Psychology & Dhamma Reflections on Sleep: Why Most Humans Need Way More Rest Than the Buddha’s Enlightened Mind

Many of us, like the Buddha, get so little sleep. But that’s not okay for us. The Buddha, with an enlightened mind has removed all defilements from his mind. We still are human beings. The average human adult needs 7 to 9 hours of sleep daily to function. One Dhamma friend asked a question on how to fix insomnia, and mentioned they were getting 3 to 4 hours of sleep.

It is very important to firstly find a root cause of the sleep disturbance. Only after doing that, we can then pinpoint what can be done for ourselves. 3-4 hours of sleep in the long run can be devastating.

For 3-4 hours of sleep, if prolonged over a duration, there is a major risk factor of psychosis (clinical insanity), and should not be taken lightly. If the issue persists, then it will be better to visit a sleep specialist, licensed counsellor or psychologist, medical doctor or licensed TCM practitioner. Seeking help from them, as a Buddhist, is not abandoning Dhamma but it is supportive of cultivation.

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I used to suffer from insomnia since I was a child, up until a week or so ago. I was getting 5 to 6 hours of sleep daily for the past 24 years, and this worsened both my physical and mental state. I was born with Autism and ADHD.

For people with those learning disabilities, Insomnia often occurs due to natural baseline restlessness and a naturally more impulsive mind. The risk of developing anxiety and depression also becomes much easier, and that’s what happened to me, along with some degree of memory loss when I had insomnia and was on a bunch of prescription medications that produced iatrogenic effects on me.

My current psychiatrist agreed with my decision to only have me on Concerta (ADHD stimulant medication), which is essentially a medical grade caffeine, except instead of starting with adenosine (alertness) to boost other neurotransmitters, it works with dopamine (reward, impulse, mood and motivation) and norepinephrine (alertness, attention, cognition and memory) and therefore it also stabilises or lowers my blood pressure, stabilises my heart rate and my breathing due to histamine response. If you need medical advice, talk to your own medical doctor or specialist. This is not medical advice or a substitute for professional care.

I turned having being born with learning disabilities into a good thing by studying psychology in university. Now I have the aim to help those I can in this life. I will also need to highlight, although I am a psychology major who has my completed education in psychology, it is important to note that this is just a sharing of my experience and what methods I used to solve it and not a substitute for a professional advice.

Sleep, from a psychological viewpoint plays the same role as it does in the Dhamma. Sleep’s main function is to consolidate our memories, regulate our emotions, regulate our attention and executive function, clear our brain of neurotoxins. It also helps do the same for our physical body.

When I was finally correctly diagnosed with autism (in addition to ADHD) a few months ago, thanks to my parents’ unwavering support, I had also finally realized that yes, I did not need medication for insomnia and associated conditions, nor was I showing a beneficial response to them. If you have enquires about medication, speak to a licensed pharmacist or medical doctor.

One of the things I found from my research this semester was that sleep disturbances can occur for a multitude of reasons, but the main reason why many people struggle with insomnia is because we have lots on our mind, particularly before we go to bed.

It is very true that for sleep disturbances and sleep disorders, or for anything out of range that we find in psychology, we will not start with any pharmacological methods because psychology is a field that agrees with what the Buddha said - everything conditioned arises from the mind alone (Avatamsaka Sutra), they arise and they vanish, that is their nature (Dhammapada).

For me, before I sleep, as a grounding technique, I recite 般若波罗般若米多心经 (Prajnäpāramitährdaya Sütram) and Karaniya Metta Sutta (Pāli Canon SN1:8). For me, the teaching of Metta for all beings and the teaching of the nature of the emptiness of things helps my monkey mind to relax and sleep after that.

The other assistive tool I find really useful is my Apple Watch Series 8, and previously Redmi Watch Lite, and Mi Fitness Band. I can see my sleep duration, sleep cycles and my vital stats.

It also tells me in simple terms, what parts I need to improve on. Lastly, it’s ideal to set your phone aside before bed. Even with the blue light filter on or “Night Shift/True Tone”, it will be best to log off all devices 30 to 60 minutes before bed.

Many of us, like the Buddha, get so little sleep. But that’s not okay for us. The Buddha, with an enlightened mind has removed all defilements from his mind. We still are human beings. The average human adult needs 7 to 9 hours of sleep daily to function. One Dhamma friend asked a question on how to fix insomnia, and mentioned they were getting 3 to 4 hours of sleep.

It is very important to firstly find a root cause of the sleep disturbance. Only after doing that, we can then pinpoint what can be done for ourselves. 3-4 hours of sleep in the long run can be devastating.

For 3-4 hours of sleep, if prolonged over a duration, there is a major risk factor of psychosis (clinical insanity), and should not be taken lightly. If the issue persists, then it will be better to visit a sleep specialist, licensed counsellor or psychologist, medical doctor or licensed TCM practitioner. Seeking help from them, as a Buddhist, is not abandoning Dhamma but it is supportive of cultivation.

When I was sleeping for 5-6 hours since I was a child, I could not cultivate, or function in daily life as my family reports. Honestly, most of it was such a blur that it felt like my mind woke from an actual deluded slumber after two decades. Once again, do note, the average human adult needs 7 to 9 hours of sleep at a bare minimum to be functional.

The reason why the Buddha could sustain himself on few hours of a sleep a day was because His mind was clear of all taints and impurities, including thoughts that would keep Him up at night. And in psychological theory, we would say the same thing.

If we don’t get enough sleep in the first place, cultivation itself will be really hard. I was so sleep deprived that in school, recalling back, I did things beyond human reason, and in letting go of that moment, I would say that the one thing that could have been done better that would have fixed all things is getting 7 hours of sleep.