Normally I do yoga on a Thursday afternoon, but on October 26, I did it in the evening, around 7:30 p.m. and then went to bed shortly afterward. The sleep I had that night was incredible! Check out the results.

I can’t remember the last time I slept this long. It was by far the longest REM sleep I’ve had since monitoring my sleep patterns with an Oura ring. The following day I woke up refreshed, ready to go, and had a great workout!

Was it coincidence or was it yoga? I checked PubMed but only found two papers on the subject, so I decided to do my own study. I gave it about a month and then tried yoga again in the evening. Here are the results:

By no means is this n=1 study definitive – it’s only two trials and there are a million variables to consider – but it’s a start. Anything that improves your sleep will improve your results.

You grow muscle in bed, not in the gym. Getting quality sleep is important to increase size and strength and to lose body fat. By now, we’re all familiar with proper sleep hygiene: avoid electronics (blue light), caffeine and heavy meals before sleep, make sure your room is pitch black, silent and slightly cool, and so on.

Certain restoration methods can help as well. I get great sleep after an adrenal IV drip or a salt bath. Now, you can add yoga to the list. Nothing strenuous, just some gentle poses geared toward your needs. Try it one evening and see how you sleep after that. If it helps, make it a regular practice.