Try This 5-Minute Yoga Routine Before Bed For Sleep

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As you perform this routine, focus on taking a deep breath in and out through your nose.

This slower breathing improves the body's ability to rest and digest.

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Reclining big toe pose.

This pose stretches the hamstrings, hips, and calves in a relaxing way due to the reclined position.

Lie on your back with your legs stretched out in front of you.

Bring your right knee toward your chest, place your hands behind your right thigh, and extend your right leg toward the ceiling.

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Lizard pose.

This pose is helpful for loosening up hip flexors that are tight from sitting at a desk.

Step your right foot to the outside of your right hand and keep your right knee bent above your right ankle.

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For a deeper stretch, prop yourself up on your forearms or a pillow.

Hold the position for three breaths and repeat on the other side.

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Closed angle posture.

This position helps you release tension by helping to stretch and relax your inner thighs, groin, and hips.

Sit up straight, bring the soles of your feet together in front of you, open your knees wide, and place your hands on your ankles.

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Take a deep breath in and exhale as you bend forward.

Relax your shoulders and hold for five breaths.

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Pigeon pose.

This pose really isolates the muscles in your hips and ultimately softens tightness, making you feel lighter and more relaxed.

Bring your right knee forward and align your right shin so it's parallel to the foot of the bed.

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She stretches her left leg out behind you and steps forward with her hands in front of her right shin.

Hold for five breaths and then repeat on the left side.

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Legs up the wall.

This pose helps recirculate blood flow in your feet and legs and calms the nervous system.

Lie on your back so that your feet are toward the head of the bed.

(CNN) --

Having an energy-boosting morning routine is a great way to start your day, but what if you wake up every morning knowing that your bedtime routine is really to blame for your lack of energy? of energy and concentration?

A good night's rest isn't just important for energy and focus.

Research has shown that it is especially important to have a strong immune system and to fight infection, something that is a priority especially due to the pandemic.

Perhaps your sleep has been affected in the midst of the uncertainty of our current times.

Maybe you fall asleep easily but have a hard time staying asleep.

Or you've spent countless nights lying awake in bed frustrated that you can't fall asleep.

One study showed a high frequency of insomnia during the pandemic.

And some sleep neurologists even call it "covidsomnia."

Whatever your situation, I've designed this five-minute yoga routine to help you sleep better every night.

Regular yoga practice, according to the National Sleep Foundation, helps people with insomnia sleep longer, fall asleep faster, and fall back asleep more quickly in the middle of the night.

Stretching large muscles in the lower body, such as the hamstrings and hips that may be causing waking pain or lower back pain, is one of the goals of this yoga practice.

As you perform this routine, focus on taking a deep breath in and out through your nose.

This slower breathing and breath control, research has shown, helps with the parasympathetic nervous system, the body's ability to rest and digest, as well as the central nervous system.

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Breathe in slowly through your nose as you fill your stomach with air, and then exhale slowly as you feel your stomach deflate.

In each yoga pose, focus on your breath and the sensations you feel in your body.

Reclined Big Toe Pose

This pose stretches the hamstrings, hips, and calves in a relaxing and calming way due to the reclined position.

Lie on your back with your legs stretched out in front of you.

Then bring your right knee in toward your chest and place your hands behind your right thigh.

Stretch your right leg toward the ceiling.

If you feel a stretch in your hamstring, stay there.

If not, bring your hands up to your calf.

For an even deeper stretch, reach your right hand toward your right foot and grasp your right big toe with your thumb, index, and middle fingers.

Flex your foot and feel the stretch behind the back of your leg.

Relax the shoulder of your right arm and make sure your lower back stays on the bed.

Hold three breaths and then repeat on the other side.

lizard pose

This pose is especially helpful for loosening up those hip flexors that get tight from sitting at a desk or in cramped positions all day.

Step your right foot to the outside of your right hand.

Keep your right knee bent above your right ankle.

If you're more flexible, you can step your right foot a little further to the right and open your foot to that side.

Place your hands on the inside of the right foot and keep them there.

For a deeper stretch, you can prop yourself up on your forearms or a pillow.

Relax your shoulders and feel the stretch in the front of your left hip.

Hold for three breaths and repeat on the other side.

closed angle posture

Release tension with this pose that helps stretch and relax your inner thighs, groin, and hips.

Sit up straight and bring the soles of your feet together in front of you.

Open your knees wide.

Place your hands on your ankles and sit up straight.

Take a deep breath in and exhale as you bend forward.

Relax your shoulders and feel the stretch on the inside of your legs.

Stay like this for five breaths.

pigeon stance

This pose really isolates the muscles in your hips and ultimately softens tightness, making you feel lighter and more relaxed.

Using your hands and knees, bring your right knee forward and align your right shin so it's parallel or nearly parallel to the foot of the bed.

Stretch your left leg behind you.

Move your hands forward in front of your right shin.

Hold there or, if you want to deepen the stretch, reach further with your hands and allow your chest to bend forward over your right shin.

Hold for five breaths and then repeat on the left side.

legs up the wall

This pose helps recirculate blood flow in your feet and legs and calms the nervous system.

Lie on your back so that your feet are toward the head of the bed.

Move your butt as close to the headboard as possible (if it rests on pillows at the head of the bed, that's fine!).

Do this yoga routine every night as part of your bedtime routine.

Train your body and brain to wind down before falling asleep so that come morning, you'll be ready to start the day.

Stephanie Mansour, host of "Step It Up With Steph" on PBS, is a health and wellness journalist and weight loss consultant and coach for women.

Yoga