Top 3 Yoga Exercises Everyone Should Do For Better Sleep

Did you know that exercising before bed can improve the quality of your sleep? It’s true, but there are a few tricks you should know about. It all depends on the type of exercise and its duration. You want to do a vigorous workout early enough to gain energy without compromising your quality of sleep. On the other hand, simple exercises like yoga can help you just before bed because they can relax you.

If you’ve been lying in bed for a few hours and can’t sleep or have a hard time getting a good night’s rest, try incorporating calming yoga poses into your nighttime routine to fall asleep faster. Here’s what you need to know about sleep yoga and the top three poses you can practice in the evening.

For more sleep tips, check out sleep expert-approved foods, how to stop those awkward trips to the bathroom at night and how to beat nighttime anxiety with brainstorming.

How yoga can help you sleep

According to Chloe Kernaghan, founder of yoga studio Sky Ting, yoga it helps you sleep better in two ways: It helps relax the racing mind and calms the nervous system. “Yoga as a practice focuses on finding peace in the mind, which is often the opposite state the mind is in when we have trouble sleeping (i.e., your mind is racing!),” says Kernaghan.

Yoga includes aspects of mindfulness, but it is also a physical practice known to help calm the body’s stress response, or nervous system, through breathing exercises and performing certain postures. Kernaghan explains, “Physical exercise can help calm the nervous system and shift you from sympathetic mode to parasympathetic mode, which is good for relaxation and deep sleep.”

What types of yoga classes are good for sleep?

Not all yoga classes are equally gentle. Some classes are very fast paced, like power yoga for example, and can raise your heart rate. That’s a good thing, but you want to focus on movement that does the opposite if you’re feeling stressed and want to relax before bed.

“I recommend doing gentle, slow-moving practices like yin yoga and restorative yoga,” says Kernaghan. “In these classes, you’ll be standing for a long time, use lots of props for support and have intense instruction from the teacher, so there’s a quiet place.”

If the thought of doing anything like exercise or that requires a yoga mat makes you cringe, you can also try yoga nidra, which Kernaghan recommends doing before bed. “[Yoga nidra] it is close to meditation but is usually done while asleep. Little physical effort is required; instead, the practice of nidra helps move you out of the beta state (the waking state) into the theta state (occurs when you dream, deeply rest or meditate),” he says.

Read more: The Best Mattresses of 2024: Tested and Reviewed by our Sleep Experts

3 best yoga poses for sleep

Next time you’re struggling to sleep or catch some quality Z’s, try these poses in the evening to help you relax. You can do them all in sequence if you like, or pick and choose a few that you like at the time.

“You can do it yourself; the sequence is good because you have someone to guide you, but if you’re used to posture, doing a few before bed can be your perfect recipe,” says Kernaghan.

Child Support Position

“Forward folding relaxes the body and bending at the knees and hips, this can also be a good stretch for the hips and lower back. Definitely make sure your head is supported, so if you need to, add another pillow to make it more comfortable,” says Kernaghan.

How to do it, according to Kernaghan:

• Start with your hands and knees touching the floor or bed.
• Bring your knees as wide as a yoga mat, big toes touch behind you and sit your hips back to your heels.
• Use a thick pillow or sofa cushion lengthwise, placed between the legs so that the leg stretches forward, which should act as a soft support from the lower abdomen to the head.
• Feel free to turn your neck to one side and breathe. Sit for three to five minutes, turning your head in half when your neck is turned.

Supported Goddess Pose

“This gentle hip-opener is the perfect way to calm down and relax. Having a deep stretch in the legs can help with digestion, and letting the body settle heavily into the floor is a great way to release any lingering hold from your day,” Kernaghan says. (The video above shows a related activity, not the one described here.)

How to do it, according to Kernaghan:

• Come to a sitting position with your legs out in front of you.
• Bring your feet together, your knees open like a butterfly, and use two pillows (one under each thigh/knee) as support.
• Lower the torso down; feel free to use a folded blanket under the back of the head.
• Place your hands on your stomach or open your arms to your sides. Close your eyes if you like, and sit for three to five minutes.

Legs Up The Wall

“This picture is amazing, but in terms of sleeping, it’s good because it’s a gentle transition. The legs stretch for a few minutes, which helps with blood circulation so the body doesn’t get disturbed as you sleep. I love doing this. I sit on my bed sometimes — I just put my legs up on top of my headboard, ” said Kernaghan.

How to do it, according to Kernaghan:

• This pose is just as it sounds: You sit next to a wall, bring your torso down and lift your legs up the wall.
• I recommend bringing your chair closer to the wall, but if your legs or lower back are tight, keep some bend in the knees.
• I like to put a pillow under my hips so that my pelvis is slightly higher than my heart.
• Sit for three to five minutes. If your legs feel itchy, you can always do a butterfly bend with your knees apart and your feet together.

With these three sleep yoga poses in your nighttime toolkit, you’ll be on your way to sweet dreams.