Yoga involves focused breathing, mindful movement, and physical exercise. Yoga has a history of more than 5,000 years, and its earliest accounts can be found in ancient India.
The positive effects of yoga on overall wellness are quite extraordinary, including enhanced mental and emotional health, stress relief, pain alleviation, weight management, and improved sleep. In this article, we’ll explain how yoga helps you sleep better.
Does Yoga Help You Sleep?
A substantial percentage of individuals who practice yoga have reported better sleep. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 55% of yoga practitioners note improvements in their sleep quality.
In another survey, 85% of the total number of respondents reported reduced stress levels since incorporating yoga into their lives.
Point to be noted, these studies emphasize the quality of sleep rather than the quantity, as the mere increase in sleep duration might not necessarily equate to better sleep quality or overall well-being. Quality sleep typically involves feeling energized throughout the day and experiencing fewer disturbances during the night.
Who Benefits from Yoga
Yoga has been found to benefit people from different demographics by improving sleep and overall health. Here are a few groups of people who can significantly benefit from yoga:
- Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): Yoga can be a behavior intervention by reducing stress for children with ASD. It can also positively impact their sleep as some children with ASD face difficulty sleeping due to stress and anxiety.
- Adult Women: Studies have shown that different groups of adult women experience sleep improvements through yoga. Pregnant women practicing yoga have reported reduced sleep disturbances, along with decreased prenatal anxiety and depression. Similarly, women in their menopause have shown enhanced sleep quality and reduced levels of depression and anxiety due to yoga.
- The Elderly: The elderly often encounter sleep disturbances, ranging from snoring to insomnia and restless leg syndrome (RLS). Preliminary research indicates that regular yoga practice among the elderly can lead to improved sleep quality and overall life quality.
How Long Does Yoga Take to Impact Your Sleep?
Practicing yoga can enhance sleep quality compared to not practicing at all. However, consistent and long-term yoga practitioners tend to experience better sleep quality.
If you’re looking to do yoga to improve your sleep, establishing a regular practice routine is key. This might involve attending classes weekly, dedicating specific times at home for practice, or a combination of both.
6 Benefits Of Yoga For Sleep
Yoga offers several ways to enhance the quality of sleep:
Common in various yoga types, mindfulness promotes non-judgmental awareness in the present moment. It can increase melatonin levels and reduce nighttime sleep disturbances in adults. To maximize your mindfulness, you can use the Aura Health mindfulness application. This application can create customized plans for you based on your lifestyle. These plans are curated by renowned mindfulness coaches, experts, and storytellers.
- Breathing Awareness and Reduce Stress
In yoga, focusing on deep breathing serves as a relaxation technique that induces sleep. Practicing meditation alongside yoga improves breathing awareness and reduces stress drastically. Apps like Headspace can reduce stress by 14% in just 10 days.
- Regular Exercise
Movement is a crucial part of ensuring quality sleep. Moderate exercise several times a week, integral to yoga, can improve overall sleep. Find out the healthy connection between exercise and sleep here.
- Weight Management
While weight loss might not be the primary goal for everyone practicing yoga, it can positively impact sleep. Shedding excess weight can reduce or eliminate various sleep issues, such as sleep apnea. Also, lifting weights can be helpful with yoga.
- Insomnia
Yoga has shown promise in managing specific sleep problems like insomnia. Insomnia, characterized by difficulty falling or staying asleep, can lead to various long-term effects. You can find 7 more natural remedies to overcome insomnia here.
Also, consider having a weighted blanket like Sweet zZz organic weighted blanket for better results.
- Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS)
Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) involves an urge to move the legs during periods of inactivity, often at night, and affects women more than men.
According to a pilot study, women with RLS experienced significant relief after eight weeks of yoga classes. Although further research is necessary, these initial results suggest that yoga can be a beneficial tool in improving sleep for individuals with RLS.
Types of Yoga That Help You Sleep
During the day, any yoga practice that makes you feel comfortable is suitable. High-activity forms like vinyasa or hot yoga, which involve moderate to high exercise, can be highly beneficial. Engaging in such exercise at least several hours before bedtime might contribute to improved sleep at night.
You should avoid high-activity yoga forms right before bedtime. For those intending to practice yoga closer to bedtime, a slower and restorative type of yoga is more suitable, like these two:
- Hatha Yoga: This form involves gentle body postures and breathing techniques. The breathing exercises focus on lengthening inhalation, holding the breath, and exhalation.
- Yoga Nidra: It’s practiced while lying down and emphasizes breathing techniques or focused awareness of specific body parts.
Different Yoga Poses To Do Before Bedtime
Yoga poses before bedtime should promote relaxation and prepare the body for sleep. Some common recommendations by yoga instructors and healthcare professionals include:
- Standing Forward Bend (Uttanasana): While standing, slowly bend your torso forward in front of your legs. You can rest your hands on your elbows, shins, or the floor.
- Reclining Butterfly (Supta Baddha Konasana): Lie on your back, bring the soles of your feet together, and let your knees fall out to the sides. Keep your hands by your sides or extend them above your head.
- Wall Supported Legs (Viparita Karani): Lie on your back with your legs forming an “L” shape against a wall. Allow your arms to rest comfortably at your sides.
- Resting Pose (Savasana): Often used as the final relaxation in yoga, this pose involves lying flat on your back with your arms at your sides, palms facing up, and your legs fully extended.
For an enhanced sleeping experience after Yoga, you can use the MiHigh Infrared Sauna blanket. It’s great for detoxifying and improving exercise recovery. Also, check out a balanced list of healthy bedtime habits for adults.
Looking for more recommendations on yoga moves ? Need to find the right exercise routine or yoga tools or apps that help you improve sleep? Chat with WonderWise on WhatsApp and ASK AWAY!!!!
