What’s on the page today:
What is the relationship between sleep and overall health?
What you need to consider when setting up an optimal sleep-friendly environment and routine.
Tons of simple, actionable tips with resources to help you sleep better.
Hey {{first_name|yogi}},
How was your sleep last night? Pause and consider how you felt when you woke up. Rested? Exhausted? Refreshed? Creaky? Sleep is a huge cornerstone of our health so being honest with yourself about yours is a good start! When you’re aware, you can start to make changes to improve it. If your sleep is awesome then yay for you. 🎉 Send this to someone you know struggles with sleep and you may even change their life!
During a decade working in Silicon Valley tech, we used to aim to ditch sleep so we could work more. We tried everything you can imagine to cut down sleep time back then, even several polyphasic sleep schedules!
As parents, business owners and avid travelers, we’ve experienced a few periods in our lives where sleep seems like an elusive goal which evades us as we navigate work schedules, nighttime wake ups and time zone changes.
But, gone are the days when surviving on a few hours was a badge of honor and something to brag about (you’ve heard the ‘I'll sleep when I'm dead’ ‘sleep is for the weak’ etc) 🙄. People are finally waking up to the fact that sleep really matters.
Why is sleep so important? (The science bit…)
Quality sleep is essential for physical, mental, and emotional health. The benefits of good sleep go beyond just feeling rested , it enhances our focus, creativity, and emotional stability. By prioritizing sleep, we elevate our overall well-being and experience better sleep, which can alleviate insomnia and stress. Adults generally need around 6-9 hours per night and for children and teenagers it’s much more than this! The amount of sleep you need depends on many things like your health history, activity level and age. Generally the older you get, the less sleep you can get away with, but that does not mean you should ignore listening to your individual needs.
Sleep and rest are vital for the body’s restoration, regeneration, and repair processes. During deeper stages of sleep, our bodies engage in essential regenerative activities like tissue repair, muscle building, and protein synthesis. Sleep also bolsters the immune system, making it a crucial time for healing and overall health maintenance.
Sleep plays an equally critical role in memory consolidation and cognitive function. During REM (Rapid Eye Movement) and deep NREM (Non-Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, the brain organizes and stores information from the day, turning short-term memories into long-term ones, which supports learning, decision-making, and creativity.
While sleep seems passive, it's when key processes happen, like hormone regulation, growth hormone release for cellular repair, and melatonin production to maintain our sleep-wake cycles. Sleep disorders such as insomnia and sleep apnea, events like having a newborn or going through a drastic life-change, as well as alcohol intake can interfere with these stages, leading to fatigue, cognitive impairment, and a weakened immune system.
We all know the feeling of everything seeming more overwhelming when we haven’t slept well. When we’re emotionally drained and everything feels amplified, it’s a sign we need more quality sleep. This helps us recharge and approach challenges with a clearer mind, rather than making rushed decisions while feeling depleted.
What can you do?
There are many things you can do and we have our 10 top tips in this article as a starting point so keep reading!
Incorporating yoga into your routine for example, can play a unique role in regulating your nervous system. By calming the sympathetic nervous system and activating the parasympathetic system, yoga promotes relaxation and stress reduction. This can help improve sleep quality, allowing you to wake up feeling rejuvenated and ready to take on the day.
Bedtime yoga poses for better sleep
Just a few poses help tremendously to close down your day and get better sleep. Yin Yoga is a slower paced movement practice where you hold poses for longer and really shift into your parasympathetic nervous system. To make these even more restorative and supportive, use props like pillows or blankets to get you super comfy. Try practicing these poses in a sequence, spending just a few breaths or minutes in each, you don’t even need a mat.
Child’s Pose (Balasana): This gentle stretch calms the mind and relieves tension in the shoulders, hips, and back.
Downward Facing Dog: Great to lengthen the entire Superficial Backline and change direction of blood flow in the upper body.
Sphinx Pose: Great way to gently open the front of your body (Superficial Front Line) since most of us sit a lot each day, which is closing the front.
