Do you feel tense muscles, anxious and insomnia after sitting at home for a long time? Do 5 minutes of yoga before bed to get rid of lower body pain and help you sleep better

During the period of working from home due to epidemic prevention, can you maintain a normal work and rest schedule? Many people suffer from anxiety and insomnia due to the panic caused by the epidemic, which makes it impossible for the body to adjust and return to a good state during sleep. As a result, they continue to drag their tired bodies to work the next day, forming a vicious cycle. Is there any way to relieve insomnia?

A famous American yoga instructor specially designed a 5-minute yoga set before bed, including lizard pose, bound legs pose and pigeon pose, which can help stretch and relax tight and stiff muscles and achieve the effect of helping sleep.

Lack of sleep has a significant impact on the body's endocrine, metabolic and immune systems.

According to a report by CNN, a study published in the Journal of Internal Medicine pointed out that sleep disorders or insufficiency can have a significant impact on the body's endocrine system, metabolism, and even the immune system. Especially now during the epidemic, we need to be more careful about the negative effects of lack of sleep on the immune system.

Chronic insomnia caused by the pandemic, scientists call it "COVID-somnia"

Neuroscientists have even found that during the COVID-19 outbreak, the number of people suffering from insomnia has increased significantly due to concerns about whether they will lose their jobs or even their family members will die from the epidemic. They even call this type of insomnia "COVID-somnia." People with this symptom meet the diagnostic criteria for chronic insomnia, which means they are unable to fall asleep within 30 minutes for more than three months.

Stephanie Mansour, a well-known American yoga and fitness coach, mentioned that tight hamstring muscles and buttocks muscles on the back of the thigh may be the cause of lower back pain and poor sleep. Therefore, by stretching the larger muscles in the lower body, it may be possible to relieve insomnia caused by muscle soreness and nervous tension. For this reason, she specially designed a set of 5-minute yoga moves for people who suffer from insomnia due to panic caused by the epidemic, which stretches muscles, relaxes the body and mind, and helps sleep.

While doing yoga, you should focus on the air flow in your body when you take a deep breath.

When doing these movements, you must focus on feeling the air entering and exiting your nasal cavity when you take a deep breath. This slow breathing method can help relieve the parasympathetic nervous system and the central nervous system. When you breathe in slowly, feel the air filling your entire stomach. When you exhale, feel the air slowly being released from your stomach. In each of the following yoga moves, you must focus on your breathing and the sensations in your body.

1. Reclining big toe pose

Use the reclining position to loosen up and relax your hamstrings, buttocks, and calves.

Action Description:

Lie down with your back straight, place your hands on the back of your right thigh, lift it toward your chest with both hands, straighten your right foot, toward the ceiling, perpendicular to the bed, until you feel the hamstring muscles on the back of your thigh being stretched. Then move your hands from the thigh to the calf to support the leg. If you want to stretch further, move your right hand toward your right foot, grab the big toe of your right foot with your thumb, index finger, and middle finger, stretch the back of your thigh, then relax your shoulders, make sure your lower back is flat on the bed, maintain the position until you have taken three deep breaths, then switch to the other side.

2. Lizard pose

This exercise can effectively help relieve hip flexors that become tight due to sitting for a long time.

Action Description:

Place your hands flat on the ground in front of your body, extend your right foot, and bend your right knee just above your right ankle. If there is room, you can straddle your feet wider.

To achieve a further bend, place your forearms on a pillow. Relax your shoulders and feel the stretch in your left hip. Maintain the movement for three deep breaths, then switch to the other side.

3. Bound angle pose

This pose can help relieve tension and help relax the inner thigh, groin, and buttocks muscles.

Action Description:

Sit up straight, place the soles of your feet facing each other in front of your body, bend and open your knees, take a deep breath as your body moves forward, relax your shoulders, and feel the inner thighs being stretched. Hold for 5 deep breaths.

4. Pigeon pose

This movement can stretch stiff gluteal muscles, and you will feel light and relaxed after doing it.

Action Description:

Move your right calf forward, parallel to the front edge of the bed, and bring your right knee close to your right wrist and your right ankle close to your left wrist. Stretch your left foot behind you and press your toes into the ground. Lower your hips to the ground and straighten your back. Hold for five deep breaths before switching to the other side.

5. Legs up the wall pose

This movement helps re-enter the blood circulation in the lower body and can help soothe the nervous system.

Action Description:

Lie on your back on the bed, with your feet toward the headboard, and move your hips as close to the headboard as possible (you can also place a pillow between the headboard and your hips).

Coach Stephanie Mansour said that as long as you follow the above 5 yoga moves before going to bed every night, it can help relax your body and mind, so that you will have enough energy to meet the challenges of a new day in the morning.