Yoga can improve quality of sleep
An American survey established that 55% of people doing yoga found an improvement in the quality of their sleep. The National Sleep Foundation (UK) also stated that people who have suffered from insomnia and then perform daily yoga sleep for longer, fall asleep faster, and return to sleep more quickly if they wake up in the middle of the night.
Most yoga sessions have a cool-down sequence at the end, which can make you feel sleepy or even relax you so much that you fall asleep. We’ve had a snoring neighbour next to us a few times, which was pretty amusing! Overall, any type of yoga can help improve the quality of your sleep; however, if you want to introduce yoga into your bedtime routine, it’s important to bear in mind that some types of yoga can be energising (like ashtanga and vinyasa flow), so make sure you stick with yin or hatha yoga before bedtime. Here are three poses the National Sleep Foundation recommends for preparing your body for sleep:
Legs up the wall: Lie on your back on the ground and put the back of your legs up against a wall, keeping your legs straight so your body is in an L-shaped pose. Relax into the position, hold it for at least 30 seconds, and focus on your breathing.
Lying butterfly: Lie on your back on the ground. Press the bottoms of your feet against each other and let your knees fall out to the sides. You can put a pillow under your knees if this feels too strenuous.
Corpse pose: Lie on your back on the ground with your legs straight, your arms by your sides, and your palms facing up. Breathe slowly, focusing on your inhales and exhales.
