Breathe Deep to Sleep

You know how important a good night’s sleep is. It helps you recuperate from your workout, keeps you leaner, boosts your energy levels and even bolsters your immune system.

A lot of those benefits have to do with the surge of growth hormone you get within the first few hours of deep sleep. So what can you do if you’re tossing and turning?

The December ’11 Bottom Line Health has a suggestion: breathe deeply. “Spend a few minutes doing deep-breathing exercises just before you go to bed.

Breathing slowly and deeply stimulates the lower lobes of the lungs and activates the part of the nervous system that reduces stress.”