We’re excited to partner with Tuck Sleep during National Sleep Awareness Week to bring you tips on working yoga into your bedtime routine. Tuck Sleep is a community devoted to improving sleep hygiene, health and wellness through the creation and dissemination of comprehensive, unbiased, free web-based resources. Tuck has been featured on NPR, Lifehacker, Radiolab and is referenced by many colleges/universities and sleep organizations across the web.

Why You Need a Bedtime Routine With Yoga

There are a number of benefits to daily yoga practice, from increased circulation, to relieving tension and feeling more centered. Yoga not only helps you find more energy during the day, but can also lead to a better night’s sleep.

A bedtime routine can help support a healthy night of sleep. When you go through a bedtime routine, you repeat the same few actions every night just before bed. Consistently maintaining a bedtime routine can help your body recognize that it’s time to doze off soon, so feelings of sleepiness, and sleep, can come faster.

While you shouldn’t sacrifice sleep for exercise, there are easy ways to incorporate gentle yoga practices into your bedtime routine to help you unwind from the day’s stress and ease into restful sleep.

Tips for a Healthy Bedtime Routine Including Yoga

• Shut down devices early. Screen time can interfere with healthy sleep. The blue light emitted from screens can confuse your circadian clock, sending signals to your brain that it’s daytime and time to be awake even at night. Make turning off your TV, shutting down your laptop, and plugging in your phone for the night your first steps in a healthy bedtime routine. Ideally, you should be screen free at least one hour before bed.

• Practice light, relaxing yoga. Bedtime is not the time to try out challenging yoga poses! Try familiar, calming poses that can help you feel relaxed while increasing circulation and preparing your body for sleep. Some good bedtime poses include legs up the wall pose, child’s pose, and cat-cow pose. Some of these poses can even be done in bed.

• Combine yoga with meditation. Meditation can support a healthy night’s sleep as well. Consider ending your bedtime yoga practice with meditation. Try progressive muscle relaxation, mindful breathing, counting meditation, or guided meditation.

• Practice gratitude journaling. Mentally center yourself before bed with gratitude journaling. With this practice, you can focus on the positives of the day and let thoughts spill out of your mind to relieve anxiety and stress. If you’re feeling anxious or worried about anything, consider journaling about those issues as well so you can clear your mind.

• Maintain healthy sleep hygiene. Maintain good overall sleep health, including a regular sleep schedule. Create a healthy sleep environment that’s dark, cool, and quiet, with comfortable bedding. Avoid sleep pitfalls that can interfere with healthy sleep, such as consuming caffeine or alcohol before bed, late-night screen time, or vigorous exercise in the hours before bedtime.

Want More?

For additional tips to help you optimize your bedtime routine and to learn more about sleep health, visit www.tuck.com. Follow Tuck on Twitter (@TuckSleep) and like them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/tucksleep. You can also end your day with gentle yoga at Your Inner Yogi. Check the schedule for our Night Cap and Insight Meditation classes.