3 surprisingly simple ways to use your breath to help you sleep better

We all know that relaxation is the foundation of getting a good night's sleep. The internet is awash with advice like limiting screen time, having a routine to wind right down.

But that isn't enough. It neglects how you're feeling, your nervous system and the role breathing can play in sleepless nights.

In this article we'll show you 3 really simple breath practices you can incorporate into your bedtime and wake up routines to help you get that much needed great night's sleep.

What is your Parasympathetic Nervous System and how does it affect your sleep quality?

An easy way to think of the Parasympathetic Nervous System is like the brakes on a car. When you're healthy you can press the accelerator and then brake as and when you need to.

This part of your body's response system promotes the rest and digest response that is responsible for relaxation, rest and ultimately, getting into a nice, sleepy state.

Yet, getting there in a healthy way is becoming more and more of a challenge for so many people.

As a society we may be seeing a shift towards a higher base level of arousal in our nervous systems. We are living at a faster pace, we are more reliant on stimulants, we're more inundated with information, light, noise, and all-hour alertness than in any generation before.

This is the opposite state, called the Sympathetic branch of the nervous system -which is like pressing the accelerator pedal in the car. If we are in go-mode too much of the time this leads to an excess of the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline being created and pumped into our bodies which leads to fatigue, depletion and issues with sleep.

This may mean waking with a busy brain in the night, or trouble falling asleep. Research shows that chronic stress contributes to high blood pressure, heart issues and causes brain changes that can contribute to anxiety, depression and addiction whilst also being a contributory factor to obesity in a direct and indirect way.

When the hyper-stimulation is the cause of exhaustion, that makes it all the more difficult to drop into the relaxed (parasympathetic) state we need in order to feel really restored.

Learn how to (really) relax

We can put the brakes on, and glide out of go-mode by doing some basic breathing- not just before bed, but at different times of the day.

Herbert Benson, a cardiologist at Harvard Medical School and a pioneer in the field of mind-body medicine found that the body can enter a deep parasympathetic state where it uses less oxygen and glucose (meaning we use less energy) than at any other time, including during sleep which he termed 'relaxation response'. His research shows it takes at least 3 minutes to enter this state, although it can often be longer.

For people who struggle with fatigue and insomnia, it's deeply healing to learn how to enter this relaxation-based state to allow the body to recalibrate and start conserving and rebuilding depleted resources caused by stress or poor sleep.

It's a bit like putting fuel in your car when the tank is empty. And so, here are some essential breath tools to help you refuel and really rest.

3 Breathing exercises to energise and relax you - creating balance for better sleep

Your breath works in mysterious and fascinating ways. Lengthening your exhale subtly lowers your heart rate and fosters relaxation, while increasing the length of your inhale increases your heart rate and can be stimulating.

Another fun, even odder fact is that your two nostrils correspond to the two aspects of your nervous system!

Here's 3 of our favourite breath practices to help you repair your ability to rest (and sleep well) by using every aspect of your breath.

Sama-vritti (Equal Breathing)

Sama-vritti (Sanskrit meaning 'same wave') is a simple breath practice anyone can benefit from which balances the activating and relaxing aspects of your nervous system.

How To Practice

• Breathe in for 4

• Breathe out for 4

You can work with any length of duration. Don't strain at all- so count in a way that's comfortable. If you're new to observing and working with your breath, start with a count of 4 and then work up to 6 or 8 counts.

Ujjayii (Yoga Breath)

Ujjayii (pronounced oooh-jay-ee) is a classic yoga-based breath technique which helps you become aware enough of your breath to change it. In yoga, it can be considered as a cleansing breath and is the traditional breath practiced alongside the postures and poses.

It also makes a sound, like ocean waves in the distance, which is done by making a sighing sound, or constricting the back of your throat (easier than it sounds!). Both subtly audible and physical, it can really focus your mind.

You can do this breath lying down or seated, on its own at any time. You can keep the inhale and exhale balanced, or make the exhale a little longer for more relaxation and calming.

How To Practice

• Breathe in and out through your nose only, with a closed mouth.

