Sleep plays a vital role in good health and overall well-being. Sleep deprivation can be detrimental to our mental and physical health, quality of life and our general safety. Here are six ways a regular yoga practice can send you to the land of nod and help you stay there for a good quality night’s sleep......
1. Exercise
When you are stressed, tension is stored in the body making you feel tight, restricting the breath (usually to the upper part of the chest). This can also manifest in the body as pain, i.e., backache, headache, etc. The physical activity and stretching of yoga will help to release tension from problem areas – neck, shoulders, hips, etc., relieving stress whilst also keeping the body healthy and releasing natural hormones – endorphins – that make you feel better.
2. Stretching
Easing out tight muscles by stretching helps them to relax and increases blood flow which is a powerful stress buster for the body and mind. The release of endorphins is encouraged, providing a sense of tranquillity and euphoria. Stretching before bedtime will give you a more comfortable and restful sleeping experience.
3. Breathing Awareness and Regulation
Yoga increases your awareness of the breath through pranayama – breath work. This is an important part of any yoga practice, translating very well to life off the mat. Just learning to take deep breaths can be a powerful realisation that this can help you to combat stressful situations in everyday life. Deep breathing in itself is a relaxation technique that can induce and improve sleep.
"Breath is the king of the mind" - BKS Iyengar
4. Mindfulness
Yoga offers several techniques for calming those racing thoughts, worries about the future, dwelling on the past. Asana, the poses practised during class, act as a form of meditation. Moving into, holding and moving out of asana mindfully takes such concentration that chances are you are not thinking about much else. Doing a balancing asana such as vrksasana – tree pose – is physical and requires much focus, a perfect way to clear the mind. Breath work (as outlined above) is another way to declutter the brain by focusing on the inhale and exhale (although like anything it takes commitment and practice).
5. Regulating the Nervous System
Unable to sleep? Chances are your fight or flight response – sympathetic nervous system - has been triggered sometime during the day. Perhaps you had an argument, rushed to meet appointments or stressed over workload deadlines. Even if you feel completely exhausted your nervous system may still be wide awake meaning you will have trouble sleeping. Yoga can help to trigger the parasympathetic nervous system which is responsible for rest, digestion, energy conservation and slowing the heart rate, thus increasing a sense of well-being and decreasing anxiety levels.
6. Stress Reduction
Stress shows itself in so many different ways. Joyful events such as starting a new job or meeting a new person can also be incredibly stressful. Yoga helps to reduce stress in the body and mind because it promotes relaxation – the natural opposite of stress. Combining many stress reducing techniques including breath control and exercise a regular yoga practice will aide stress reduction.
Taking steps to reduce stress in the body and mind by the techniques outlined above can result in a deeper, better quality, restful night's sleep. What better reason to develop a regular yoga habit? Happy Zzzzzzzz's all 🙏😴
Namaste
Claire x
Photo by Kinga Cichewicz on Unsplash 🙏