Want to Fall Asleep in Seconds? Follow These Expert-Approved Techniques
Tossing and turning in bed, calculating how many hours of sleep you’ve got left by the time the alarm sounds in the morning? You’re not the only one.
As someone who has always struggled with falling asleep, I can tell you that just the mere act of concentrating too hard can be incredibly stressful and nerve-wracking. When your mind is awake, your body stays awake too. So, after trying countless methods to fall asleep faster like counting sheep (yes, I’ve tried that too), drinking milk before bed and switching off sources of blue light, I’ve finally discovered some techniques that really did the trick for me.
Curious to know what these are and test them out for yourself? Then, without further ado, let’s take a closer look at the following expert-approved techniques that can really help you fall asleep in a matter of seconds.
How to fall asleep in 10 seconds
I would have never dreamed of falling asleep in less than five minutes, let alone in a matter of seconds, not even when I was completely and utterly exhausted. However, it seems that with practice and constancy, you can shorten your journey to dreamland to ten seconds.
The military method
This brilliant sleeping technique was first described in a 1981 book known as “Relax and Win: Championship Performance.” According to the author, the method was used by the US army to help soldiers hit snooze in less than 2 minutes, even when sleeping conditions were not that good (like being on a battlefield).
After 6 weeks of practice, the soldiers managed to master the technique and fall asleep faster, despite drinking coffee or hearing gunfire in the background.
Here’s how to do it:
Close your eyes and relax your entire face
Take deep, slow breaths, and relax your shoulders
Drop your shoulders and hands to the side of your body
Breath out and release tension from your chest
Relax your legs, thighs, and calves.
Clear your head for ten seconds. If you can’t keep your mind clear, repeat the words “don’t think” for 10 seconds
You should go into safe shutdown mode in ten seconds.
It might not work from the very first try but if you focus on improving your breathing and muscle relaxation, science has said these are contributing factors to a fast and deep slumber.
How to fall asleep in 60 seconds
The following techniques focus on breathing and muscle relaxation and help you unwind. If you’ve never tried them before, you should know you might need up to two minutes for them to work in the beginning.
4-7-8 breathing method
This method was developed by Dr. Andrew Weil and combines meditation and visualization to help people manage their reactions and breathing. Apart from helping you fall asleep faster, the technique is also useful in dealing with food cravings or moderate anxiety. But don’t forget, practice makes perfect!
Here’s how to do it:
Part your lips and breath out through your mouth
Close your lips and breath in through your nose, while counting to 4
Next, hold your breath for 7 seconds
After that, exhale for 8 seconds, while making a whooshing sound
Try to remain relaxed throughout the entire exercise
Complete this routine for four full breaths (you might fall asleep faster than that, though).
Deep muscle relaxation (DMR)
Deep muscle relaxation, also known as progressive muscle relaxation, helps you do just that…relax. After relaxation, comes a good night’s sleep. The technique was developed by Edmund Jacobson in the 1930s and involves tensing and relaxing your muscles until you unwind completely. This sleeping hack has proven to be quite efficient in treating insomnia.
Here’s how to do it:
Start with your face. Tense your forehead muscles (by raising your eyebrows or frowning) for 5 seconds
Relax for 10 seconds
Tense your eyes (squint) and cheeks (smile) for 5 seconds.
Relax for 10 seconds
Tense your neck by tilting and looking at the ceiling for 5 seconds.
Relax for 10 seconds
Tense your arms, chest, thighs and feet. Hold for 5 seconds (for each body part) and relax for 10 seconds.
If you feel your body relaxed and heavy, allow yourself to fall asleep even if you’re halfway through the routine.
How to fall asleep in 120 seconds
If you didn’t manage to fall asleep with the help of the previous techniques, try reverse psychology. In other words, instead of focusing on falling asleep, focus on staying awake. Trust me, it will work like a charm and you’ll hit snooze in no time.
Order yourself to stay awake
This technique, also known as the paradoxical intention for insomnia, helps you reduce the anxiety caused by insomnia and the frustration of not being able to fall asleep. According to research, by not stressing out that much about falling asleep, you manage to do just that. It’s a paradox, I know!
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