Are yoga nidra, mindfulness meditation the secrets to restful sleep?

In addition to its many known health benefits, did you know that yoga and meditation can also help you get a good night sleep? “Yoga helps us settle the mind and rest the body. When the body and mind are in a restful state, it is easier to fall asleep,” said Dr. Narendra Shetty, Director of Wellness at Kshemavana.

“A study in the journal BMC Psychiatry found a direct link between time spent in yoga class and better sleep quality. Older adults who incorporate yoga into their daily routines also experience better sleep and better quality of life in the short and long term.” Dream Association.org.

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Dr. Shetty added that it is the tendency of human mind get caught up in thoughts, especially at the end of the day. These constant thoughts about external interactions and emotional situations have a severe impact on sleep.

Elaborating, Dr. Rajeev Rajesh, Director of Yoga at the Jindal Naturecure Institute, said that our autonomic nervous system is under excessive pressure in the workplace due to the prevalence of stress and worry. “Stress and anxiety can not only affect fundamental bodily functions such as digestion, blood flow, heart rate, and breathing, but they also interfere with sleep and affect attention, creativity, clarity, and concentration. Productivity is affected by each of these issues, both directly and indirectly,” she said, adding that yoga and meditation help regulate blood pressure, digestion, stress levels, and immune function, thus inducing peaceful sleep.

Additionally, Dr. Shetty clarified how meditation, in particular, helps you sleep better. When we meditate, we progressively let go of the day’s experiences, separating ourselves from the events and their emotional imprints on our minds, he explained.

“This process of separating the practitioner from actual experiences helps create inner harmony. Meditation activates the parts of the brain that induce sleep and lower heart rate and blood pressure. increase sleep hormonemelatonin, thus improving the quality of sleep.

Learn how yoga and meditation can help you sleep (Source: Getty Images/Thinkstock)

yoga nidra

While there are many asanas that boast sleep-inducing benefits, yoga nidra it is a special recovery technique in which sleep is used as a meditation process for healing purposes. Also known as ‘yogic sleep’ or ‘effortless relaxation,’ “it is a guided process in which practitioners direct practitioners into a deep state of relaxation that borders on waking and sleeping, resulting in calm the nervous system,” Dr. Mittal said.

In a study on the effects of Yoga Nidra on sleep, it was found that practicing in the morning increases the parasympathetic drive during the night, leading to more restful sleep, which may explain a significant improvement in sleep scores. sleep quality.

Unlike other yoga activities, it does not involve performing asanas. “Instead, it’s about relaxing, getting into a meditative state of mind, and going into a conscious dream. while in meditation one is awake, in yogic sleep it is possible to enter a state of bliss that is profoundly healing; the mind and body are relaxed while the consciousness is awake,” he explained.

Dr. Rajesh listed the following benefits of Yoga Nidra

*Improved cognitive abilities
*Increases self-esteem and confidence
*Increases attention and mental clarity, as well as Mindfulness
* Improves sleep quality and overall health.
*Reduces symptoms of stress, anxiety, depression, chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Mindfulness meditation and sleep.

Mindfulness meditation, a specific type of meditation, has also been shown to “reduce ruminating thoughts, reduce emotional reactivity, and promote objective reappraisal of salient experiences, all of which can aid sleep,” said Dr. Shetty. Several studies have found that mindfulness meditation can improve sleep quality in a variety of clinical populations suffering from sleep disorders. As such, according to research published in JAMA Internal Medicine, people who practiced mindfulness meditation had less insomnia, fatigue, and depression at the end of six sessions.

As you practice mindfulness, you remain fully present, aware of where you are and what you are doing. It can be done in almost all the activities we do during the day, whether it is bathing, eating or traveling.

Several studies have found that mindful meditation can improve sleep quality (Source: Getty Images/Thinkstock)

The expert suggested starting with 5-10 minutes of mindfulness practice.

Some yoga asanas to help you sleep better

Experts suggested the following yoga poses for better sleep.

* Viparita Karani or Legs up the wall
*Supta Baddha Konasana or Reclining Butterfly
*Balasana or child pose
*Shavasana or Posture of the Corpse
*Bramari Pranayama
*Adham Pranayama
*Sahita Pranayama
*Utthanasana or Standing Forward Bend

(Next in the series: What is the correct position to sleep?)

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