INTRODUCTION

1.1 AJAPAJAP MEDITATION: 

As a result of living in the past, a mechanistic and competitive way of life is filled with tension.
Furthermore, persons of all ages are under stress as a result of modernity, urbanization,
materialism, competition, and ever-changing societal trends. All sections of society are dealing
with stress these days. Student's lives have been invaded by stress, which has a debilitating and
revealing effect. Their physical, mental, emotional, and social health are all affected, limiting
their development and growth. Stress management is tough since it includes the mind, which is
difficult to control. 
As a result, it is critical to train the mind to achieve a whole and harmonious development. A
person with an optimistic attitude. play an important part in orienting the mind toward positive
aims and creativity. There are numerous yogic practices that help to cope up with stress.  
The basic Mantra is Ajapa (A + Japa = No + Chant). The subtle sound ‘sah' entering in and the
subtle sound ‘ham' coming out (sah=that, ham=I am) are all fused with this chant less Mantra. 
Japa is the repetition of a mantra again and again. When the mantra naturally restarts itself
without conscious effort, it becomes ajapa [spontaneous]. Ajapa Japa is considered to come from
the heart, whereas Japa is said to come from the lips. 
 
Ajapa Japa is a complete sadhana in and of itself, capable of taking an aspirant from the
most basic level of the body and atmospheric awareness to the highest stages of consciousness.
 
1.2 SLEEP: 
Humans require sleep to function properly. It is just as essential to life as food, water, and air.
You sleep for nearly a third of your life. Sleep is a natural state of relaxation in which your eyes
are closed, your body is unresponsive, and your mind is unconcerned. 

1.3 STAGES OF SLEEP: 

The millions of tiny cells in your brain, called neurons, send thousands of signals to each other
every second. Sometimes those signals line up into patterns, like waves of water on a beach.
Different wave patterns in your brain represent different stages of sleep. When you first lay down
in bed and try to fall asleep, your brain creates fast alpha waves which are associated with
relaxation. Once you have finished counting sheep, and you start to doze off, your brain waves
slow down, this is called theta waves. And they’re important for learning and memory. You are
still not very deeply asleep until you sink into what’s called slow-wave sleep. And they are slow
at this point, the waves are coming only about once per second now you are asleep. The next big
thing to happen in the sleep cycle is rapid eye movement or REM sleep. Just like it sounds, your
eyes begin to move very quickly and randomly behind your eyelids. During REM sleep it’s very
hard to wake up, but your brain waves are the most similar to the pattern we see
when you’re awake. REM sleep is also the stage of sleep when you dream. Scientists think
dreams happen because your brain is sending so many signals, just like it does
when you’re awake, that it tricks your mind into seeing things, hearing things, and feel things
that aren’t real. You only experience them because of the wave's patterns moving through your
brain. Your brain goes through each of these stages of sleep, several times a night, every ninety
minutes to two hours. All fours of these stages are very important to our health. Most likely,
people did not get enough cycles of sleep. Not getting enough sleep is bad for your memory. 

1.4 Sleep disorder: 
Sleep disorders are a set of conditions that affect the capacity to sleep well regularly. Whether they are
caused by a health problem or by too much tension, sleep disorders are becoming very prevalent
nowadays. More than one-third of adult's report getting fewer than 7 hours of sleep in 24 hours. More
than 70 % of high school students report getting hardly any 8 hours of sleep on weeknights. Most people
once in a while experience sleeping problems due to stress, very busy schedules, and other outside
impacts. Nevertheless, when these issues begin to happen regularly and interfere with daily life, they
may specify a sleeping disorder. 

1.5Types of sleeping disorder: 

INSOMNIA:  
Insomnia is a sleep disorder in which a person has difficulty getting asleep or staying asleep.
When a person has been unable to sleep for more than three months, it is assumed that he is
suffering from insomnia. 

REM SLEEP BEHAVIOR DISORDER:  

REM , or Rapid Eye Movement, is a sort of sleep condition in which some of our body's muscles
remain temporarily paralyzed, leaving only our brain functioning and dreaming. 

1.6 WHY THIS STUDY? 

In "Yoga Stress and Its Management", K.N. Udupa describes his research on healthy and normal
subjects and clinical patients. He used 4,444 combined asana, pranayama, and meditation
exercises to treat 1,007 cases of various stress disorders. He reported that "patients with high
blood pressure, diabetes and asthma who came to us early have improved very well. Started
practicing yoga. "After the practice, the demand for drugs from people who came later dropped
considerably. "Goleman (1973) compared 30 meditators and 30 non-meditators when anxiety
caused, and found that those who had experienced meditation responded to threats with less
subjective anxiety The literature review shows that the practice of yoga is the best tool to control
stress Bor (1990). Shet Radha G. and Pasarkar, Aarti (2009) found that adolescents who practice
yoga can reduce anxiety and improve mental health. This study can investigate these aspects to
evaluate the impact of Ajapa Jap on stress levels.