Are you getting enough quality sleep these days? In a 2005 study on New Zealand sleep patterns, it found that 25 per cent of adults suffer from chronic sleep deprivation. This lack of quality sleep can cause numerous health issues like weakened immunity, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, irritability, and cognitive and memory problems. That's quite a list of consequences, and according to the World Health Organisation, it is a significant health concern.
Many factors can cause chronic insomnia for people. Some of the things causing insomnia are using electronic devices before bed, job loss, stress, death of a loved one and others. The reasons for insomnia can be as long as the numerous health issues associated with it. With so much at stake, finding an effective treatment for insomnia is important. Sometimes medication can be an appropriate choice, but before any treatment begins, it is prudent to add fundamental lifestyle changes. Yoga and other regular forms of exercise can help to form the basis of a long-term, sustainable lifestyle that enables you to sleep more, and better.
So, what can yoga do when we can't sleep? According to recent research at Harvard Medical, it was found that yoga helped improve several aspects of sleep. These improvements included sleep efficiency, total sleep time, total wake time, sleep onset latency (the amount of time it takes to fall asleep), and wake time after sleep onset. Yoga helps increase physical strength and flexibility, improve breathing, reduce stress and enhance mental focus all factors that can help you fight insomnia. By adding a short yoga sequence before bed, you can achieve a better nights' sleep.
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