How often have you had a shit night’s sleep? Those nights where you’ve spent the night tossing and turning, staring at the ceiling and waiting for your brain to get with the programme and shut the fuck up so you can go to sleep.

You know that picking up your phone to scroll at 2 a.m. isn’t good for your busy brain, yet you scroll mindlessly just to pass the time. 

Then, when you wake up, you’re stumbling around in a fog of exhaustion. Sleep is a vital part of our lives, yet it is also one of the most abused. 

Poor posture, longer working hours, and social media platforms designed to keep us attached to our phones all compound sleep quality. Add to this mix a range of external stressors like financial worries, family concerns, and a growing population dealing with higher levels of stress and anxiety, and it’s no wonder we’re all lying awake at night, thinking about the what-ifs, the to-do list, and googling whether penguins have knees. (They do. You’re welcome.)

With a health system overwhelmed, people are looking for alternative ways to manage stress levels and lower anxiety. 

This blog is going to show you how breathwork can lower your stress levels and get you a better night’s sleep.

Sleep: A brief round-up of why it’s essential.

Okay, I’m not here to give you a biology lesson.  But let me just tell you about the benefits of sleep, because understanding what happens during sleep reveals why it’s absolutely crucial for your health.

During sleep, your body enters a remarkable state of restoration:

Your brain cycles through vital REM stages, allowing for complete neural rest and reset. These stages give your mind the space to process emotions from the day, integrating experiences and regulating your emotional responses.

Meanwhile, your body is hard at work repairing cells, regenerating tissues, and strengthening your immune system. Think of it like a race car team performing essential maintenance on your body that can only happen during quality sleep.

And none of this is optional maintenance. When sleep quality drops, the consequences ripple through every aspect of your health. Research clearly shows that insufficient sleep significantly increases your risk for serious conditions, including heart disease, diabetes, depression, and obesity.

Brain imaging studies reveal that after a restless night, your amygdala (your brain’s threat detector) becomes hypersensitive. Our stress hormone cortisol stays elevated, locking us in a fight-or-flight mode. That’s why, after a rough night, even the smallest things can feel overwhelming.

This heightened state means we are more reactive to stress and more susceptible to anxiety. And unfortunately, this increased anxiety then makes quality sleep even more elusive when bedtime rolls around again.

Higher cortisol levels also directly interfere with our ability to fall asleep and stay asleep. 

This is why sleep disturbances are both a contributor to and a symptom of burnout.

So yes, sleep matters. A lot.

It’s all very well and good knowing all of the above, but how do you get your brain to chill the fuck out long enough for you to switch off and sleep in the first place?

That’s where breathwork comes in.

Breathwork – what is it?

Nope, it’s not just breathing. You’re doing that already (thankfully!) 

Breathwork is when you intentionally change your breathing patterns. It’s a bit like having a remote control for your brain. Deep, slow breathing triggers neural circuits in your brain that help regulate your emotional state. The part that makes you feel calm and grounded. The ‘aahhh’ feeling.

Breathwork helps quieten down your chattering monkey brain, calm your frazzled nerves, and create the perfect internal conditions for rest. It takes your body out of panic mode and lowers your stress levels within minutes. 

Hey, if it’s good enough for the Navy SEALS to use it in highly stressful situations, it’s good enough for you. 

When practised regularly, it can help you shift from wired-and-tired to relaxed-and-ready for deep, healing sleep.

The Sleep-Breath Connection

Breathwork isn’t simply breathing slower because you saw it on TikTok.   It’s purposeful, science-backed, and surprisingly powerful, especially for improving sleep quality and, by extension, your overall health.

Why does that matter for sleep?

Deep breathwork helps your brain reset and, at the same time, lowers those stress levels that keep you staring at the ceiling all night. It switches on your parasympathetic nervous system, aka your ‘rest and digest’ mode. It dials down the adrenaline-fueled fight-or-flight responses that are often behind insomnia and anxious overthinking. 

Recent studies showed that deep breathing during yoga actually increased melatonin production. That’s the lovely little hormone that essentially tucks you into bed at night. Think of melatonin as your body’s natural bedtime whisperer, and breathwork helps you tap into it without a pill in sight.

Another study swapped evening pre-bed doom-scrolling for fifteen minutes of slow breathing (around 5.5 breaths per minute). They fell asleep faster, woke up less during the night, and even saw improvements in their cardiovascular health.

All from something as simple as breathing on purpose.

Sleep vs Snack Attacks

Being tired is a major contributing factor to stress and weight gain. This is because when we’re tired, ghrelin, the hormone connected to our appetite, increases. Our bodies are tired and our brain wants us to take on more energy – i.e. food. And it needs quick energy, so we reach for the foods that are going to pack the most energy punch – high-calorie, high-fat, sugary foods. 

Comfort foods. 

