Sleep struggles are extremely common. Research shows that between 10% and 30% of adults experience insomnia at any given point in time, and up to half of people will have meaningful sleep problems in a year — including trouble falling or staying asleep, early waking, or non-restorative sleep.

While many of us turn to habits like screens, supplements, or late-night snacks to get sleep, the underlying driver for a lot of chronic sleep disruption is a nervous system that never truly shifts out of fight or flight.

Stress, the Nervous System, and Why Sleep Gets Hijacked

When we perceive threat — whether from an urgent email, a memory of hurt, or constant stimulation from news and devices — the nervous system activates what’s called the fight-or-flight response. This evolutionary survival mechanism ramps up stress hormones like cortisol, adrenaline, and noradrenaline so the body is prepared for danger.

In the short term this response is helpful. But in modern life, it can stay on without a real threat, leading the body to believe it is still under attack. Physically, this shows up as:

• Elevated cortisol and sympathetic nervous system activity

• Muscle tension that does not release

• Racing thoughts and difficulty turning off the mind

• Sleep onset delays or fragmented sleep

Chronically elevated stress hormones interfere with the brain chemistry and physiology that should support deep, restorative sleep.

This heightened state doesn’t just affect sleep — it can show up as unexplained pain, digestive distress, tension in the body, emotional dysregulation, or anxiety symptoms. In other words, your body is trying to protect you — but it’s doing it at the expense of rest.

What Most People Don’t Know: The Body Holds Armor

We all carry physical and emotional tension — some of it from clear life stressors, and much of it from repeated micro-stressors we barely notice: emails, traffic, social pressure, deadlines, relational tension, or even constant media intake.

Over time, this builds what some somatic practitioners call “body armor” — habitual muscle tension and nervous system guarding that can trigger:

• Sleep problems

• Digestive sensitivity

• Neck, back or jaw tension

• Emotional hyper-responsiveness

This tension isn’t “just in your head.” It lives in the muscles, connective tissue and nervous system, continually signaling threat when none is present.

Yoga: More Than Movement, a Path Back to Rest

Yoga isn’t just stretching. It’s a mind-body practice that combines gentle physical postures, breathwork, and mindfulness in a way that engages the nervous system toward rest and repair rather than activation.

Scientific studies support yoga’s ability to:

• Reduce stress and anxiety by shifting autonomic nervous system balance from sympathetic (fight/flight) to parasympathetic (rest/digest).

• Lower stress hormones like cortisol in diverse populations after consistent practice.

• Improve sleep quality, latency, efficiency and subjective restfulness when done regularly.

In studies comparing types of yoga, Yin yoga — which involves long holds in passive postures — has been shown to improve sleep quality significantly, even more so than more active styles for some participants.

How Yin Yoga and Somatic Practices Specifically Support Sleep

Yin Yoga

Yin is slower and more introspective. Poses are held longer, allowing:

• Connective tissue to gently release

• The mind to shift into observation rather than activity

• The parasympathetic nervous system to activate

• Quieting of the nervous system before sleep

This practice invites the body to let go of habitual tension patterns it doesn’t need anymore — paving the way for deeper rest.

Somatic Practices

Somatic methods focus less on “doing the pose right” and more on felt experience and nervous system regulation.

Somatic exercises and somatic yoga emphasize:

• Interoception — noticing sensations without interpretation

• Slow, intentional movement that quiets threat responses

• Re-mapping the body’s relationship to tension

• Calming downstream effects of chronic stress

These practices help the nervous system learn that the world is not in danger — allowing for release of armor that’s been mistakenly held for protection.

Not Just Sleep — Broad Benefits of Nervous System Regulation

When you help the body down-regulate from sympathetic overload:

• Nighttime sleep can become deeper and easier to fall into

• Daytime anxiety reduces

• Muscle tension and unexplained aches can soften

• Digestion and parasympathetic functions recover

Yoga does not “force” relaxation. Instead, it cues the nervous system that it is safe to shift into rest and repair. This can be especially powerful for people who feel they are “always on” and never truly off.

A Simple 30-Minute Bedtime Ritual (Example)

Making this practice a routine before bed can train the nervous system that now is downtime:

1. Gentle somatic movements to release cervical, shoulder, and hip tension

2. Yin postures held with long, slow exhalations

3. Breath awareness — longer exhale than inhale

4. Short mindfulness or body-scan meditation

Even a short nightly practice signals to the brain and body: we are transitioning out of survival mode and into restoration.

Take the Next Step With Us at The Well Yoga Dubuque

If sleep feels elusive because your mind never really turns off, or your body holds tension you can’t explain, we are here to help you reset.

At The Well, we recommend:

• Somatic & Stretching Classes — for nervous system regulation and release of chronic tension

• Yin Yoga — for deep parasympathetic engagement and relaxation

• On-Demand Yoga Library — for those who want to begin at home, move at their own pace, and create a calming bedtime routine with gentle somatic and Yin practices designed to support rest and sleep

These practices are designed to help your body unbrace from the stress it’s been holding, reclaim restful sleep, and move through life with more ease.