How To Make Yourself Fall Asleep

Whether you’re a busy, sleep-deprived parent, a workaholic, or have just retired, there’s something that we all have in common – we all need a good night’s sleep. Life is so much better when you’ve had a good night’s sleep, not to mention the endless research proving it to be beneficial for your overall health as well. However, most of us struggle at some point in our lives with getting to sleep – the brain just won’t switch off, and you could end up lying there awake for hours. Here are three ways to make yourself fall asleep.

Breathing

It’s all in the breathing. There’s a prominent doctor out there, Dr. Andrew Weil, who has come up with a breathing technique that he says is incredibly efficient at getting you to go to sleep. Firstly, you place your tongue on the piece of tissue just behind you two front teeth. Then you exhale all existing air through your mouth, making a whooshing sound. You then inhale through your nose, counting for four seconds. You hold this breath for seven seconds. Finally, you exhale this breath again through your mouth, counting to eight seconds this time. Repeat this process four times.

Relaxation

Sleep is often closely associated with relaxation, so it makes sense that the more relaxed you are, the more likely you’ll be able to fall asleep. The key is to be concentrating on the existence of all the muscles in your body, and what they are doing – sometimes we tense muscles without even knowing it, which can get in the way of being completely relaxed. Slowly tense and then release each muscle, starting all the way down at your toes, moving up your legs to your torso and arms, before finishing with your face muscles. Having intentionally relaxed all your muscles, you’ve got a much better chance of getting to sleep.

Reverse Psychology

There’s a lot to be said for what’s going on in the brain when you’re trying to get to sleep, and we’re probably all familiar with those circling thoughts we can’t shake. The trick with gaining control over these is to think the opposite of what you want – instead of thinking about how much you want to sleep, think about how much you want to stay awake. As the brain begins to fight to keep you awake, you’ll quickly realize how much you’re now struggling not to fall asleep.

The day is always better with a good night’s sleep. Sleep affects everything – your mood, your weight, and overall well-being. Getting in early and forming some effective habits around getting to sleep will set you up for success night after night. Instead of going to bed worrying about how you’ll manage to make yourself go to sleep, you can focus on making yourself relaxed as possible and controlling the amount of oxygen going in and out of your body. You’ll become an expert at getting to sleep in no time.