Two studies addressed the ways that relaxed breathing, stretching and meditation can help individuals with health problems get more shut-eye.
For those who avoid yoga, the holistic mind-body regimen may seem to have a soporific effect, leading to numerous excuses along the lines of "It'd put me to sleep." While this sort of rationalization does not hold up well in practice – after all, even the most peaceful yoga systems tend to turn the mind on, not off – it does contain a kernel of truth.
According to new research, yoga appears to be able to help specific populations fall asleep and get better rest.
None of the recent studies on the subject deal with nodding off in the middle of yoga classes. Instead, they address the ways that relaxed breathing, stretching and meditation can help individuals with health problems get more shut-eye.
Two of the most notable investigations into this topic appeared in the International Journal of Nursing Studies and the journal European Psychiatry (EP). In the first, yoga instruction helped elderly Taiwanese people sleep better and also reduced their symptoms of depression.
In the second study in EP, scientists from Iran found that six weeks of yoga was enough to convince women with generalized anxiety disorder that the reconnection of their minds and bodies could help them relax and rest.
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Tags: better sleep, generalized anxiety disorder, yoga classes
