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If you’re struggling to get a good night’s sleep, you are not alone because insomnia is very common.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, approximately 33% to 50% of US adults experience occasional symptoms of insomnia, and another 10% to 15% experience chronic Insomnia disorder that is associated with distress or impairment in daily life.
There have been a number of studies that demonstrate that yoga can help with insomnia, and we’ll dig into those more in a bit, however, let’s start with the basics.
Common Causes For Insomnia
We’ll break the common causes of insomnia into two categories.
Insomnia Causes You Control
- Caffeine, nicotine, alcohol
- Change in your environment or schedule
- Poor pre-sleep habits
- Eating too late
Insomnia Causes That You Might Need Help With
- Stress
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Medical conditions
- Certain medications
Yoga And Insomnia
Yoga isn’t going to really help you with lifestyle-related causes of insomnia. However, studies have shown that yoga can reduce insomnia by helping you manage stress, anxiety, and depression.
In 2020, the National Institute For Health (NIH) completed a study titled “The effect of yoga on sleep quality and insomnia in women with sleep problems: a systematic review and meta-analysis” which “showed a significant improvement in sleep” for women who do yoga.
A 2019 NIH study titled “Yoga, Physical Therapy, and Back Pain Education for Sleep Quality in Low-Income Racially Diverse Adults with Chronic Low Back Pain: a Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial” was focused on lower back pain and sleep. This study found “modest but statistically significant improvements in sleep quality were observed with both yoga and PT.”
Our team here at Charmed Yoga would like to add our anecdotal evidence to these scientific studies to say that we 100% believe that a yoga practice can help you get a better night’s sleep.
Everyone here agrees that a gentle bedtime yoga flow will calm the mind and help you be more present with less focus on the shortcomings of the past or the pressures of the future.
A yoga practice can decrease your stress, anxiety, and even depression which are all common causes of anxiety.
Best Bedtime Yoga Videos For Better Sleep
Most yogi’s started with Yoga on YouTube, and you should too. It’s free and there are some really wonderful loving and skilled yogis sharing their wisdom and practices there. Here are some of our team’s favorite free yoga practices for insomnia.