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Sleep apnea is a serious sleep disorder where a person stops breathing while sleeping. People suffering from this condition often stop breathing hundreds of times during the night if they're not treated.
Sleep apnea can cause many health problems, such as high blood pressure, stroke, cardiomyopathy, heart failure, diabetes, and heart attacks. It can also hurt your career, lead to accidents at work or in the car, and make it difficult for kids and teens to do well in school.
Best Yoga Exercises for Sleep Apnea
Yoga can't fix sleep problems on its own, but it can help reduce the symptoms of sleep apnea when used with other forms of therapy. Yoga breathing techniques can help reduce symptoms by strengthening and toning the muscles in the upper airways.
They reduce stress and calm the mind, which makes you want to eat, sleep better, and live a healthier life. On that note, check out the following five yoga exercises that can help reduce its symptoms.
1) Simhasana
In this position, you kneel down and bend backwards till your hips rest on your heels. Keep your palma up and fingers spread out in the space between you legs. Lean forward, and take a big, relaxing breath through your nose.
Keep your head tilted back. After holding your breath for a few seconds, open your mouth, and push out your tongue. Make a loud AHHH sound, and violently let out your breath for at least a few minutes.
2) Bhramari Pranayama
In this asana, the thumb covers the ears; the index finger rests on the forehead, and the other three fingers rest on the base of the nose, lightly touching the eyes. Take a deep breath in, and hold it for a few seconds.
Forcefully let the air out through your nostrils with a buzzing or humming sound like a bee. When you breathe in and out, you should only move your lungs and not your belly. Start with 10–12 reps, and increase to 25–30 reps over time.
3) Kechari Mudra (Tongue Lock)
This is hard to do and takes a lot of time. The first step is all that beginners have to do.
The tongue needs to be rolled up to touch the top of the mouth. It might only be able to touch the hard palate at first. With time, it might go farther back and touch the soft palate.
Over time, touch the uvula in the back of the throat. With practice, the tongue can move past the uvula and into the nasal cavity to stimulate certain areas. That could take weeks, months, or even years to get good at.
4) Naukasana
For Naukasana, lie on your back with your feet together and arms next to your body. When you let out your breath, the chest and feet should come off the ground, and your arms should reach towards your feet.
As the abdominal muscles tighten and make the navel feel tight, keep breathing deeply and easily while holding the position. While you're breathing, slowly come back to the ground and relax.
5) Kapalbhati (Shining Skull Pranayama)
When you do the Kapalbhati, keep your back straight, and place your palms on your knees with the palms facing down. When you breathe out through your nose, the stomach should move in towards your spine.
As you move your stomach, you automatically take a breath in. The stomach should quickly contract again, and you should let out a breath. The muscles in the stomach should do the work of letting air out and taking it in. Do that at least 50 times.
6) Dhanurasana
In this asana, lie on your stomach with your feet hip-width apart and arms by your sides. Put your hands behind your back, and grab your ankles while your knees are bent. As you breathe in, lift your chest off the ground, and pull your legs up and back.
Keep your posture steady, and pay attention to how you're breathing. When your body is tight and curled up like a bow, breathe deeply. After 15–20 seconds, bring your legs and chest to the ground.
Takeaway
Yoga is a great activity whose goal is to bring the body and mind back into balance. Yoga is a popular way to get in shape, more and more people get up every morning to do yoga asanas.
Many people, especially in their 40s and 50s, have trouble sleeping. Research suggests that yoga may not only be good for improving core strength, flexibility, and mental stress, but it may improve the quality of your slumber.
Yoga can help you fall asleep more quickly, stay asleep for longer, and get back to sleep faster if you wake up in the middle of the night.
