Practicing deep breathing or doing specific patterns of breathing can help people de-stress and take their mind off anxious thoughts. This can be a powerful tool for getting to sleep. A common option is breathing. This involves breathing in for 4 seconds, holding the breath for 7 seconds, and exhaling for 8 seconds. This type of deep, rhythmic breathing is relaxing and can promote sleep. Taking a bath or shower can be relaxing and help prepare the body for sleep.
It can also help improve temperature regulation before bed. Hot and cold showers have different benefits. Hot showers can help promote sleep. They have backlit screens, which make them ideal for reading before bed in a dark room. However, this could negatively affect sleep. One study gave young adults a printed book and an e-book to read before bed. The researchers found that when using the e-book, the participants took longer to fall asleep. They were also more alert during the evenings and less alert in the morning compared with when they read the printed book.
Such results suggest that e-books could have a negative impact on sleep. However, the study only involved 12 participants. The researchers also used a study design that meant that the participants read both types of book. It is difficult to determine whether or not exposure to both reading conditions biased the results. Few reliable studies exist in this area, and more research is necessary to draw any firm conclusions. People can also take it as a supplement to increase the chance of getting to sleep.
Investing in a comfortable mattress could have a positive impact on sleep quality. A study found that participants had significantly worse sleep in a hospital setting than at home. The authors of the study found that this was primarily due to the increased level of noise in the hospital. Drinking large amounts of alcohol before bed can have an adverse impact on sleep. If you have a respiratory condition, such as asthma or COPD, consider checking with your doctor before beginning, as this could aggravate your symptoms.
To prepare, place the tip of your tongue against the roof of your mouth, behind your two front teeth. Keep your tongue there the whole time and purse your lips if you need to.
The premise is to tense — but not strain — your muscles and relax to release the tension. This movement promotes tranquility throughout your body. Before you start, try practicing the method while imagining the tension leaving your body as you exhale.
Try these techniques! Also called paradoxical intention, telling yourself to stay awake may be a good way to fall asleep faster. If you often find yourself stressed out about trying to sleep, this method may be more effective than traditional, intentional breathing practices. One method is to target areas you know and feel are particularly tense, such as the upper part of your nose bridge or your temples.
However, there are also specific points in acupressure that are reported to help with insomnia. Here are three you can do without sitting up:. If you find the atmosphere in your room to be damaging to your sleep, there are tools you can use to block out the noise. Have you ever been really tired and sleepy at the end of a day, and you fell asleep very quickly after getting into bed? Have you ever drifted off while watching a movie or reading a book? Have you ever fallen asleep within less than 2 minutes after lying down?
You just need to train your brain to do this more consistently. If you want to fall asleep faster, you must incentivize your brain to drop all other activity and immediately transition into sleep when you desire to do so.
That is the essence of this approach. If there are few consequences for a lazy approach to falling asleep, then your brain will continue to be lazy and inefficient in this area.
Your brain is always active, even during deep sleep, and it operates in different modes of consciousness, including beta waking , alpha, theta, and delta phases. An untrained brain will often take its own sweet time making the necessary state change. So you may dwell on other thoughts… or toss and turn… or just lie awake until your brain is finally ready to transition. This is a common experience. Without incentives to become more efficient, your brain will remain naturally lazy by default.
Your subconscious determines when you fall asleep. If your subconscious mind is in no hurry to fall asleep, then your conscious mind will have a hard time forcing it. In fact, your subconscious may continue to bubble up thoughts and ideas to occupy your conscious mind, distracting you with mental clutter instead of letting you relax and slide into sleep. A trained subconscious mind is obedient and fast.
When the conscious mind says to sleep, the subconscious activates sleep mode immediately. The process involves using short, timed naps to train your brain to fall asleep more quickly.
If and when you feel drowsy at some point during the day, give yourself permission to take a minute nap. But only allow yourself exactly 20 minutes total. Use a timer to set an alarm. Sometimes I prefer to use a kitchen timer with a minute countdown.
Begin the timer as soon as you lie down for your nap. Whether you sleep or not, and regardless of how long it takes you to fall asleep, you have 20 minutes total for this activity… not a minute more.
Simply relax and allow yourself to fall asleep as you normally would. Health Chevron Sleep Chevron. First of all, you might not accurately remember how long it takes you to doze off. The bottom line: If you fall asleep right away every night, you might just be a fast sleeper.
Nina is a writer and editor based in NYC. She covers health, wellness, and culture, specializing in health disparities, reproductive rights, sexual assault, and sleep. She holds a B. Read more. Topics sleep sleep apnea insomnia. Sign up for our SELF Daily Wellness newsletter All the best health and wellness advice, tips, tricks, and intel, delivered to your inbox every day. Enter your e-mail address.
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