Struggling with insomnia or restless sleep? Yoga might be the missing piece. Science shows that yoga optimizes sleep by regulating melatonin, reducing cortisol, and shifting the nervous system into rest mode.

How Yoga Enhances Sleep: The Research

• Yoga Increases Melatonin Production
  • A study published in J Alternative Medicine (Harinath et al., 2004) found that yoga practitioners had significantly higher melatonin levels than non-practitioners, improving sleep onset and quality.
  • Yoga Nidra, in particular, has been shown to boost natural melatonin production, helping people fall asleep faster and sleep more deeply.
    
• Yoga Reduces Cortisol and Nighttime Anxiety
  • High cortisol levels (stress hormone) disrupt sleep cycles.
  • A study in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience (Gothe et al., 2019) found that yoga reduces nighttime cortisol levels by up to 31%, making it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep.
    
• Yoga and Sleep Stages: Enhancing Deep Sleep
  • Yoga has been linked to increased slow-wave sleep (deep sleep), the most restorative stage of sleep (Manjunath & Telles, 2005).
  • Practicing yoga before bed has been shown to increase REM sleep, enhancing memory consolidation and emotional processing.

Best Yoga Practices for Sleep

• Yoga Nidra: Guided meditation proven to induce deep relaxation and increase melatonin.
• Legs Up the Wall (Viparita Karani): Shown to lower heart rate and calm the nervous system.
• 4-7-8 Breathing: Slows the heart rate, mimicking the body’s natural relaxation response.
• Slow, Gentle Yoga Flow: Moves like Child’s Pose, Forward Fold, and Supine Twists promote parasympathetic activation.

📌 Final Thoughts: If you want deeper, more restorative sleep, incorporating even 10 minutes of yoga before bed can be a game-changer. Science backs it! Yoga regulates hormones, calms the mind, and helps you sleep better naturally.

Try our practices for sleep in the “Sleep” section of YokeYoga now.