Good sleep is vital to good mental and physical health
Sleep is essential for maintaining good health. The odd sleepless night may affect your whole day, but consistently not getting enough sleep can have a serious impact on your mental health. It can affect your ability to concentrate and make good decisions. It can make you irritable and impatient. It can cause anxiety and depression and increase your chances of other mental health conditions. Conversely, having poor mental health can lead to problems with sleep. It can become a never ending cycle.
In my work as a yoga teacher and yoga therapist, one of the main ways I’ve been able to help people is by helping them to sleep and to sleep properly.
What do I mean by sleep properly?
It’s not just how much sleep we get, but the quality of that sleep. Some of us need more sleep than others but generally most people need between 7 and 9 hours of sleep per day. It’s normal to wake in the night, maybe to go to the loo, but if you can’t get back to sleep quickly, then you may not get enough rest. The golden rule is that you should awake feeling refreshed and ready for the day.
Many people, however, fall asleep exhausted and wake up feeling tired. This means that they’re not nourished from their sleep and they may rely on coffee or other stimulants to get through the day. Others may find it hard to get to sleep in the first place because of worry. Then if they do sleep it may only be for a couple of hours and they wake unable to fall asleep again. Some complain of grinding teeth, dental problems, headaches and pain in their jaw when they wake.
So how can you improve the quality of your sleep?
With my clients, I often use movement synchronised with the breath, most likely in a supine position. I might combine this with long held (gentle) stretches. After this I may use relaxation techniques such PMR (progressive muscle relaxation), conscious breathing (pranayama) and restorative yoga postures, followed by a long savasana (yoga relaxation pose) where I will give a guided relaxation technique called yoga nidra (sleep of the yogis).
Many people have never experienced such deep relaxation and when they do they want more of it. It’s like they finally have permission to relax.
Try my yoga nidra for sleep. Do it for five consecutive days and see what difference it makes to your happiness, health and wellbeing.