Lack of sleep has a major impact on productivity. It is difficult to function 100% and keep your focus when you haven’t slept enough. We all know the leady tiredness after a night that didn’t bring enough sleep.
Sixty million Americans have occasional sleep issues. Just imagine how many of your employees might suffer from the consequences of sleep problems!
“At least 40 million Americans each year suffer from chronic, long-term sleep disorders each year, and an additional 20 million experience occasional sleeping problems. These disorders and the resulting sleep deprivation interfere with work, driving, and social activities. They also account for an estimated $16 billion in medical costs each year, while the indirect costs due to lost productivity and other factors are probably much greater. Doctors have described more than 70 sleep disorders, most of which can be managed effectively once they are correctly diagnosed.”
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/brain_basics/understanding_sleep.htm#sleep_disorders
Insomnia, the most common sleep problem affects more than half of all adults in the United States. Sleeplessness means the inability to fall asleep or to stay asleep as long as one desires.
Would you like to know if you suffer from this condition?
- Do you have difficulty falling asleep? Does it take longer than 20 minutes to fall asleep?
- Do you wake up during the night and cannot go back to sleep?
If you answered yes to those questions, you might well be suffering from insomnia.
Most often you get a prescription for sleeping pills in order to deal with your sleeping problems. But do they help? Taking sleeping pills might get addictive fast, robbing you the ability to fall asleep without the pills.
Fortunately there are ways to ensure that you can fall asleep fast and easy even after a stressful day.
How practicing yoga will lead to better sleep
Sometimes people are just too tired to fall asleep. This might sound as illogical but true. You need to relax in order to be able to fall asleep.
- If you are tired before your bedtime, doing restorative poses and breathing will help. Practice for a few minutes – even 5 minutes will make a difference – until you feel more relaxed and then go to bed.
- Doing yoga breathing slows down your heartbeat and helps you relax. One of the easiest breathing exercises that you can do anytime and especially beneficial before sleep is this: Inhale to the count of 3, exhale to the count of 6. Important thing is to exhale twice as long as you inhale. Breathe through the nose. You can increase the count to 4+8 or even 5+10 as you get more advanced.
- Try progressive muscle tensing and relaxing when you lie in bed. Lie down comfortable in the Savasana pose. From your toes up tense and relax your body parts. It takes only a few minutes and will raise your awareness for your body. If you need help, there are audios available as mp3s or CDs to learn this method.
During our corporate yoga classes we pay special attention to breathing and restorative poses. What you learn during those classes, you will be able to use in any situation. Plus if you have any special questions, your yoga instructor can give you expert advice. Or even put together a special yoga sequence just for you!
We would love to show you how St. Louis Corporate Yoga can help to increase productivity in your organization! Give us a call at 314-630-1677 for a consultation if you are interested to learn about our company yoga programs!
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