Why Do You Sleep Better After Yoga?

“I always sleep so well after Yoga,” many of my clients say. Did you ever wonder why?

There is a natural rhythm in your body called the circadian rhythm and this is how it works - The stress hormone - we’ll abbreviate it to ACTH increases during the night so that you are woken appropriately in the morning. Another stress hormone Cortisol is secreted 30 minutes after your body awakens to fully rouse you. This is known as the Cortisol Awakening Response (CAR). Levels of stress hormones gradually decrease during the day and are further dampened by Melatonin , the hormone that makes us sleep. The secretion of Melatonin begins in the afternoon but varies according to the seasons.

The more we dampen our stress hormones, the easier it is to sleep. The practice of Yoga, pranayama and meditation all help to stimulate our parasympathetic nervous system or ‘rest and digest’. The main parasympathtic nerve is the Vagus nerve which innervates all our organs. Pranyama ‘tones’ this nerve, strengthening it to put a brake on the heart, stimulate digestion and down-grade the stress response.

So after your Yoga class your nervous system is especially relaxed. Melatonin has had a helping hand in dampening the stress hormones and you sleep like a baby!

Having difficulty sleeping even after Yoga?

This may be because your body is suffering from a heightened stress response meaning your base levels of stress hormones are higher than normal. Restorative Yoga can really help with this. If you regularly wake up at 4am, this is likely due to the already raised levels of Cortisol in your system. As Cortisol is slowly released to wake you up, the extra levels means the awakening response is triggered too soon. Once you have been aroused by this hormone, it is difficult to go back to sleep which is why this is the perfect time to get up and practice yoga, meditation or stay in bed and practice a pranayama such as Ujjayi, Alternate Nostril Breathing or Dirga which can sometimes help you to drift off again.

If you are still struggling with your sleep you might want to look at overhauling your lifestyle to prioritise self care. Make sure you are getting down time every day. If at all possible get outside in the morning. Dim the lights from 4pm onwards and spend as little time in front of a screen as possible. Use f.lux on your computer which gradually alters the tone of your screen from blue to orange. This helps the natural secretion of melatonin whereas the bright blue light gives your brain the message that it is still daytime and postpones the secretion of melatonin.

Please ask if you require any help in finding ways to manage your stress.