Yoga Nidra can improve sound sleep
For a long time I wasn’t able to switch off at the end of the day. I started cleaning, writing emails, doing chores while watching TV and went to bed way too late. Then I lay awake thinking about everything and everyone, annoyed that I won’t get enough sleep.
This has changed since I discovered Yoga Nidra meditation, a guided mediation that teaches you to wind down.
Sleep is vital for our health - but why exactly?
Sleep is a state of unresponsiveness. We spend a third of our lives asleep and this unresponsive state gives our body the opportunity to restore, to repair tissue, to synthesise hormones etc.
Ongoing research is diving deep into the mystical world of sleep which seems to predominantly affect our brain - for example sleep is playing an important role in memory consolidation.
Another hypothesis suggests that during sleep, a pruning of excess connections (synapses) in the brain happens, a kind of cleaning up. A study result published in the journal Nature indicated that the brain utilises sleep to flush out toxins. This waste removal system might play an important role in protection from neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimers.
Poor sleep has devastating effects on our health, performance and emotional wellbeing. Most often, it is our mind that keeps us up as we haven’t given ourselves enough time to wind down or to process our thoughts.
what affects our ability to find sound sleep?
Stress - feeling of overwhelm, constantly high cortisol levels and a tense body
Irregular bed times, naps during the day
Blue light emitting devices
Worrying at the end of the day - the inability to switch off, to mentally digest the day and let go
Full stomach/ too late dinner / digestive systems still active
Stimulants such as too much/late coffee (chocolate contains caffeine too!) or alcohol
Certain medications
how constant stress Messes up your sleep quality
The body clock works best if there is a regular sleep routine- you wake in the morning, move through your day and you will start to feel sleepy around bed time- which is ideally between 9 and 11pm. Our bodies enter deeper sleep stages that are giving us regeneration on all levels early on in the night, towards the morning these sleep stages become lighter. By going to bed too late you might cut short on the regenerative sleep stages, keep that in mind! This has to do with the hormones that steer our sleep/wake rhythm: Cortisol and Melatonin.
Ideal pattern of wake/sleep cycles
In the morning hours, there is a peak of cortisol release into the body, which slowly decreases over the course of the day –wearing off just in time for bed. That is when the sleep promoting hormone melatonin kicks in to make you drowsy, switch off and find sleep.
When chronically stressed, the body is urged to pump out cortisol most of the time and this release does not decline towards the evening as it should. With no time to unplug and let go of the day, it is hard to switch off at night, you have difficulties falling asleep or staying asleep.
Yoga Nidra prepares your body & mind for sound sleep
A regular Yoga practice and especially Yoga Nidra (Yogic sleep) meditation are great ways to find back to a place of stillness amidst mental overwhelm and a tense body.
Yoga Nidra guided meditation has scientifically been shown to slow brainwave activity, you enter a space and place of relaxation. Relaxation of the body and mind go hand in hand, we let go until almost falling asleep. You will then hover in this state between wakefulness and sleep, a deeply restorative state.
By practicing Yoga Nidra regularly, your body & mind know how to unwind and let go of your day (with all that mental chitchat), which is an effective preparation for sound sleep!
Experience a 25min guided YOGA NIDRA meditation HERE. Find a quiet place, get comfortable and close your eyes - you are about to go on a journey within & deeply relax.
The bottom line is- find what gets you out of the mental hamster wheel, that might be Yoga, meditation or a walk to return to yourself. Make that a routine, so you can wind down, mentally digest your day and sleep better!
To improve your relaxation response and regulate your nervous system with Yoga and Yoga Nidra, check out the Rest and Restore toolkit:
Rest & Restore: online
Use this Yoga & Yoga Nidra pack so you can consciously wind down, release stress & tension from your day at home to prepare for sound sleep.
Slow down & sleep better with Yoga + Nidra meditations.
Take action to reduce overwhelm and stress, you will be rewarded with a feeling of wellbeing and ease. And this makes us a better person to be with in this world!
Take care of yourself and your sleep,
Simone x