YOGA FOR Insomnia

About YOGA FOR INSOMNIA

Insomnia is largely caused by an over-active sympathetic nervous system. Yoga, meditation and mindfulness can help to stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, lowering cortisol and adrenal fatigue, increasing energy levels. This is what makes them an effective insomnia treatment.

Practicing yoga’s physical postures, or asana, help to relieve muscle tension, contributing to a more relaxed state as preparation for sleep.

Power napping, spending ten minutes lying on your back with your feet up the wall or on a chair during the day, can balance the spinal fluids and mop up tiredness - paving the way for a better night's sleep.

Meditation and mindfulness can calm a busy mind, helping you detach from troubling thoughts, seeing them as just thoughts, enabling you to replace them with more positive interpretations that will not keep you awake at night.

Practicing slow, deep breathing (pranayama) can also be a good way to relax your body before going to bed.

Clinical studies point towards a regular practice of yoga, meditation and mindfulness as a way to increase total sleep time, and reduce the anxiety and depression that can be the result of chronic insomnia.

What the clinical studies say

Yoga

Improves restedness
Improves sleep onset latency (the time taken to transition from wakefulness to sleep)
Improves sleep quality
Increases sleep duration
Increases sleep efficiency
Increases total sleep time
Reduces fatigue Reduces pain

Meditation