I received several requests on how to fall asleep fast. This week I’m going to show you 5 ways to help you fall asleep fast. I hope at least one of them works for you.
1. 4-7-8 Breathing
The first one is called 4-7-8 breathing by Dr. Andrew Weil.
Exhale all the air out from your mouth. Breathe in from your nose silently for a count of four. Hold your breath for a count of seven. Then breathe out from your mouth with a whoosh sound for a count of eight. That’s it. Set the counting pace something you are comfortable with and you can relax with. Don’t torture yourself by holding your breath too slow. And stay relaxed while you hold your breath rather than tightening your body like this.
Let me demonstrate. Close your eyes. Exhale all the air from your mouth. Take a deep breath silently from your nose for a count of four. Hold your breath for a count of seven. Then breathe out from your mouth with a sound for a count of eight.
Repeat this at least four times or more if needed.
2. Cool Your Head
One of the reasons why you can’t fall asleep is because your brain is working non-stop just thinking about things. If that’s the case, try cooling your head physically. Instead of a bag of ice I recommend something like this ice gel pack because it’s flexible and it fits your forehead. Treat this like an off switch for your head. As your head is cooled, remind yourself that you can always pick up where you left of when you wake up in the morning. If your forehead gets too cold, you can move the ice gel pack under the head.
3. The Military Method
The third one is the Military Method.
This was created by the US Navy Pre-Flight School to help pilots fall asleep within 2 minutes. It took pilots 6 weeks of practice, but it worked even after drinking coffee and with gunfire noises in the background. And it is said to work for 96% of the people who practice for 6 weeks. This works even sitting up.
Here’s how it works:
- Relax your entire face, including the tongue, jaw, and muscles around your eyes.
- Drop your shoulders as far as they go followed by releasing the tension in the upper arm and lower arm and let your hands drop to the side of your body.
- Exhale. Relax your chest. Then relax your legs, thighs, and calves.
- Clear your mind for 10 seconds by imagining a relaxing scene.
- If this doesn’t work, try saying the words “don’t think” over and over for 10 seconds.
Within 10 seconds, you should fall asleep.
4. Modified Meditation
The next one is a modified meditation.
- Sit cross-legged on the bed and try not to move your body.
- Close your eyes and breathe deeply and slowly as if you are asleep.
- Empty your head without thinking. But this is hard to do unless you meditate regularly. Within about 20 seconds some kind of visual pops up in your head.
- Just watch and observe whatever appeared in your head mindlessly.
- If you almost fall asleep, get in the bed and repeat from step 2.
2. Close your eyes and breathe deeply and slowly as if you are asleep.
3. Empty your head without thinking. And wait for some kind of visual to pop up in your head.
4. Just watch and observe whatever appeared in your head mindlessly.
And I hope you are asleep by now. If you get used to this process skip sitting cross-legged.
5. Metronome Method
The next one is Metronome Method.
The next one is Metronome Method. A metronome is a device that musicians use for marking time. I found my old metronome that I used to use more than 30 years ago to when I used to play the piano. But it’s not working any more. It only gives me one pace no matter the setting. So I’m going to recommend an app. I tried a bunch of metronome apps but I like this app Smart Metronome & Tuner. It’s simple and free and it has wide range of intervals. Set the interval to 20-30 beats per minute at low volume. Or slower if you like. This app goes all the way down to 5 beats per minute. And just listen to the beat as you fall asleep. I would set a sleep timer on your phone so it doesn’t keep going all night.
I can only do this for iPhone but open Clock, go to Timer, go to When Timer Ends, scroll all the way down and select Stop Playing and tap Set in the upper right corner. Set the timer you like and hit Start. Open the app. Go to setting and make sure Background Play is off. Set it to your desired beats per minute. And tap Start. When the system timer is up, it stops playing and the phone falls asleep too.
Experiment and I hope one of these works for you.
Also, it helps to know why you can’t fall asleep so it’s easier to fix the issues. Is it because of stress, pain in your body, did you eat late, did you have caffeine late, is it environment such as light, noise, and temperature, were you looking at the computer monitor until late, or are you looking at this video on your phone in your bed? Then you should turn off your phone right now. Here let me help you. I’m just kidding.
Massage Monday #514 5 Ways to Fall Asleep Fast http://bit.ly/mm-514