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I Tried Bedtime Yoga for 30 Days-Here's What Happened to My Sleep and Stress

By Beth Ann Mayer Parade - Health Stories

Updated April 21, 2026 8:01 AM

In the world of wellness habits, I feel like there are two morning vs. nighttime "fights" that have reached "tale as old as time" status: showering and movement. I am a nighttime shower person, but I absolutely must exercise in the morning. I am simply too drained and hangry after work to find the motivation.

Running is my main form of exercise (and therapy), but my Peloton got me into stationary biking and strength work for cross-training, injury prevention and boredom-busting. Even before we got our pandemic Peloton, I had long done yoga at least once per week to give my limbs some active recovery and TLC. Peloton introduced me to other forms of yoga, like yin and restorative. Regardless of the app or YouTube channel I was using to find yoga routines, though, I always practiced in the morning-no exceptions.

Simultaneously, I've been on a months-long effort to focus more on my sleep. Blackout curtains and nixing phone scrolling before bed have helped tremendously, but I've learned there's no one "hack" that can prevent 10 p.m. tossing and turning and 3 a.m. wakeups.

So, when my Parade editor emailed me and asked if I wanted to try bedtime yoga for 30 days, I felt it was a wakeup call to mix things up a bit. As a health writer, I know that yoga has tons of research-backed benefits for stress, fatigue and sleep quality. Doing it before bed seemed like an interesting way to tap into those perks while winding down. Still, I have to be honest: I entered the experiment with a dubious mind-does it really matter when I get into child's pose? It turns out, I've slept on bedtime yoga for far too long.

Here's what 30 days of bedtime yoga taught me.

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How I Approached Bedtime Yoga for 30 Days

While I did not give up my morning workouts, I did commit to adding at least five minutes of yoga before bed each night for a month. I did a mix of Peloton evening flows (if I had time, which I only did on the weekend), plus some poses I knew were relaxing and ideal for the "rest and digest" mode. For the uninitiated, the rest-and-digest state is activated by your body's parasympathetic nervous system. My goal with bedtime yoga was to activate it after long days of working and mothering to relieve stress and lower my heart rate.

Each night, I hauled my yoga mat up from our basement "home gym" (aka where the Peloton and weights are) and put it by my bed. I didn't personally use anything else, but you may benefit from blocks, a blanket or a bolster, depending on what type of yoga you're doing and your flexibility.

On the nights I did not use a Peloton guided yoga class, I held these five poses for one to two minutes:

1. Bridge Pose

Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor, about hip-width distance apart.
Press through your heels to lift your hips off the floor, keeping your shoulders grounded.
Squeeze the glutes as you hold, taking deep breaths.

My take: I loved how this one counteracted the hunched-over posture I assume daily while sitting at a desk. I could also essentially feel the blood circulating throughout my legs and lower back.

2. Butterfly Pose

Sit straight on your mat, as if someone is pulling your head toward the ceiling. Pull your belly button in toward your spine.
Bring the soles of your feet together.
Allow your knees to open. You'll feel a deep stretch in your hips and inner thighs.

Alternative: You can also take this pose lying down.

My take: My hips needed this pose after hours of either sitting or chasing small kids around.

3. Happy Baby Pose

Lie on your back with your hands on the floor and legs stretched out in front of you.
Pull your knees in toward your chest, keeping them hip-width apart.
Grab the outside of your feet with your hands. Keep the soles facing the ceiling and your feet hip-width apart.
Rock back and forth.

My take: Again, a massive win for my hips. I also loved lying down-it helped get my body into "wind down" mode.

4. Supine Twist

Lie on your back.
Bring your knees to your chest.
Lower them to your left side.
Stretch your arms out in a T-position.
Look toward your right side.
Hold.
Repeat on the opposite side.

My take: Holding this pose allowed me to breathe more deeply and gave my back a gentle stretch, reducing stiffness and promoting relaxation before bedtime.

5. Legs Up the Wall

Lie on the floor with the soles of your feet facing the wall.
Put your legs up, and pivot your hips until your legs are straight up on the wall.
Hold and breathe.

