These Yoga Exercises Can Help You Sleep Better

Indians sleep 6 hours 55 minutes every night on average, making us some of the poorest sleepers in the world, according to a survey by FitBit in 2017.

If you are also spending more time awake than asleep in your bed, here are some simple Yoga stretches and breathing exercises that might help.

Exercise 1

• Stretch your body before setting yourself to sleep.
• Stretch nicely from your fingertips to toes.
• Engage all muscles.
• Squeeze all the tension away.

Exercise 2

• Bring arms on shoulder level.
• Reach out with the fingers.
• Palms facing downwards.
• Bend your legs.
• Your knees are together.
• When you breath out, bring the knees towards the right, close to the elbows.
• Breathe out and look over the left shoulder, maintaining a nice stretch.
• Hold the position.
• Feel the navel go away from your spine as you inhale.
• Feel it come towards the spine as you exhale.
• Breath in and out.
• Bring the body back to the centre.
• Drop the knees on the left.
• Knees to the elbow.
• Notice the way the spine is twisted.
• Wring out all tension from your muscles.
• Hold the position and breath.
• Ensure your breathing is comfortable and slow.
• Bring the legs back to the centre and relax.

Exercise 3

• Bring both hands on your navel.
• Make sure your back and neck are comfortable.
• Feel the weight of the hands.
• Breathe in and feel the navel rise.
• Hands go further down into the spine.
• Breathe slowly, calm your mind.
• Leave your day, thoughts and worries behind.
• Use your breath to stay stable and calm, right before you sleep.

Of course it helps to have a calmer mind. So, when you hit the bed, leave all your distractions behind.

“When I go to bed, I keep my phone outside the bedroom. And for an early morning alarm, I use an old school alarm clock. You can try the same too,” recommends Zubin.

Leave all digital distractions away from the bed, along with all the problems and stress of the day. Here’s hoping you sleep better.

Editor: Ashish Maccune
Camera: Abhay Sharma, Anubhav Gupta
Producer: Rosheena Zehra

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