If you habitually do not get a good night's sleep, chances are that you may be aging faster than you should be, in addition to not feeling well and confused thinking.When we sleep, our body repairs on a cellular level and removes toxins. It is therefore necessary to get at least six to eight hours of sleep daily.If you can't seem to sleep enough, yoga can help. Regular yoga practice is known to cure several ailments, including insomnia or abnormal sleeping habits. Yoga helps unwind stress at the end of the day and get better sleep at night.A good night's sleep really is within reach and the often-recommended treatment is to establish a relaxing bedtime routine. The following yoga stretches can help you to relax and enjoy a peaceful sleep.Helps stretch the back muscles, invigorates the nervous system by increasing blood supply, and makes the spine supple.- Stand straight with feet together and arms alongside the body.- Balance your weight equally on both feet.- Breathing in, extend your arms overhead.- Stay in the posture for 20-30 seconds and continue to breath deeply.- Keep the legs and spine erect; hands rest either on the floor, beside the feet or on the legs.- On the out breath, move the chest towards the knees; lift the hips and tailbone higher; press the heels down; let the head relax and move it gently towards the feet. Keep breathing deeply.- Breathing in, stretch your arms forward and up, slowly come up to the standing position.- Breathing out, bring the arms to the sides.Excellent stretch for spine flexibility. Also helps massage the digestive organs and improve digestion, thereby helping you to sleep well. Also improves blood circulation and relaxes the mind.- Come onto your fours. Form a table such that your back forms the table top and your hands and feet form the legs of the table.- Keep your arms perpendicular to the floor, with the hands directly under the shoulders and flat on the ground; your knees are hip-width apart.- Look straight ahead.- As you inhale, raise your chin and tilt your head back, push your navel downwards and raise your tailbone. Compress your buttocks. Do you feel a slight tingle here?- Hold the Cat pose and take long, deep breaths.- Follow this by a countermovement: As you exhale, drop your chin to your chest and arch your back up as much as you can; relax the buttocks.- Hold this pose for a few seconds before you return to the initial table-like stage.- Continue five or six rounds before you come out of this yoga posture.A deeply relaxing stretch for the back which also helps calm the nervous system so that you can sleep at peace.- Sit on your heels. Keeping your hips on the heels, bend forward, and lower your forehead to the floor.- Keep the arms alongside your body with hands on the floor, palms facing up. (If this is not comfortable, you can place one fist on top of another and rest your forehead on them.)- Gently press your chest on the thighs.- Hold.- Slowly come up to sit on the heels, uncurling vertebra by vertebra and relax.This pose can help remove fatigue from long hours of standing or walking. Also a good stretch for inner thighs, groin and knees.- Sit with your spine erect and legs spread straight out.- Now bend your knees and bring your feet towards the pelvis. The soles of your feet should touch each other.- Grab your feet tightly with your hands. You may place the hands underneath the feet for support.- Make an effort to bring the heels as close to the genitals as possible.- Take a deep breath in. Breathing out, press the thighs and knees downward towards the floor. Make a gentle effort to keep pressing them downward.- Now start flapping both the legs up and down like the wings of a butterfly. Start slow and gradually increase the speed. Keep breathing normally throughout.- Fly higher and higher, as fast as you comfortably can. Slow down and then stop. Take a deep breath in and as you exhale, bend forward, keeping the chin up and spine erect.- Press your elbows on the thighs or on the knees, pushing the knees and thighs closer to the floor.- Feel the stretch in the inner thighs and take long, deep breaths, relaxing the muscles more and more.- Take a deep breath in and bring the torso up.- As you exhale, gently release the posture. Straighten the legs out in front of you and relax.Lie down straight on your back. Now lift one leg up, followed by the next, and let your feet rest on the wall.- Extend the arms along the sides, palms facing up.- Now close your eyes and keep taking deep breaths as you relax into the pose. You may use an eye cushion over your eyes to block the light and completely relax. Stay in the pose for as long as you comfortably can and then slowly come out, bringing the legs down.- An excellent pose to relieve tired legs and feet, helps increase blood supply to the brain and relieve mild headache, and calms the mind.- Besides the above, lying down in Shavasana (Corpse Pose) and Yoga Nidra after meals helps relax the entire system.- Sleep experts often point to the efficacy of creating a standard nighttime routine in order to signal your body that it's time to prepare for sleep. You may choose to include NadiShodhan pranayama in your ritual to relieve tension and relax into a peaceful sleep.- Avoid doing Bhastrika Pranayama in late evenings. They will fill you with a lot of energy and prevent you from falling asleep.- Avoid watching a horror movie late night as the thought of it will keep lingering in your mind all through the night. It's a good idea to listen to soft instrumental music, such as that of veena,chant or listen to chants or knowledge before getting ready to sleep.- Make your own sleep pattern. Sleeping any time during the day is not advisable. It disrupts the biological clock. Ideally, sleeping in the afternoon for about half an hour and at night for a minimum eight hours is good practice.- Introspect on what you did during the day. Feel content, pray and go to sleep with a happy, relaxed mind. keep your bed clean before going to sleep.- Finish your dinner maximum by 8.30 p.m. Keep a gap of at least two hours between your last meal and sleep.- If you have had a quarrel with your partner or loved one, make sure you sort it out before you go to sleep. Carrying it on may not just give you a disturbed sleep but may also spoil the following day.- Avoid taking stimulants at night especially if you are suffering from insomnia.(By Art Of Living)