The Hangover

Writing this post with the assumption that most people have seen 'The Hangover'.  A group of friends who do not have any memory of the previous night's events and go searching for their lost friend. Things are a mess, but they have no idea of the ruckus they had caused the previous night.  Ultimately, they find their way through. The movie was one of the great comedy movies in recent times. 

This post is not about the movie, but about a similar hangover experienced when one goes to bed with negative thoughts. But there are lot of parallels the I can draw from the basic premise of the movie. That's why this post is titled 'The Hangover'.

One of the most important facts that one has to accept is that Human Body is one sophisticated machine. Billions of cells driven by electrical impulses from the brain. The muscles, organs form the mechanical parts whereas the brain forms the battery which drives these parts. Its only natural that the mechanical parts needs rest after a day's work. The brain too drains out of energy by the end of the day. Thus the human body recoups during sleep.

Any action that affects this recharging cycle of the brain causes a hangover in the brain the next day. When you take your worries, sadness and anger to bed, the brain naturally starts processing these thoughts. These negative thoughts are seen by the brain as stress. Instead of recharging itself, the brain immediately takes remedial action to release chemicals to counter the stress. This happens throughout the body. Though one still goes to sleep, the body does not get enough rest. The brain  working in the background ensures that :)

The effect cannot be observed immediately but only the next day. The body and mind wake up with a hangover. Neither the  body  nor the brain have any idea of what happened the previous night. This is because the recuperating is a subconscious action. Side effects are there to see - mental and physical fatigue. Not enough energy to pull through the day. The more this process repeats itself, one risks severe health issues. On the other day, with a good night's sleep, you wake up fresh in body and spirit.

This hangover is a common phenomenon observed by many when we operate with very less energy throughout the day. We never look back and  realize its due to negative thoughts in the head the previous day. Instead we go looking for tonics and medicines. Rather than addressing the cause, address the symptoms.

In short, its not a great idea to take your worries, anxieties and negative thoughts to bed. I'm also not implying that one must think something very happy before sleeping. We face bad days quite often, so its not always very easy to dig up happy thoughts at the end of such days.

But, the least one can do is to go to bed with a blank mind.  After all, the body and mind needs rest.

That's why the saying goes 'Sleep Like a Baby'. No worries, no thoughts before sleeping.

Now I'm going to sleep like a baby

Good Night

- Kaushik