We spend about one-third of our lives sleeping. Or at least we should. The average adult needs seven to eight hours of sleep every day and children need even more. If we don’t get that amount of sleep, the body and mind cannot rejuvenate and repair. Inadequate or poor quality sleep causes problems with focus and memory, weakens immunity, and raises risk of many life-threatening diseases. One way to ensure that one gets a good night’s sleep is to develop correct breathing –particularly, diaphragm breathing techniques.
The benefits of correct breathing techniques
Medical experts say that lack of quality sleep can contribute to tiredness, irritability, low energy, problems concentrating, and lower productivity. Proper sleep reduces risk of heart disease, asthma and stress. Paying attention to breathing correctly could actually reduce stress, anxiety, and symptoms of asthma. It calms the nervous system. The right breathing technique can improve melatonin production. This is the hormone that induces sleep, which is often found to be in low levels in insomniacs.
Diaphragm breathing is the recommended form of breathing for a good night’s sleep. The breathing technique utilises the dome shaped muscle at the base on the lungs. It is also called abdominal or belly breathing.
Breathing techniques for a good night’s sleep
For diaphragm breathing lie on your back with your knees bent, one hand on your upper chest and one on just below the ribcage. Now breathe deeply, steadily through the nose in a way that you can feel the hand on your tummy rise and fall while the hand on your chest remains still. It is recommended that you start with practicing this breathing technique for a few minutes three-four times a day. Once you have learned diaphragm breathing properly you can do this sitting up in a chair as well.
The 4-7-8 breathing technique is another that helps us sleep. Start by exhaling completely. Now breathe in through the nose while counting up to 4. Hold in your breath counting up to 7. Now exhale for a count of 8 making a whooshing sound. Doing this variation of pranayama will help improve oxygenation and sleep quality.
The Buteyko Methods of breathing involve several different breathing techniques that are meant to improve asthma symptoms and reduce mouth breathing, and in turn snoring and sleep apnea. These are breathing exercises that recommend nasal breathing, breath holding and relaxation to reduce symptoms of lung disease and improve sleep.
Bhramari pranayama, as many of us know, requires you to sit up straight with the index finger on your ears. Breathe in and while breathing out, press down gently on the cartilage as if to shut the ear while humming like a bee. Anulom vilom pranayama or alternate nostril breathing, and kapalbhati are also known to improve sleep quality. These Pranayama techniques are recommended to be done three to four times a day, and can improve sleep quality if practiced before going to bed. They help to calm down the mind, improve oxygenation, and could also stimulate production of the sleep hormone resulting in a better night’s sleep.