Why We Need Sleep (and how to get more with Yoga Nidra)

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A lot of us have trouble sleeping. For some of us, the reasons are obvious. For example, you may be going through a stressful event, have jet lag or are dealing with an injury that makes sleep challenging. Perhaps hot flashes are keeping you from slumber or you are taking a new medication that is known to cause sleep issues. These are just a few of the things known to cause, usually temporary, problems in sleep patterns. 

For a variety of reasons, sleep issues can become chronic, meaning we consistently have trouble falling asleep or we regularly wake during the night and can’t get back to sleep. 

Whether your sleep issues are short term or chronic the bottom line is, poor sleep has some pretty big drawbacks. 

Why We Need Sleep

Poor sleep affects almost every system in the body (lack of sleep is considered a stressor so the negative impacts are much like we discussed in my other blogs in the stress series. https://www.balancerelaxationtherapy.com/blog/tag/Stress

Even just a couple of days of only getting a couple hours of sleep can cause:

  • Impaired memory and concentration

  • Slower reaction times

  • Poor decision-making

  • Mood swings, irritability, anxiety

  • Microsleeps (brief moments of sleep without realizing it)

  • Blurred vision

  • Hallucinations (can start after ~48 hours)

  • Reduced pain tolerance

  • Weakened immune system

  • Increased heart rate and blood pressure

  • Decreased coordination

  • Hormonal imbalance (especially cortisol, insulin, and ghrelin/leptin)

Over time, chronic sleep deprivation can lead to serious health issues:

  • Higher risk of depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder

  • Cognitive decline and increased risk of dementia

  • Heart disease

  • High blood pressure

  • Type 2 diabetes

  • Obesity (due to appetite hormone disruption)

  • Suppressed immune function, making you more prone to inflammation and infections

  • Shorter lifespan overall, due to the cumulative effects of the above

Two Great Strategies for Better Sleep 

I am a really light sleeper and used to worry quite a bit about not getting enough sleep. That is until I learned that there are some effective strategies for getting deep restorative rest and yes, even better sleep. Two of my favourite are described below. 

Check Your Sleep Hygiene

First, check that you’ve got the basics covered. According to sleep experts, there may be some simple things you can do to improve the conditions that make better sleep possible. 

Do this quiz to see if there are small lifestyle changes you could make to set the stage for better sleep.

Yoga Nidra: a powerful remedy for poor sleepers

Yoga Nidra is a form of systematic guided meditation. It requires nothing of you other than to get comfortable and simply listen to the guidance. It gives you all of the benefits of sleep even though you may still be slightly awake while doing it. It can be used either to recharge after a poor night’s sleep or to help you get to sleep or back to sleep during the night. In my experience, it works 98 per cent of the time. 

I have written numerous blogs on Yoga Nidra and encourage you to explore these short pieces to learn more about Yoga Nidra. 

While the scientific evidence for Yoga Nidra is still emerging, there are many studies pointing to the benefits of other types of meditation. Since Yoga Nidra is a form of meditation, these benefits can apply to Yoga Nidra as well but I wanted to share the documented benefits on Yoga Nidra specifically here. 

  • Reduction in blood pressure and heart rate

  • Improved heart rate variability (an indicator of how well we adapt to stress)

  • Reduced respiratory rate during and after practicing Yoga Nidra (an indicator the nervous system is relaxed)

  • Reduced stress measured by saliva cortisol (the stress hormone)

  • Improved sleep quality and quantity

  • Enhanced overall well-being including calmness

  • Fatigue relief

  • Mental clarity

  • Improved concentration and memory

  • Reduced anxiety and depression.  

You have nothing to lose by trying Yoga Nidra and everything to gain. The best benefit I have realized from practicing Yoga Nidra is that I’ve stopped being so worried about not sleeping!

I’m confident you will get some real benefits from adding Yoga Nidra to your self-care routine too.

Resources

Book a Yoga Nidra session with me!

You can also download Yoga Nidra recordings from almost anywhere you download your music or podcasts. Before you do that, I encourage you to read my blog Yoga Nidra for Troubled Sleep so that you know generally what to look for. The design of the script has a significant impact on how effective Yoga Nidra is. 

You will want the ad-free versions of Yoga Nidra since ads will disrupt your relaxation time. So avoid YouTube or Spotify unless you have a paid version that allows you to skip ads. There’s also a free app called Insight Timer.

I have also written and recorded several Yoga Nidra sessions which you can download directly erelaxationtherapy.com/store?category=Yoga+Nidrato your device (for a small fee using your Pay Pal account).

You can book your next relaxation session by clicking on the “Book” button from any page on my website. Feel free to share this blog. 

Relax and stay well! 
=)
Lori