Spiritual Practice Aids Sleep

Yoga may be the answer for older adultshaving trouble getting to sleep and stayingasleep. For the study, 69 participants wererandomly put into 3 groups: yoga, Ayurveda(a form of alternative medicine), and control.The participants completed a questionnaireafter 3 and 6 months of interventions.

The yoga group learned physical postures,relaxation techniques, and voluntarilyregulated breathing and attended lectureson yoga philosophy. The Ayurveda groupwas given a treatment of herbs. The resultsof the study showed that the yoga groupreported decreased time to fall asleep anda considerable increase in the total hours ofsleep after 3 or 6 months of intervention.The Ayurveda and control group experiencedno changes in sleep. (The findingswere reported in the Indian Journal of MedicalResearch, May 2005.)