I’m always wary about hurting my sleep quality but I’m curious about practicing yoga before bed (I’m not much of a morning person). I’ve been doing morning yoga for years but lately my schedule/work has been crazy and I’m thinking about switching to evening/nighttime practice. My main concern is whether doing yoga right before bed might actually energize/wake me up instead of helping me wind down for sleep.
Also, I usually eat dinner around 7pm and wonder how long I should wait before rolling out my mat. I’ve heard anywhere from 2-4 hours but that seems like a lot/excessive. Sometimes I get home late and just want to do a quick flow/sequence before bed without waiting forever. Has anyone had success with bedtime yoga routines/practices? I’m especially curious if certain poses/asanas are better than others for promoting sleep/relaxation versus the more energizing/stimulating ones I should probably avoid.
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If you’re just beginning your yoga journey, please be gentle with yourself when it comes to attempting unfamiliar poses close to bedtime, particularly those that challenge your balance or ask a lot of your flexibility.
I understand how disheartening it can feel when your body doesn’t quite cooperate with a pose you’re hoping to master, and that frustration can create the very tension you’re trying to release. Your evening practice should nurture and soothe you, not leave you feeling discouraged or stressed.
I used to be so rigid about the ‘perfect’ bedtime sequence. now I just listen to what my body craves each night. Sometimes it’s five minutes of child’s pose, sometimes thirty minutes of yin holds.
Evening yoga actually helps me fall asleep much faster than on nights when I skip it.
Your worries are totally valid, but choosing the right poses makes all the difference. Gentle forward folds and restorative poses signal to your body that it’s time to wind down. As for timing after dinner, I usually wait about 90 minutes, which feels comfortable without being too long. Trust your body and maybe start with just 10-15 minutes of gentle stretches to see how you respond.
My sleep tracker shows 20% deeper REM cycles on yoga nights!
I keep my mat permanently rolled out beside my bed now, makes it SO much easier to just flow into practice without overthinking it. The key for me was discovering that twists actually make me MORE alert (opposite of what everyone says), so I save those for mornings only.
Edit: Oh and about the eating thing, I literally just do standing poses if I’ve eaten recently, saves all the belly, down stuff for empty stomach days
Edit 2: Almost forgot, lavender spray on my bolster helps signal bedtime to my brain.
Yoga before bed might not be ideal if you share a small living space with light sleepers. The movement and potential creaking floorboards could disturb others, so consider alternative times if this is a concern.
While everyone talks about gentle bedtime yoga being the answer, I’ve actually found that the intensity matters way less than the consistency of practice, even my more vigorous vinyasa flows help me sleep better when I do them regularly at night versus sporadically doing ‘gentle’ routines.
My sleep quality improved dramatically but I don’t really worry about poses that are ‘too stimulating’ just looked at consistency, consistency, consistency. As for eating, I’ve had zero issues practicing just 45 minutes after dinner, the whole ‘wait 2, 4 hours’ thing seems overly cautious unless you’re doing inversions or deep twists.
Your body will learn to adapt and take this nightly practice as a signal to get ready to sleep, but that takes consistency.
Try ending your evening flow with 5-10 minutes of meditation or savasana, because it naturally shifts your brain into those same drowsy wavelengths that happen when you’re falling asleep, except you’re consciously guiding yourself there.
When I skip straight from poses to bed, my mind stays active, but adding that meditation buffer basically pre-programs my brain for sleep mode. Try keeping your eyes closed during the final meditation so you can swap from mat to pillow.
Works like magic for those nights when your mind won’t stop racing about tomorrow’s to-do list.