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Prescribing yoga before medication for sleep disorders?

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As we age, sleep changes and may become more elusive. And sleep is mission critical for our mind/body health and longevity. Personally, as I have gotten older, I’ve kind of become obsessed with sleep, wanting to make sure that I get enough that includes adequate REM and deep sleep. I recently started to wear the Oura Ring to track my sleep and learn what I might be able to change in order to improve my sleep scores. I also read any new research that comes along related to sleep, including the benefits of it, the impact of the lack of it, and what life style changes support better sleep. So, I always get excited to see how such research continues to validate my own personal experience as it relates to the connection between yoga and sleep.

When working with clients and I learn about their struggles with their mental health, I explore their experiences with sleep, including perceptions and barriers to quality sleep. It is important to know that our sleep patterns do change as we age and the days of sleeping “soundly” for 8 hours as a child are behind us. Our circadian rhythms shift, leading to feeling sleepy earlier and going to bed earlier. It can also result in more difficulty staying asleep through the night. Hormonal changes, such as a reduction in melatonin that regulates sleep, can impact our sleep. Data shows that there is a change in our sleep architecture as we age, including spending less time in deep, restorative sleep stages and sleep becomes lighter and more fragmented, with more awakenings throughout the night. Knowing this information is important so we don’t develop thoughts like “I had a lousy night sleep.” just because we woke up several times throughout the night. These thoughts, when repeated, tend to become beliefs that incorrectly inform your mind/body health status. The best indicator of a good night’s sleep is not based upon how many hours of “solid sleep” you get, but instead waking up feeling refreshed and ready to start your day and not relying on caffeine to stay awake during the day.

Dealing with medical conditions, such as pain and urinary problems, can impact our ability to fall asleep and stay asleep as well. If you are taking prescription medications for chronic medical conditions, these medications can impact the quality of your sleep too. Changes in our activity level, diet and social habits as we move into the later stages of life can also impact our sleep. So, when we take a look at the broader view of sleep, we might feel like there is not a lot we can do to improve our sleep. But wait! Knowing that lifestyle factors, such as diet, exercise, and social interactions, have up to an 80% impact on our health and longevity, we do have the opportunity to make such changes.

The benefits of a yoga practice at any age has been shown to have many positive impacts on our mind/body health. And, as the number of people aged 65 and older increases, there are more yoga teachers and classes focused on this population, making gentle yoga and chair yoga options more available than ever. So no need to twist yourself into a pretzel or flip upside down to integrate the practice into your life and reap the benefits from it.

Research continues to show the many benefits of yoga. Specifically, how it improves sleep quality in the elderly, including improvements in sleep disturbance, sleep duration, sleep efficiency, and overall sleep quality. If you would like to read more on the recent research into the beneficial effects of yoga on sleep quality in the elderly, click the link below:

Benefits of Yoga on Sleep Quality in the Elderly

Can yoga – and all of its contemplative practices – contribute to a healthier cognitive aging process?

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My husband and I try to remember to laugh when we walk into a room and then have to stand there for a few minutes because we realize we forgot why we were heading there in the first place.  And I think a sense of humor is critical in many circumstances, so applying it to myself as I age is putting a value into action!  However, instead of accepting the gradual decline in the neural circuitry of the brain as we age, what if you were to learn that there was a simple way to preserve the connectivity in our brains that contributes to overall health?  Would you be willing to try it?

Well, with the assistance of brain imaging, research studies can see the impact of contemplative – or attentional – practices on very specific areas of the brain, which opens the door to more rigorous studies that shed light on how such practices can support a healthier cognitive aging process.  These brain imaging techniques have shown that there are changes in the functional connectivity of our neural networks as we age.  Now the idea of ‘before and after’ imaging can be applied more broadly in research, beyond the studies that focus on prescription medications.

My experience when I am able to give something my full attention is one in which the memory of the moment is so much richer and stronger, whether it is a conversation with someone or simply sitting outside in nature.  I find that I can more easily recall the details of the experience when reflecting on it, almost as though I am experiencing it again in all of its colors and textures.  So if there is something I can do to help support the health of my ability to maintain my attention, I say ‘sign me up!’

Recent data from studies looking specifically at yoga and other contemplative practices such as meditation suggest that such practices may revert, at least in some part, the effects of aging on the functional connectivity in the brain.  The intention of the research is to look at how using the body and breath as the focus of contemplation helps to preserve cognition and the neural connectivity of those brain areas that typically decline with age.  When we hold the body in one of the shapes of a yoga practice, and bring the mind’s awareness to focus on the experience of the breath in that shape, it supports the parts of the brain that support cognition and brain connectivity.  Sounds pretty good to me for simply moving the body and breathing with intention and attention!

If you are so inclined to read more about the details of a recent research study looking how yoga and other contemplative practices impact specific parts of the brain involved in maintaining a healthier cognitive aging process, click the link below:

Functional Connectivity in Elderly Yoga Practitioners