In Austria: Yoga Erases Insomnia

Yoga is a wildly popular stress-buster and insomnia cure in Austria (folks there don’t just practice at home and in classes -- they also go on yoga retreats and holidays!). And according to University of Pennsylvania researchers, practicing yoga for as little as 20 minutes daily banishes insomnia as effectively as sleeping pills, plus it dampens anxiety, chronic stress and blue moods for 60 percent of women within two weeks.

Yoga’s gentle stretches and controlled breathing aids production of GABA -- a brain hormone that lulls the central nervous system into a calm, relaxed state, the study authors say.