by Nina

Did you ever stop to consider that what you do during your day can have an effect on the quality of your sleep at night? It absolutely can. That’s because there are two things you need to sleep well: a relaxed body and a quiet mind. Doing exercises during the day releases physical tension and “restlessness” from your body, which makes it easier to relax your body at night. And keeping stress levels as low as possible throughout the day will make easier for you to relax your mind at night.

This is why I recommend that people who have chronic insomnia should plan their entire day and night to support better sleep. If that seems too burdensome, consider the difference between what your life is like when you’re feeling well rested and what it’s like when you are sleep deprived.

Some basic considerations you should keep in mind are when you do which yoga poses and what to do if you have an afternoon sinking spell.

For those of you who do regularly practice yoga during the day or evening, I suggest you plan which yoga practices to do when. That’s because while yoga in general is considered “relaxing,” some poses are more relaxing than others. And some poses and sequences, such as standing poses, backbends, and active flow sequences, are actually quite stimulating. If you jump into bed right after doing a stimulating yoga practice—or for that matter any stimulating form of exercise, such running, power walking, or aerobics—it’s sort of like drinking an espresso just before bedtime. Save those practices for earlier in the day.

For everyone, if you nap during the day, consider practicing relaxing yoga instead. That may seem counterintuitive, but sleep, although necessary for your health, isn’t the same as relaxing while you are awake. Dreams can actually cause stress, as you have probably noticed after waking up from a nightmare. And naps don’t have the same stress-reducing effects that conscious relaxation does. Unlike naps, conscious relaxation actually reduces your stress hormones, including your cortisol levels. Because high levels of cortisol actually cause insomnia, lowering your cortisol levels with conscious relaxation or calming yoga poses could help prevent the busy mind and over-stimulated nervous system that is keeping you awake at night. And, of course, sleep experts also recommend avoiding napping for people with insomnia.

Here are some suggestions for how to plan your twenty-four-hour day, from morning until the middle of the night, to improve your sleep. Obviously, everyone’s daily schedules are different, and not everyone has free time during the day. So, if any of these suggestions don’t work for you, just skip over them.

Daytime. Getting exercise is helpful for improving your sleep. It’s easier to sleep well if you’ve been physical active rather than sedentary and exercise also helps release muscular tension from your body, which can help you feel more physically comfortable at bedtime.

So, if you have time during the day to exercise, do the exercise that works best for you: walking, running, swimming, cycling, doing aerobics, doing a strong yoga practice that includes forceful, stimulating poses, including standing poses, backbends, twists, and/or Sun Salutations and vinyasa flows, or taking an active yoga class from your favorite teacher. If you’re practicing yoga, however, try to end with a relaxing pose—whether that’s Legs Up the Wall pose or a good Savasana—so you quiet down after all the stimulation.

Afternoon sinking spell. Instead of napping during the day when you are sleepy, try a conscious relaxation practice that won’t put you to sleep, such as a seated meditation or breath practice, or a restorative posture that you can do without falling asleep. Just be sure to set a timer, perhaps one that chimes at intervals, in case you do fall asleep. Another possibility is some gentle stretching, which is something you can do in the same room with kids and pets—maybe they’ll even join in.

Late afternoon/early evening. After work or the early evening is time for you to start winding down and avoid stimulating poses and practices. You know how you stop with the caffeinated drinks after three? It’s like that. Additionally, your stress hormones typically peak at this time of day, so focusing on relaxing is especially beneficial. For people who practice yoga poses at this time, I suggest poses and practices that calm your nervous system, such as gentle stretches, forward bends, inverted poses, and/or restorative yoga. If this is a time when you take a yoga class, look for either a restorative yoga class or a gentle one.

Some people like meditating at this time of day because it helps reset them after a stressful day and make their evenings more peaceful, so doing that, or a calming breath practice, is also a good option.

Before bed. Sleep experts recommend going to bed at the same time each night. But before you go to bed, if it is at all possible, consider turning off the TV early or putting your book down, and practicing a short yoga session to reduce your stress levels. Switching your nervous system to the rest-and-digest state before getting into bed may help you fall asleep more quickly and sleep more deeply. See Better Sleep Tips, Part 1: Winding Down for practices you can do at this time.

It may even be that postponing bedtime by fifteen minutes in order to do a stress management pose or practice would be beneficial. You will not only be more relaxed when you get into bed, having a pre-bedtime routine might in itself be helpful, the same way that small children go to sleep more easily with a special routine that settles them down before bed. And if this is the only time in the day when you can do stress management practices, foregoing fifteen or twenty minutes of sleep to practice will also help keep your baseline stress levels lower overall.

In bed. Now is the time to quiet your mind to help you ease into sleep. Practicing conscious relaxation in bed before falling asleep can help you fall asleep more quickly and/or help you sleep more deeply. See Better Sleep Tips, Part 2: Putting Yourself to Sleep for suggested practices.

In the middle of the night. If you wake up in the middle of the night or too early in the morning and don’t quickly fall back to sleep, this is the time to quiet your mind again as you did when you got into bed. At this point, if you’re feeling very restless, you may even wish to do some yoga poses in bed. See Better Sleep Tips, Part 3: It’s the Middle of the Night! For suggested practices.

Morning. Hope you slept better last night!

You can find the rest of this series on yoga for better sleep at Better Sleep Tips, Part 1: Winding Down Before Bed, Better Sleep Tips, Part 2: Putting Yourself to Sleep, and Better Sleep Tips, Part 3: It’s the Middle of the Night!

 

 

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