lean." He had a small group of friends…
Meera’S Plate – Meera’s school said she was disciplined. Her mother saw the sleeves in May. The paediatrician did not praise the number on the scale. She…

Shloks (2)

Bhagavad Gita 6.17 – For one who is moderate in food and recreation, moderate in work, and moderate in sleep and waking, yoga becomes the destroyer of sorrow.
Patanjali Yoga Sutra 1.12 – That stilling of the mind comes through practice and non-clinging.