It’s Time To Stop Struggling
Let Us Help You Rest, Recover And Get A Good Night’s Sleep.
When we talk about wellbeing at Space To Breathe, we often speak of the power of rest — not just as a pause, but as a deeply nurturing process. Sleep isn't optional downtime: it's a vital regenerative space where body, brain, and breath work together to restore and heal.
What Happens in Your Body When You Sleep
While you’re lying still at night, your body is quietly doing its most essential work:
• During deep (slow-wave) sleep, your cells repair and regenerate — growth hormone is released, helping to heal tissues and strengthen immune function.
• Your cardiovascular system gets a chance to rest: heart rate drops, blood pressure lowers, giving your heart a pause from the day’s demands.
• Hormones that regulate stress, metabolism, and energy — like cortisol and insulin — are brought back into balance, helping you feel more stable and resilient.
Your Brain’s Nightly Detox: The Glymphatic System
One of the most fascinating discoveries in neuroscience over the last decade is the glymphatic system — a sort of “waste-clearance network” in the brain that becomes especially active while we sleep.
• In deep sleep, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) can flow more freely through tiny channels, flushing out metabolic waste — including harmful proteins like amyloid-β and tau. PubMed+2scholars.uky.edu+2
• Research even links impaired glymphatic function with cognitive decline: when this clearing system doesn’t work well, toxins build up, increasing risk factors for conditions like dementia. cambridgebrc.nihr.ac.uk+1
• Genetic and lifestyle factors — including how well and how long you sleep — may influence how efficiently your glymphatic system works. UK Biobank
Science evolves — but there is strong and growing evidence that good sleep matters for how well your brain can run its own cleaning shift.
How Your Breath Supports This Restorative Process
Even during sleep, your breathing plays an important role in supporting the body’s natural tendency toward rest:
• In non-REM deep sleep, breathing typically becomes slower and more regular. This shift reflects a move into a calmer physiological state where the body is using less energy and the nervous system is less reactive.
• This steadier breathing pattern is associated with greater parasympathetic activity. During deep sleep, the parasympathetic nervous system tends to dominate, helping heart rate lower and settling the cardiovascular system.
• Researchers are also investigating how breathing and heart rhythms interact during sleep, with some studies suggesting that the natural synchrony between these rhythms may support overall autonomic stability.
Why Many of Us Struggle to Sleep Deeply
At Space To Breathe, we understand that for many people — especially those dealing with stress, anxiety, or mental health challenges — truly restful sleep can feel like a distant memory.
• The Sleep Charity’s Sleep Manifesto (2024) warns of a “sleep crisis” in the UK: as many as nine in ten people report having trouble sleeping.
• Millions may be living with undiagnosed sleep disorders, yet often go years before getting help.
• Many of us are caught in cycles of overwork, burnout, or constant stimulation, which make it hard to wind down and let the body and brain fully reset.
These aren’t just “bad nights” — they’re part of a pattern that can compromise long-term health.
How Restorative Yoga Helps Reclaim Deep, Healing Sleep
This is where restorative yoga becomes a powerful ally. At Space To Breathe, our approach is gentle, compassionate, and deeply rooted in supporting your nervous system. Here’s how it helps:
• Elicits the relaxation response: Supported poses with bolsters, blankets, and cushions invite your nervous system out of fight-or-flight and into rest-and-repair.
• Calms the mind: Through breath-work and guided stillness, you learn to slow your thoughts, release tension, and find an inner peaceful state.
• Promotes deep rest: Sessions can incorporate yoga nidra, a guided practice that resembles the brain pattern of non-REM sleep — offering profound restorative rest even without actually falling sleep.
• Retrains the nervous system: The practices we explore in sessions help build a “body memory” of deep rest, making it easier to settle when bedtime comes. It’s not unusual for someone to share that even their first session led to the best night’s sleep they’ve had in a long while.
• Accessible and inclusive: You don’t need flexibility or prior yoga experience. Our class structure is trauma-informed, and everyone is supported to move through the practices at their own pace.
Research supports these benefits: yoga has been shown to improve sleep quality, reduce anxiety, and enhance overall wellbeing. We are well aware that yoga often gets lumped in with trends and wellness fads, but reassuringly, this type of support has a strong evidence base. As The Sleep Foundation states, “Yoga isn’t just beneficial for improving core strength, flexibility, and stress levels; it can also help you sleep better—especially if you suffer from insomnia.” Below is just a small sample of the research that continues to validate what the people who visit our small studio experience in their own bodies, minds and breath:
• Yoga improves sleep quality (women): Meta-analysis → PubMed
• Yoga nidra (sleep & insomnia): RCT showing better sleep + lower cortisol → PubMed
• Yoga reduces anxiety: Meta-analysis of RCTs → PubMed
• Yoga improves sleep, anxiety & depression in chronic insomnia (Viniyoga) → PubMed
• Yoga boosts well-being and quality of life in older adults: systematic review → OUP Academic
• Restorative Yoga reduced stress and improved sleep quality in night-shift nurses: randomised crossover trial OUP Academic
How Space To Breathe Can Support Your Sleep Journey
At Space To Breathe, we offer one-to-one restorative yoga sessions in our Sheffield City Centre studio (Scotia Works, Leadmill Road, S1 4SE).
• Our sessions are tailored to your needs — whether you're coping with anxiety, insomnia, stress, or simply find it difficult to relax.
• Our approach is trauma-informed, kind, and rooted in science-backed yoga therapy. We recognise that healing comes through safety, trust, and gentle encouragement.
• Through restorative postures, breathwork, and yoga nidra, we help you reconnect with your body’s natural ability to downshift, reset, and heal.
If you’re aware that your sleep needs attention, there is now somewhere in Sheffield you can turn to — a place dedicated to supporting you, at your pace, in rebuilding healthy, nourishing rest. We offer pay-what-you-can-afford options for those experiencing financial hardship, and have options for regular appointment times during the week. If you're ready to see what amazing effects a good night’s sleep can bring to your life, you can book sessions. Just follow the link