Legs-Up-The-Wall (Viparita Karani): A fantastic pose for relaxation and soothing tired legs and feet.
Reclining Bound Angle Pose (Supta Baddha Konasana): Opens the hips and encourages deep breathing.
If you’d like more guidance, Bre’s 7 day program Evening Serenity is an all-levels movement program designed to help you unwind at the end of your day with a bedtime routine created for sleep. If you can spend just a couple of minutes of silent meditation after these poses or better yet, pair this program with the Nurtured Evenings meditations, then you are well on your way to restoring balance and harmony. Maybe well on your way to Samadhi too…Lord Krishna would be so proud. 😜❤️
What’s the best sleep position?
We just had someone ask about this in our last Satsang which was an awesome gathering of over 30 Wolfpack members! You probably expect an answer about body posture, right? We’ll get to that, but first, let’s briefly talk about sleep orientation, which is also a part of yoga (yep, yoga teaches us so much about all areas of life!)
It’s best to sleep with your head facing either west or east. Avoid sleeping with your head pointing north or south. Especially if you’re in the northern hemisphere, you want to avoid facing north, and if you’re in the southern hemisphere, avoid facing south. Remember: west or east! SIDE NOTE: This concept also applies to your yoga practice. In general, when you practice, face the sun, east in the morning and west in the evening. 🌞
Now, onto the actual physical sleep position: for most, the best one is Savasana on a firm mattress. If you need to put a pillow under the knees you can but no pillows under the head. If you need to sleep on your side during the night, use a pillow under your head, one between your knees and ankles, and one to hug with your upper arm. This keeps your body as symmetrical as possible during this long yin pose of sleep. It’s easier on your heart if you sleep on your right side, however better for acid reflux and third trimester pregnancy if you sleep on your left.
As with many things in life, the best position depends on your individual circumstances! Most of the time, the best sleep position is the one you find most comfortable and the one that helps you fall asleep. However, if you have a habit of sleeping stomach down on your belly, then try your best to avoid it - it’s not good for anything especially the neck and spine.
Breathing techniques and meditations to try for better sleep
Pranayama techniques like Nadi Shodhana (alternate nostril breathing) can be powerful tools for calming the mind before sleep. We’ve added another couple to our top tips list too! Additionally, incorporating meditation into your evening routine can significantly enhance your ability to drift into a peaceful sleep. Practicing yoga has also been shown to improve sleep quality and alleviate insomnia, with studies highlighting its benefits for enhancing sleep duration and overall quality of life. We have several of these guided audio meditations including this Progressive Muscle Relaxation one with Flo.
Traditional yoga advice on sleep
In traditional yogic texts, you'll often read that yogis don’t need much sleep, or any at all. Some say yogis sleep just a few hours, that one hour of yoga Nidra equals four hours of sleep, or that your Dosha determines whether you need more or less than the typical 7-9 hours. There’s truth in these teachings, but the yoga practices need to be adapted to modern life.
While traditional advice may work in nature, living in harmony without screens, driving, pollution, or the busy pace of modern life, our circumstances today affect us, whether we like it or not. For example, Flo, a Pitta-Kapha, is advised to sleep 3-4 hours a night according to Ayurveda. This works for some nights, but it’s not sustainable for our lifestyle long-term.
If we were living off the grid, free of modern distractions and stress, that might be enough sleep. But in today’s world, it’s important to put these teachings into perspective and adjust for our reality. Especially when it comes to sleep and other “miracle” claims from yoga, take a modern approach and observe what truly works for you.
🌙 Sleep solutions for restful nights and joyful mornings 🌞
Keep your bedtime and get up time as consistent as possible. Maintaining a consistent sleep and wake schedule helps regulate your body’s internal clock (circadian rhythm), improving sleep quality and making it easier to fall asleep and wake up. Irregular schedules confuse this rhythm, leading to restless nights and grogginess in the morning. Shift workers can use strategic naps (20-30mins) during breaks to help alertness and reduce ‘sleep debt’.
