By Shannon Willits, Master Pilates Educator
Though sleep can feel like a luxury, it remains the body’s most powerful biological reset, influencing everything from hormone balance and immune health to emotional stability. Yet for millions of Americans, restorative sleep feels increasingly out of reach.
According to the CDC, one in three adults struggles with poor sleep quality. The reasons often have less to do with bedtime routines and more to do with how our nervous systems are trained to respond to the stress of daily life.
Modern living keeps the body in a constant state of readiness. Cortisol, our primary stress hormone, surges from dawn until long after dark. The sympathetic nervous system, the one that fuels our fight-or-flight response, stays switched on even when we try to relax. Over time, this chronic activation disrupts circadian rhythms, raises inflammation, and erodes the body’s ability to repair itself during sleep.
Pilates, especially when approached as a mindful practice, offers a way to retrain this system. Through breath, movement, and body awareness, we can teach the body how to move out of survival mode and into recovery mode.
Breathing as the Gateway to Calm
Sue Hitzmann, neurofascial specialist and creator of The MELT Method, often says, “Your body can only rest when it feels safe.” Safety, in physiological terms, begins with breath.
When breathing is shallow and upper-chest dominant, the brain interprets it as a sign of threat. This keeps the stress response active and cortisol high. Pilates focuses on lateral thoracic breathing by expanding the ribs wide and deep. This uses the diaphragm fully, which signals the brain to shift into the parasympathetic state associated with rest and digestion.
This goes beyond relaxation and recalibrates the nervous system. Slow, intentional exhalations lower heart rate, regulate blood pressure, and reduce circulating stress hormones. In clinical studies, diaphragmatic breathing has been shown to lower cortisol levels by up to 40 percent in as little as eight weeks.
Each Pilates session becomes an exercise in neural reprogramming. You are teaching your body to associate movement with calm rather than tension.
Cortisol, Hormones, and the Sleep Cycle
Cortisol naturally peaks in the morning to wake us up and should decline by evening to allow melatonin to rise. When the stress system is dysregulated, cortisol stays elevated, preventing the deep stages of restorative sleep where growth hormone and tissue repair occur.
Pilates helps rebalance this rhythm by moderating both the physiological and psychological stress response. Its low-impact nature prevents the late-night adrenaline spikes that often follow intense workouts, which can delay sleep onset.
Movement patterns in Pilates are rhythmic and coordinated with breath, engaging the vagus nerve, which is the primary communication channel between the body and brain. Stimulation of this nerve increases parasympathetic tone, lowers cortisol, and improves overall hormonal balance.
Over time, consistent practice helps reestablish the natural ebb and flow of the endocrine system. This means deeper sleep, steadier energy, and a more resilient mood.
Training the Nervous System to Rest
The nervous system thrives on consistency. Each time you step onto the mat or Reformer and move with precision and presence, you are reinforcing neural pathways that link safety, control, and ease.
This is the opposite of what happens in chronic stress, where the brain links movement and effort with threat. Pilates gently retrains this pattern. As the brain perceives movement as safe again, muscles release unnecessary tension and breathing deepens naturally.
Studies in Frontiers in Psychology have shown that regular participation in mind-body exercise programs like Pilates improves sleep efficiency and reduces insomnia symptoms more effectively than passive relaxation techniques. Participants not only slept longer but also reported improved emotional stability and reduced anxiety.
This makes sense neurologically. Every slow, controlled movement acts as sensory feedback for the brain. That feedback builds proprioceptive accuracy and restores coherence between the body’s internal and external awareness, a key factor in nervous system regulation and sleep readiness.
From Exhausted to Restored
Good sleep is not created at night; it is earned during the day. Every breath you take, every movement pattern you repeat, and every signal you send to your nervous system determines how easily your body can transition into rest.
Pilates provides that daily rehearsal. Each class becomes a nervous system training session and a way to release stored tension, balance hormones, and practice the internal rhythm of calm. Over time, you begin to fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer, and wake up feeling more like yourself.
The goal is not perfection; it is regulation. A well-regulated body knows when to move and when to rest. It knows when to activate and when to let go.
If sleep has been your struggle, start small. Take five minutes before bed to lie on your back, place your hands on your ribs, and breathe slowly. Feel your body settle into the surface beneath you. Feel the weight you’ve carried all day begin to release. That is your body remembering safety. That is your body preparing for sleep.
Shannon Willits, Master Pilates Educator
Shannon Willits is a Master Pilates Educator with over 20 years of experience in functional movement and athletic performance. She is STOTT-certified, a Fellow of Applied Functional Science (FAFS), and a Functional Golf Specialist, bringing expertise to both rehabilitation and sport-specific training. As the owner of four Club Pilates studios in Lee County, FL, she trains and mentors aspiring instructors through her Southwest Florida Pilates Academy and inno- vative apprenticeship model. Shannon is also the host of the Alignment Matters Podcast, where she shares insights on Pilates, movement science, and wellness. ay be the wisest health decision they make.