Yoga is a great form of exercise for many reasons: it improves strength, boosts flexibility, helps you to relax, gives you energy, eases back pain, and can lift your mood.
Another benefit of yoga is its ability to help you sleep better, making it an effective remedy for those who suffer from insomnia. By calming the nervous system and reducing levels of the stress hormone cortisol in the body, yoga increases your chances of falling asleep, particularly if you try these positions.
Child’s pose
The child’s pose is always a favourite, as it really helps to stretch your spine, ankles, hips and pelvis. It also increases blood flow to the head and neck, stimulates the digestive system, and relieves tension in these parts of the body.
Child’s pose is also a great calming position, helping you to relax, lower blood pressure, and boost your mental health, all of which are necessary if you want a good night’s sleep.
Seated twist
The seated twist, which involves crossing a bent leg over your straight one while sitting down and then twisting your body and resting your elbow over the opposite knee, also promotes sleep.
It does this by stretching several muscles at once, which releases tension in the body and kicks the parasympathetic nervous system into gear. This helps to calm you down, and put you in a better, more balanced mood, making it easier for you to switch off at night.
Cat-cow pose
Another popular yoga move is the cat-cow position, which has a powerful impact on your emotional wellbeing. By stretching the back, this improves circulation to the spine and helps to relieve stress in the area.
A lot of our tension is held in the back and shoulders, so releasing this enables you to relax your muscles and, subsequently, your mind.
By doing these three poses before bedtime, you have a good chance of relieving stress and, therefore, being able to have a longer, and better quality, sleep.