The Link Between Breathwork and Better Sleep

How Midlifers Can Rest and Recover

If you’re in your midlife you may be experiencing challenges with getting a good night’s sleep. The causes of poor sleep at this age include factors such as hormonal changes, life responsibilities and stress. In fact, stress is a leading cause of sleep disruption for 43% of adults, particularly those in midlife. [i]

?Whilst you may not be experiencing all three of these, any one of these factors can interrupt your normal sleep cycles, leaving you feeling tired and in need of quality sleep.

If you don’t believe in counting sheep and think you’ve tried everything, maybe it’s time to consider breathwork as a natural, accessible tool to improve your sleep?

The Science of Breathwork and Sleep

Slow, deep breathing activates our parasympathetic nervous system. This is the nervous system that puts your body into a “rest-and-digest” state and will help to prepare the body for sleep.

Controlled breathing will also help to lower your heart rate and blood pressure contributing to an optimal state for sleep.

Managing Insomnia with Breathwork

Did you know approximately 30% of adults suffer from chronic insomnia? [ii]

?A restless night or inability to fall asleep in the first place can be addressed with specific breathwork techniques.

Box breathing, for example (inhale for 4 – hold for 4 – exhale for 4 – hold for 4), calms the mind and reduces the overactive thoughts that inhibit sleep.

Breathwork for Stress-Induced Sleep Issues

If stress is present in your daily life, it’s unsurprising that this impacts your sleep quality, especially in midlife.

By focusing on your breath and consciously making changes that shift your body from a stress response (fight or flight), to a relaxation response (rest and digest), you can not only aid the process of falling asleep, but also improve the quality of your sleep.

How to Incorporate Breathwork into a Bedtime Routine

It’s quite straightforward to build short breathwork exercises into your bedtime routine.?

For example, some really useful breathwork exercises (such as 4-7-8 and SOMA breath) can be done lying in bed.

Making bedtime breathwork a regular habit will ensure consistency, and it is this consistency that is key to seeing improvements in sleep patterns.

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The Holistic Benefits: Improved Sleep, Improved Well-Being?

By establishing a regular pattern of breathwork to improve sleep, you may also see other longer-term benefits on your overall wellbeing.

Breathwork and improved sleep can help with better emotional regulation, increased energy levels, and reduced anxiety.

And not only this, poor sleep quality is associated with cardiovascular and metabolic disorders, which may lead to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension.[iii]

As you can see, breathwork has many benefits for improving sleep and your health. Just by making some simple breathwork exercises part of your daily routine, you can support your body to rest and recover for better overall health and wellbeing.

And not a sheep in sight! ??

If you would like to explore breathwork techniques and consider integrating them into your daily routines to improve your sleep and overall well-being, drop me a message.

[i] American Psychological Association

[ii] National Sleep Foundation

[iii] CDC