Then we get an energy crash, and we’re tired again. So we don’t feel like going for that walk. Instead, we slump on the sofa and contemplate going to bed. 

A consistent sleep routine can do wonders for your well-being. You don’t have to become a sleep-obsessed robot who’s in bed at exactly the same time every night. But having a general rhythm, with roughly the same bedtime and wake-up time each day, can seriously boost your energy, mood, and overall balance.

On average, adults need around 7-8 hours per night. You’re not average, you’re you. So experiment. Pay attention to what helps you feel good and start from there.

Try this simple method:

1. What time do you need to get up in the morning? Think kids, work, life.
   
2. How many hours do you feel best on? 7? 8?
   
3. Count backwards to find your ideal bedtime.
   

Example:

• If you need to be up at 6:00 a.m. and function best on 7 hours of sleep, you’re aiming to be asleep by 11:00 p.m.
  
• No early starts? Want to rise at 8:00 and need 8 hours? Bedtime is midnight.
  

Easy maths, better mornings.

Your sleep cues matter, too. 

Sleep isn’t just about when you go to bed. It’s about how you get your brain and body to cooperate when you do. Here are some helpful cues and habits to ease you into rest mode:

• Limit blue light in the evenings. Try using night mode on devices or blue-light-blocking glasses at least 2 hours before bed.
  
• Avoid eating too late. Stop snacking a couple of hours before bedtime so your digestive system (and your brain) can chill.
  
• Cut the caffeine. Start winding down your caffeine intake from around 2 p.m. It can take up to ten hours for caffeine to clear your system, so even a sneaky mid-afternoon cup can mess with your sleep later.
  
• Do something calming. That could be reading, gentle yoga, slow breathing, or yes, self-pleasure counts too. It’s all about finding what relaxes you.
  

And remember: if sleep feels like an ongoing battle, there’s no shame in getting support. Whether it’s a breathwork coach, hypnotherapist, or sleep expert, help is out there, and it works.

Better Sleep. Better Mental Health.

When you’ve had a shit night’s sleep, everything just feels harder, doesn’t it? 

That’s because your sleep and your mental health are like best buddies. When one suffers, the other throws a pity party. If you don’t get enough quality sleep, your emotional regulation centre basically takes a day off. During your sleep cycle, your brain is busy processing emotional experiences from your day. Without enough of this essential processing time, your emotions get backed up, leading to anxiety, worry, irritability and even depression. 

That’s why those little annoyances can suddenly feel like massive problems when you’re tired and irritable. 

Poor sleep makes your mental health wobble, and mental health challenges make it harder to sleep. It’s a vicious cycle that many get stuck in.

Research shows that people dealing with insomnia are TEN TIMES more likely to develop depression compared to those sleeping soundly. And nearly every mental health condition, from anxiety to bipolar disorder, lists sleep disturbances as either a symptom or a trigger.

Breathwork is a simple, powerful way to ease yourself into deeper, more restorative sleep, which in turn lifts your mood, boosts your resilience to things like stress and anxiety, and supports your mental well-being. 

So the next time you’re tempted to watch just one more episode or get lost in a late-night scroll spiral, remember: your brain needs those ZZZs to keep you feeling grounded, bright, and emotionally steady.

Breathwork – a Word of Caution.

Breathwork takes practice. Like anything worth doing, it doesn’t always click overnight. And if you’ve been through trauma, it’s important to get a little extra support when starting.

This is because slowing your breath and turning inward can sometimes stir up uncomfortable sensations or memories. When your body has been in survival mode, calm can feel unfamiliar, sometimes even unsafe. 

That’s not failure; that’s your nervous system doing its job. You just need the right guidance to help retrain it.

That’s why working with someone who understands trauma-informed breathwork can make a big difference. You’re not broken. You’re just learning a new way to be with yourself.

And whether it’s the specific breathing pattern or just the fact that you’re finally taking ten minutes to be still and kind to yourself… It’s helping. That’s what matters.

Ready to Sleep Better?

Modern lifestyles are designed to keep us connected and wired 24/7.  Between the endless notifications, work stress and a late-night scroll, our brains rarely get a chance to switch off. 

You’re physically exhausted. Your body is begging for sleep. Meanwhile, your mind is doing mental acrobatics. Past conversations on repeat, the endless to-do list that never gets smaller… 

If you’d quite like to fall asleep without reruns of past decisions running through your head until the wee hours of the morning, breathwork needs to be added to your evening/bedtime routine. 

Your breath is always right there, ready to help you wind down, reset and get some essential sleep. 

Breathwork isn’t a rigid practice where you need to follow strict rules.  What works for your friend might not work for you. And that’s normal.  It’s finding the technique that resonates with your nervous system, your brain, your rhythm. Your life.

Want to explore which breathwork style might be right for you?  You can book a 1:1 session, and we can figure it out together. 

And if you want to learn more about breathwork, my new book is coming out soon.  Join the waitlist HERE.