Most people struggle to get a full seven to nine hours of sleep every day. Most of us fluctuate between having trouble falling asleep and even more trouble staying asleep. It can be frustrating at best and detrimental to your health at worst.
Yoga and meditation have been shown to improve sleep quality so that you not only fall asleep but get better quality sleep as well. Both work with the same principles of focusing the mind and body to bring them to a place of calm relaxation.
Reducing Stress Through Yoga
Let’s face it, we all have stress. Stress keeps many people from getting the sleep they desperately need to be able to handle the events causing the stress in the first place. At some point, you have to put a stop in the cycle.
Yoga can increase the oxygen supply and blood flow. It can also help control blood pressure. Regularly practicing yoga can also help reduce your body mass index. It can also help you manage your responses to stress. Reduce stress and you give yourself a better chance at a good night’s sleep.
While yoga may not count as a rigorous physical activity, there are yoga poses and combinations that can get your heart pumping and work your muscles enough to help you fall asleep easier.
Meditation Brings Stress into Perspective
Meditation follows along the same lines when it comes to reducing stress. Many meditative techniques involve deep breathing and guided imagery that both work to trigger the body’s relaxation response.
Mindfulness meditation, for example, uses focused breathing to bring the mind’s attention away from past and future problems and turning them to the present. A study done in 2015 found that mindfulness meditation improved sleep quality among older adults by reducing sleep disturbances.
Meditation brings the body and mind back together so that they’re coexisting in a calm space. With the mind and body calmed, falling asleep begins to happen faster. While it may take practice to reach a calmed state, the more you practice that easier it will become.
Yoga and Meditation Combine Mental and Physical Health
Mental and physical health are so interconnected that it’s difficult to address one without the other. The same goes for yoga and meditation. They’re interconnected and both help bring the body and mind together so you’re in the moment. Once there, sleep doesn’t’ seem so far away.
When used together, yoga and meditation can bring mind and body in sync to:
Increase sleep efficiency
Increase time spent asleep
Decrease night wakings
Decrease the amount of time it takes to fall asleep
There are a lot of meditation techniques and types of yoga to try. Let Kali help you find the perfect yoga and meditation style for you!