Do you find it difficult to fall asleep at night? Do you spend hours tossing and turning under your sheets before you fall asleep? This may seem harmless, but it will come with unwanted side effects later on.
The average time it takes to fall asleep is between 10 to 20 minutes. If it takes you more than half an hour to fall asleep at night, your sleep quality decreases. Poor sleep quality is associated with various medical conditions and increases the risk of obesity and heart problems.
Suppose you already know the basics of getting better sleep—using a quality mattress, dimming the lights, and minimizing noise. Yet you still encounter problems falling asleep as fast as possible. In that case, there are a lot more sleep tricks that you should try. To find out what these are, continue reading!
5 Tips on How to Fall Asleep as Fast as Possible
You’re not the only person who finds it difficult to fall asleep. The truth is, lots of people stare at the ceiling for hours before they can get the elusive sleep that they need. It’s time we put an end to this suffering!
Below you can find some ways on how you can fall asleep fast:
- Do the 4-7-8 Breathing Method
Dr. Andrew Weil formulated this breathing exercise based on the breathing control techniques you can learn from yoga. The breathing patterns involved in this method are designed to promote relaxation because it helps calm the nervous system.
Here are the steps you need to take:
- Put the tip of your tongue behind your upper front teeth.
- Fully exhale through your mouth and create a whoosh sound as you do so.
- Inhale through your nose and count to 4.
- Hold your breath and count to 7.
- Exhale again through your mouth with the whooshing sound and count to 8.
- Repeat this for three more times.
- Visualize Yourself Doing Something You Love
Visualization is a useful sleep-inducing tool. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11863237/ This technique helps to alleviate stress and anxiety by diverting your focus to calming and peaceful images. When you take anxiety and stress out of the question, you can find it easier to fall asleep.
One excellent option you have is to visualize yourself doing something you do—painting, singing, dancing, or reading a book. You can also think of being in your happy place—beach, mall, in a foreign city, and many more.
- Fall Asleep the Military Way
Even if they are in the middle of a war, soldiers can fall asleep in just 2 minutes, all thanks to the Military Method.
Here’s how to do it:
- Relax your facial muscles.
- Release the tension in your body by dropping your shoulders and your hands to your side.
- Exhale and let your chest relax.
- After that, let your lower body relax.
- Try to visualize a relaxing image for 10 seconds.
- If you’re still awake, say the phrase “don’t think” repeatedly for 10 more seconds.
Keep in mind that this method won’t work right away. You will have to practice doing it for weeks before you can get the desired effect.
- Perform Acupressure on Yourself.
One of the natural methods that you can use to fall asleep faster is acupressure. There are lots of acupressure points for sleep, and these include The Spirit gate, Inner Frontier Gate, Wind pool, and many more.
- Hum
Are you familiar with the sound bees make? That’s what you need to produce. By doing so, you’re producing your white noise, which can drown other noises in the room. Additionally, you’re focused on the sound that you make, so there is no room for anxious and stressful thoughts. Lastly, your facial muscles are relaxed when you hum, so it’s easier to fall asleep.
The Bottom Line
More important than getting enough sleep, you should also ensure that you’re getting quality sleep. To do this, you should do everything you can to fall asleep right away once you lie on your bed. The tips we’ve provided you can help you with that!