My take: This one was my alternative to corpse pose (Savasana). I had read about it in a self-help book, Relaxed Woman, and had been itching to incorporate it into my routine to get blood flowing and soothe stress. It checked both boxes, especially as the month went on and bedtime yoga became a habit.

My Experience With Bedtime Yoga

I enjoyed doing yoga each night before hitting the hay so much that I plan to incorporate it into my routine multiple times per week. Here's how my sleep and stress changed during my 30 days of doing bedtime yoga.

I felt like I bookended my day nicely. In addition to bedtime yoga, I also did wall yoga each morning before work (and sometimes at lunch). I enjoyed the ritual of bedtime yoga, feeling like it served as something of an "evening commute" that I don't get by working from home. I took my mind and body from "work and mom mode" to "bedtime mode." Research suggests that healthy bedtime routines (read: screen-free) can promote better sleep.
I felt significantly calmer. Life is stressful, especially in these...um, times. Not scrolling on my phone before bed helped me stop living in headlines in the hours leading up to bedtime. Yoga took it a step further, allowing me to shift my focus to my breathing and body rather than what happened when I was looking at screens for my job each day.
My tech neck/back decreased. I try to assume a good posture each day, but it's not easy. It's actually almost worse when I'm bending down to pick up kids and toys all day. By working my back each night with gentle poses, I noticed the stiffness decreased, giving me one less pain point as I tried to fall asleep.
I slept more peacefully. All told, I found that I slept more peacefully, with fewer wakeups. I woke up at my desired time, feeling more physically and mentally refreshed, enabling me to feel more focused and communicate better at work and in mothering.
It wasn't hard. Even though I'm a long-time morning exerciser, bedtime yoga was super easy to incorporate into my schedule because I didn't try to do a long practice. Instead, I set simple baselines for what "counted." Not needing much equipment and the ability to do it steps from my bed didn't hurt.

Would I Recommend Bedtime Yoga?

I would absolutely recommend bedtime yoga for anyone looking to improve their stress and sleep. It's a no- to low-cost intervention that doesn't require putting anything into your body. Here are some ways to make bedtime yoga work for you:

Start small and lean into "good enough." You don't need this luxurious, hour-long practice for bedtime yoga to "count." I set a goal of doing at least five minutes per night-and that was generally all I did. I still experienced benefits. By setting the bar low, I felt accomplished and stuck with it. I met myself where I was at, and it alleviated the all-or-nothing trap I can fall into as a recovering perfectionist.
Experiment with different moves. Some of my favorite poses may feel too deep for you. Or, you may feel you need to move around a little more or do more seated or standing poses. Bedtime yoga doesn't look one way. It's about finding the poses that support you most. Peruse YouTube, Google and whatever apps you like with an open mind as you pinpoint the most supportive poses.
Keep form top of mind. There is a "right way" to do poses (and modifications within said poses). Watching the tutorial first can help if you're a visual learner. You may benefit from signing up for classes at a local studio if you have time, if only to get the form right. Poor form can result in injury-not the vibe.
Journal changes. Bedtime yoga is a habit, and it may take time to notice the most significant results. Journal about how you feel each night and morning. This practice can help you notice small changes-these micro-improvements are absolutely wins worth acknowledging.
Manage expectations. There's no miracle fix for poor sleep, as I've learned time and again. Bedtime yoga is one tool to improve your shut-eye, but you'll probably need others, such as adjusting your room's temperature and lighting, and managing your screen habits. Bedtime yoga may be a great launchpad for other habits to support your sleep.

Up Next:

Source:

The effect of chronic yoga interventions on sleep quality in people with sleep disorders: a scoping review. Frontiers in Neurology.
Parasympathetic Nervous System (PSNS). Cleveland Clinic.
A Comprehensive Assessment of Bedtime Routines and Strategies to Aid Sleep Onset in College Students: A Web-Based Survey. Clocks & Sleep.

This story was originally published April 21, 2026 at 7:50 AM.