6 Yoga poses to help you sleep

Clinical Editor: Megan Dodson, PA-C

As a nation, we're getting progressively more sleep deprived. That lack of sleep is taking a toll on our health and safety, our productivity at work, and our relationships. Let's face it, when you haven't had a good night's sleep-maybe for several nights in a row-you aren't able to be your best self.

So what's keeping us up all night? "A lot of it has to do with stress," says Daniel Dinenberg, MD. "When you feel stressed, you can't sleep and over time it becomes a vicious cycle."

Continues Dinenberg, "Stress triggers things like increased heart rate and the release of adrenaline-which are okay for a few minutes-but when stress becomes chronic, those things can lead to insomnia." Stress can make it difficult to quiet your brain at the end of a day, which in turn can make it hard to fall asleep. And if you wake up in the middle of the night, you're likely to be kept awake by the chatter in your mind.

If this scenario sounds familiar, a regular yoga practice might be the ticket to more nights of sound sleep. "The focused awareness you foster during yoga-as with meditation or other mindfulness practices-helps to activate the more relaxing, parasympathetic response," explains Dinenberg. When the parasympathetic nervous system is activated, your heart rate decreases, your blood pressure drops, and your breathing slows. All of these things signal the body to unwind, which can help facilitate sleep.

To help get your body-and your brain-ready for a restful night's sleep, try this series of soothing postures 1-2 hours before bed. Hold each of the poses for at least one minute and focus on breathing deeply and evenly throughout the sequence.