Get morning sunlight exposure. Expose your eyes to natural sunlight within the first hour of waking up to help regulate your circadian rhythm. If you get up when it is dark, turn all lights on, make it bright.
Dim the lights and limit screen time before bed. If you’re heading home to bed in the light after a night shift, wear sunglasses on the way home to reduce light exposure. Natural sunlight signals the brain to stay awake by suppressing melatonin, the hormone that promotes sleep. Avoid screens for at least 60 minutes before sleep to minimize blue light exposure, which can also interfere with melatonin production.
Move your body: Incorporate an exercise and gentle evening yoga routine. Engage in gentle yoga postures to release tension and transition into a restful state. Synchronizing these postures with breathwork can further promote relaxation, especially for those struggling with insomnia or light sleep. Also getting in at least one hour of exercise per week is scientifically proven to help with sleep based on this Harvard study.
Practice breathwork to calm the mind. Spend 5-10 minutes on slow, deep breathing techniques like box breathing or 4-7-8 breathing. You can do this while laying in bed, ideally in Savasana.
Create a cool, dark, quiet environment. Set your bedroom temperature around 65°F (18°C) or below and use a blackout blind or a sleep mask to enhance darkness. Earplugs can also help you to switch off, especially if you’re a shift worker and have to sleep during the day when everyone is making noise! Instead of complete silence, you may enjoy brown noise (better than white noise) while you sleep.
Mindfulness and meditation before bed. A simple act like thinking of 3 things you’re grateful for or reflecting on what you achieved that day can help you sleep more peacefully and wake up with a positive mindset. You can also mentally walk through your day, from the moment you woke up until now, and simply express gratitude for showing up, no matter how the day went.
Eat and drink for optimal sleep: Cut off caffeine intake at least 6-8 hours before bed, and avoid heavy meals to allow your body to properly digest. Cut out alcohol, drink it earlier in the day or reduce it; although it sedates you and may help you fall asleep, it messes with your REM sleep, causes fragmented rest, and can leave you feeling groggy the next day. Similarly, cannabis can reduce your REM sleep but increase deep sleep. If you find yourself relying on either alcohol or cannabis to sleep, it might be time for a break. Generally it’s best for digestion when standing or sitting so try to have your last meal 2-3 hours before hitting the pillow.
Get your compass out! Yogic wisdom suggests that sleeping with your head facing a west or east direction is better for rest since this alignment is thought to encourage deep sleep and mental peace. In contrast, sleeping with your head to the north or south may disrupt your sleep due to the Earth's magnetic fields.
Invest in the best mattress you can afford: We spend approximately one-third of our lives in bed (I know, right?!), so investing in a quality mattress is crucial for your health. Generally, medium-firm mattresses or memory foam option offer the best support by contouring to your body while maintaining proper spinal alignment. This can help reduce discomfort and improve sleep quality, making it a smarter choice than spending money on sleep aids or costly treatments later on. Find out which mattress suits you by completing this quiz.
Remember the 3-2-1 rule: 3 hours before bed, no food; 2 hours before bed, no drinks; and 1 hour before bed, no screens.
Using some of these practices, you have the power to transform your sleep and experience the profound impact this can have on your well-being. Even just 20 minutes extra sleep per day, you’re getting over 2 hours of extra sleep per week; tiny changes over time will make a difference.
Sleep and rest is a fundamental part of everything in the natural world, reminding us that rest is essential for life to thrive in balance.
With goodnight hugs and sweet dreams,
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Other cool stuff we use, buy and recommend can all be found here in the Breathe and Flow Kit here! From books and to business tools, to travel items and yoga props - we’ve got you covered!
Every living thing has its time to rest and regenerate. Trees shed their leaves, animals hibernate, even the tides ebb and flow. Rest is not just a human need, it’s a universal rhythm.
Hello {{first_name|you}} , fancy seeing you down here. May your dreams be sweet, your sleep deep, and your heart light as you rest and recharge. Sending you a goodnight squeeze. 💤💖
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