If now you are looking for the answer to the question of how to fall asleep quickly, then most likely you have already spent a lot of time tossing and turning in bed, and sleep is not in your eyes.
In that case, we won’t waste a second. In this article, you will learn the 5 most effective techniques to help you fall asleep quickly. In addition, we will analyze the 4 main mistakes that interfere with falling asleep.
Major Mistakes That Prevent You From Falling Asleep
In order to fall asleep quickly in the evening, you need to properly spend the whole day, starting in the morning. First of all, avoid several mistakes, which are the main enemies of fast falling asleep. So:
Eating Food At Night
Many people claim that they cannot fall asleep on an empty stomach, so they regularly have a small snack before bed. But the quality of sleep from this only decreases because the digestive system has to work for several extra hours.
Moreover, elevated blood sugar impairs the production of melatonin and other hormones necessary for a good night’s rest. If hunger really prevents you from falling asleep, you can eat something light or drink a glass of kefir.
Drinking Alcohol
Heavy drinking leads to disrupted night’s sleep and also impairs a person’s overall health. Experts believe that alcohol use disorder can lead to symptoms of insomnia. So to restore your night’s sleep, you must stay away from alcoholic beverages.
You can even get help to quit alcohol addiction. Even if you are not insured, there are several government-funded rehab centers that provide low and no-cost treatment. So just search for a free rehab near me on your browser and get proper addiction treatment.
Work With A Computer Or Tablet
Many people prefer to spend the last few hours before bedtime reading the news, playing a computer game, or watching new videos on the Internet. But it is better to avoid such a pastime, as it interferes with relaxation. Under the influence of the flow of information, the brain gets activated, and then it becomes much more difficult to quickly fall asleep.
Daytime Sleep
Sometimes you want to take a nap for an hour or two during the day. In some hot countries, daytime sleep is even a tradition. It helps to restore strength well, but is only suitable for those who do not have problems falling asleep in the evening. If you want to take a nap, set an alarm for 20-30 minutes. This time is quite enough to rest a little and gain vigor.
Stress
Stress poisons our lives and negatively affects the nervous system. This also manifests itself in the deterioration of the quality of sleep. Try to avoid conflict situations, do not read the news, and avoid discussing them with loved ones.
Also, learn to get rid of unnecessary experiences and restrain negative emotions. Bad things happen to everyone, and the best way to deal with them is to exercise restraint. Do not let the little things knock you out of the rut and you will no longer experience insomnia.
Methods To Fall Asleep Quickly
Here are some proven methods that will help you fall asleep quickly at night:
Breathing Exercise
Short meditation with the right breathing technique will allow you to quickly calm down, slow down your heart rate, and fall asleep in just 10 minutes. One of the easiest to learn but effective is the 4-7-8 technique, which is borrowed from yoga. It includes 3 simple steps:
- Deep breath through the nose for 4 seconds
- Hold your breath for 7 seconds
- Slow exhalation for 8 seconds (through the mouth or nose)
Breathing in this rhythm acts as a powerful sedative. As a result, the pulse slows down, blood pressure decreases, and relaxation occurs. The brain also relaxes due to monotonous work (counting seconds).
Reading A Book
The habit of reading in bed helps many people who have trouble sleeping fall asleep quickly. Reading distracts from everyday worries, thoughts about the day, and immediate plans. Reading paper books is recommended, but an e-reader with an e-ink screen will also work. But a tablet with a glowing display is not the best option.
Of course, you can’t read an action-packed book or a long-awaited continuation of your favorite novel at night. Relaxing after an exciting reading will, on the contrary, be more difficult. The best option for reading before bed is a book that you read a long time ago that you just want to re-read. A familiar and predictable plot will not excite and help you relax.
Counting Breaths
Everyone knows such a method as counting lambs jumping over a fence or a stream. But you can do much easier – count your inhalations and exhalations. It is recommended to count up to 10 (5 inhalations and 5 exhalations) and start again, so as not to burden the brain with an unnecessary computational load. This method allows you to fall asleep quite quickly (usually 3-5 cycles of a full count are enough).
An important point is that you need to fully focus on the breathing process, and try to feel the movement of air in the airways and lungs as detailed as possible. This will allow you to distract from unnecessary thoughts and all extraneous stimuli. This technique perfectly helps to fall asleep in an unusual environment.
Take Away
Adequate sleep is necessary for each of us every day. It fills us with fresh strength and energy, puts our thoughts in order, and allows us to work effectively. But to get the listed effects from sleep, you need to sleep at least 7 hours daily.
Unfortunately, not everyone manages to fall asleep quickly in order to fully relax and restore energy. If this problem is relevant to you, try to follow the simple rules that we talked about today. Soon, you will begin to fall asleep very quickly, sleep soundly, and wake up refreshed.