Yoga for Good Night’s Sleep

Are you having trouble getting to sleep? Do you wake up with an urge to sleep more and with no vigor to start your day?  It is unfortunate that in today’s world, many people face sleep issues (like sleep disturbances, sleep disorders, and insomnia) because of their stressful lifestyles. We keep on working late nights, endlessly scrolling social media, and binge-watch our favorite shows before finally going to bed. All these have a negative impact on our ability to get a good night’s sleep.

There is no denying that a good night’s sleep can help us feel rested, give us more energy, and allow us to be more energized the next day. When we sleep, our body repairs on a cellular level rejuvenates muscles, removes toxins, and therefore, is integral to the recovery process.

If you are struggling with getting a good night’s sleep, YOGA is there for your rescue. As per a national survey, 55% of people said that yoga helped them get better sleep and over 85% said yoga helped reduce stress.

How does yoga help improve the quality of sleep?

Yoga is an amazing tool to wind down and reduce stress levels after a busy day. Here’s how regular practice of different components of yoga help induces a better quality of sleep when included in your bedtime routine:

• Restorative yoga asanas: Poses done before bedtime not only relieve tension (physical and mental) at the end of the day but also result in good circulation of prana, blood, and body fluids leading to a positive impact on overall health, which in turn leads to improved sleep. Here are a few postures which can be included in your bedtime routine to promote better sleep:
  1. Standing forward bend (Uttanasana) – From a standing position, bend your torso forward. Hands can be rested on your elbows, shins, or the floor. It helps increase blood supply to the brain, thereby calming the mind.
  2. Legs up the wall (Viparita Karani) – Lie on your back with your legs straight up against a wall. Relax your arms either 45 degrees away from the body or on your stomach. This is a great pose to relieve tired legs and feet.
  3. Child’s Pose (Balasana) – Come to the kneeling position, resting your buttocks against your heels. Bend forward lowering forehead on the mat and hands by the sides. This pose relaxes the back after a demanding day and also helps calm the nervous system.
  4. Reclined Butterfly (Supta Baddha Konasana). Lie on your back. Press the soles of your feet together and let your knees fall to the side. You can have your hands at your sides or on your belly or above your head. This pose helps remove fatigue from long hours of standing or walking.

You can stay in these poses for longer (about 3 to 5 minutes each). Feel free to use supportive props like bolsters, blankets, and blocks to make poses comfortable.

• Pranayams: Breath and mind are deeply connected. Pranayams help in activating the parasympathetic nervous system & have a relaxing effect on the body and mind. Anulom Vilom (Alternate Nostril Breathing) and Brahmari (Humming Bee Breathing) work amazingly towards soothing the senses, the mind, and the nervous system resulting in sound sleep.

• Mindfulness and meditation: Meditation helps to slow down our thought process and calms the mind. This helps promote better quality sleep.

• Yog Nidra: Start with a simple technique of moving your awareness to the physical body. Part by part, move your awareness from the feet to the head, trying to release the muscle tension from the whole body.

While the above yoga tools can definitely help improve your sleep, you need to stay mindful of good sleep hygiene which may include having a standard sleep schedule, digital detox before bed, having meals a few hours before sleep, and avoiding caffeine at night.

Have a good night!