5 Yoga Moves To Help You Sleep Better (Expert-Recommended)

You're craving some shut-eye, but as soon as your head hits the pillow, your brain fires up like it's newly caffeinated. Or maybe you fall asleep, but then keep waking up throughout the night and struggle to get back into dream mode. If challenges like these are becoming more frequent, you're not alone. A 2024 survey found that nearly 60 percent of US adults say they’d feel better if they got more sleep.

Experts often recommend strategies like improved "sleep hygiene", such as sleeping in a cool room, avoiding smartphone use before bed or waking up at the same time every day, but those tactics might fall short if your nervous system is on chronically high alert. That's why yoga before bed might help, because it can be a boon for supporting your nervous system in key ways.

"Yoga helps by teaching your nervous system it’s actually safe to slow down", says Jessica Maguire, a nervous system educator who specialises in emotional resilience. "Gentle movement and breath work activate pathways that signal safety to your brain. Over time, this makes it easier for your system to shift into the state of stillness required for sleep".

According to the Cleveland Clinic, your autonomic nervous system connects your brain to most of your internal organs and plays a role in numerous body processes. This system includes two distinct parts: sympathetic and parasympathetic.

Your sympathetic nervous system is fired up in times of stress or danger and is responsible for your "fight or flight" response. The parasympathetic nervous system is the opposite, providing "rest and digest" processes that help with relaxation. When this system is turned on, it leads to a slower heart rate, reduced tension and deeper breathing. It's also crucial for quality sleep.

Research has found that yoga training can significantly activate the parasympathetic nervous system and reduce the sensitivity of the sympathetic nervous system, to the point that researchers suggest a regular practise could help reduce stress and prevent lifestyle-associated disorders.

Here's a cheat sheet on why yoga can be beneficial for helping with sleep quality and duration:

• lowers heart rate, which is necessary for restorative sleep
• Activates parasympathetic nervous system, allowing you to relax
• Reduces muscle tension, helping you fall asleep faster
• Slows breathing and quiets the mind to help you get to sleep and stay asleep

"The main goals of bedtime yoga are to pay attention to your breath work and make movements gentle and slow enough so you feel yourself slowing down and easing into a more restorative frame of mind", says Maguire. Here are some poses to consider.

"This improves spinal mobility, relieves compression on the lower spine and offers a gentle whole-body stretch including the IT band, piriformis, lower back, abdominals, shoulders and neck," says Erickson.

• Lying on your back, hug your knees into your chest.
• Bring your arms out to a T with palms up and lower both of your knees to one side.
• Gaze down the opposite arm and hold for one to two minutes.
• Release to corpse pose, with legs straight and arms down by your sides. If this is uncomfortable on your lower back, bend your knees so your feet are flat on the floor.
• Switch sides.

Optional props/modification: use a blanket underneath your knees in the twist, especially if you feel any muscle strain.

"Any motion that brings you forward is considered calming in yoga, which is why these types of poses are often done near the end of a yoga class", says Erickson.

• Sit on the mat with your legs extended straight out in front of you, knees slightly bent.
• Gently bend forward and extend your arms as far down as you can (whether it's to your knees, calves or toes).
• Hold for two to three minutes.

Optional props/modifications: if this creates tension in your lower back, sit on a folded blanket before tipping forward. You can also bend your knees more to release any tightness in the hips or back.

"This is considered an 'inversion pose'", Erickson says, which means your head is below your feet. Some inversions are challenging if done in the middle of the room, but because you're fully supported here, it can have a calming effect on the nervous system, she adds.

• Lie flat on your back with your legs straight and pressed against a wall. Shimmy your bum in so it's also against the wall.
• Hold for two to three minutes.

Optional props/modification: if your lower back feels tight, place a blanket underneath it, next to the wall, to alleviate tension. You can also modify by lying on the ground and placing your legs (with knees bent) on a chair instead of a wall.

This pose focuses on releasing tension in the hips, which can help you feel more relaxed overall.

• Lie on your back with knees bent and feet on the ground.
• Cross your right foot over your left thigh, placing the right ankle under the left knee.
• Lift the left foot so the shin is parallel to the ground.
• Hold the back of your left leg and gently pull it towards your chest.
• When you feel a comfortable stretch, hold for one to three minutes.
• Switch sides and repeat.

Optional props/modification: you can make this more restorative by leaving the left foot on the ground and bringing your arms out to a T rather than reaching through and holding the back of the left leg.

"Although you can make a bedtime practise any duration, aiming for about 20 to 30 minutes is usually ideal since it can help you relax", suggests Maguire. That timeframe might look like:

• Two to three minutes of deep breathing to start
• Three gentle poses, with each held for five to eight minutes, or all five poses with each held for two to three minutes
• Use pillows or bolsters to make longer holds more comfortable
• End with breath work or meditation for two to three minutes

If you want to shorten the bedtime yoga routine to 10 minutes, simply do briefer periods of breath work and hold the poses for shorter durations. For example, consider two minutes of deep breathing, followed by three poses done for two minutes each, and ending with two minutes of meditation.

When putting together your bedtime routine, avoid movements and stimulation that could sabotage your efforts, such as:

• fast-paced flows, such as power yoga sequences
• Cardio-style bouncing or jumps that increase heart rate
• Bright lights and noisy environments
• Intense stretching or inversions, such as headstand or plough pose
• Heart-opening poses like backbends, such as wheel or camel
• Caffeine or a large meal

To make your space—and your body—more prepped for sleep, here are some additions to your yoga routine that might make it more effective:

• dim lights
• quiet space or nature sounds
• cool temperature
• no devices, particularly those that ping with notifications

As with any health issue, including your sleep health, check in with your doctor if you've implemented steps like the ones above and established a bedtime yoga routine, but you're still struggling to get quality shut-eye.