Sleep

You don’t need a cup of coffee to get you up in the morning, all you need a is a good night sleep. 70% of people in Australia are sleep deprived. The quality of your sleep is just as important as the quantity of sleep.
Yoga will benefit your sleep in many ways.  Yoga has a stimulatory effect on the brain and the nervous system and therefore improve the quality of your sleep. Certain yoga postures will increase the blood circulation to the sleep center in the brain, which has the effect of normalizing the sleep cycle.
It had been claimed that on average every minute you practice yoga you will need one less minute of sleep. On my observation of regular practice this seems to be true. My body will wake me up at 4:46am everyday to practice and I surprisingly feel more energized and motivated all day with less sleep.
You need less sleep because yoga increases the elimination of toxins from the body and rejuvenates the entire body right down to cellular level. You will fall asleep sooner and have better sleep so you will need less.
You will have a more restful sleep because of the relaxing aspect of yoga and the subsequent relieving of stress, tension and fatigue.
Other things to assist in a good nights rest

  • Avoid stimulating activities 2-3hours before bed. Scary movies, working on computer
  • Do some form or regular activity. Yoga is perfect
  • Take time to calm down before bed, read a book, have a bath, meditation ,listen to relaxing music
  • Learn relaxation techniques, breathing
  • Eat foods with tryptophan to aid sleep cycles. Eg milk, honey
  • Try herbal Calmative
  • ~Teas -Passion flower, Valerian, Chamomile, Rosehip
  • ~Herbs Skullcap, Rehmania, Oats
  • Avoid stimulants such as caffeine, sugars and alcohol
  • Declutter your bedroom
  • Keep the bedroom for sleep and sex only. Do not watch TV in bed
  • Have the room at a comfortable temperature
  • Block out any light or noise that comes in to your room
  • Remove any artificial light, eg clocks
  • Try to have regular times of going to bed and waking up
  • Have a notepad next to your bed so if you wake with something to remember write it down and rest your mind.

If you put these into practice you should wake up every morning ready to go instead of having that coffee and wishing you could stay in bed.