• Narrow the back of your throat to make a soft hissing/sighing/'haaa' sound as you breathe out. This streamlines and slows the flow of breath into your lungs.

• To start, inhale through your nose normally and make the sighing sound on the exhale with your mouth closed.

• Once this is comfortable with the sound on the out-breath you can then add the soft sighing sound on the inhale, so you're making the sound as you breathe in, and as you breathe out. You can add a count to make your inhale even with your exhale.

• Keep the sound even. When you're doing it right, the sound is subtle and constant like hearing ocean waves far in the distance.

Three-Part Breath

Think of Three-Part Breath as way to make your body feel more spacious, freer and less constrained by tension or anxiety. You'll bring your breath into your lungs evenly, fully and calmly.

Before bed it is good to practice this lying on the floor or on your bed with your feet on the floor and bent knees pointing up to the ceiling, letting your back relax into its natural curve.

How To Practice

Low belly breath

• Place your hands on your lower abdomen beneath your navel, to the inside of your hip bones. 

• When you breathe in, relax the muscles in, and puff your your lower abdomen, relaxing the abdominal muscles to make a ‘buddha belly’. Your hands will rise.

• As you exhale, release your abdominal muscles and your hands will descend. 

• Relax your lower back as you do this. 

• This brings more balanced circulation to the lower back and into the area that influences digestion. People often find this grounding and settling.

Middle ribs breath

• Wrap your fingers around the front of your ribcage, so your 4 main fingers on both hands point towards one another at the centre of your ribs

• Rest your index fingers laterally across your ribcage at the bottom of the sternum (where a bra-line would be). 

• Keep your shoulders relaxed and elbows on the floor. 

• Wrap your thumbs around to touch the sides of your ribs if you can.

• As you inhale, inflate the front and back of your middle ribcage, and expand sideways at the same time. 

• Experiment: see if you can expand front to back then side to side, and finally expand all the way around, stretching the intercostal muscles that line your ribs. 

• As you exhale, your ribcage will naturally narrow and the muscles in between your ribs will relax. 

• This helps expand the capacity of your lungs and improves full body circulation. If you tend to feel tension or anxiety in your shoulders or neck this stretching and release of the diaphragm muscle below your lungs can offer a great relief.

Upper chest

• Place your hands on your chest, right below your collarbones, with your thumbs out towards your shoulders. 

• As you inhale, focus your attention on the back of your shoulders, keeping them relaxed. As you exhale, release your shoulders and upper chest. 

• If you try this on the floor you may notice that you unintentionally lift your shoulders when you breathe in. De-couple your breath from pulling up your shoulders. Learn to breathe in while keeping your shoulders, neck and face relaxed. You may even like to softly turn your head to each side along with our outbreath to release your neck and soften your facial muscles.

All together: The breath wave 

• Inhale and expand your lower abdomen, then your ribs, then your upper chest. Do this softly so you're filling up gently, without strain.

• Exhale to release the breath from the top of your chest, through the middle part of your ribs and downward to hollow out and soften your abdomen. 

• You can use your hands to direct your attention to where you’re breathing in and expanding, and where you’re breathing out and softening.

• Practise so you can do this with awareness on each part separately and smoothly from bottom to top, and from top to bottom.

This breath helps you to focus your mind, release tension from your body, and get circulation going so that you can release into rest. You can even become aware of these areas during your workday or when travelling, so you begin to clear away tension at various times throughout the day.

There is the first part of our article on 3 surprisingly simple ways you can use your breath to help you sleep better.

There are of course, many more breath practices that you can incorporate into your every day routine to help you find that relaxed state and help yourself find a better sleep every night.

If you'd like more support with your sleep you can read our other Blog articles, purchase one of my books, reach out and book a suitability chat with me, or Find A Practitioner near you.

Lisa Sanfilippo Founder, Sleep Recovery

Lisa is the founder of Sleep Recovery™ and author of Sleep Recovery (Bloomsbury, 2020) and Yoga Therapy for Insomnia and Sleep Recovery (Singing Dragon, 2019) which draw upon her own experiences of all manner of sleepless nights, extensive research and work with students and clients over nearly 20 years as a yoga teacher, and more recently as a psychotherapist.