5 Simple Tips for How to Fall Asleep Fast

Sleep is a kind of therapy for the body. Falling asleep quickly is doing this therapy right.

If you suffer from insomnia, then you are not alone. The statistics are growing every day. Today, 29% of men and 37% of women suffer from this disease.

The inability to fall asleep quickly can be at different stages. Some can not fall asleep for 30 minutes, and someone lies until 3 am, to the moment when their brain is completely tired.

There are many factors that contribute to insomnia. It can be external sources like sticking to the phone or disruptions in circadian rhythms. One way or another, there is a problem, which means that it needs a solution.

I surfed the Internet and tried all the most popular methods for quickly falling asleep myself. Here I will list the different options and how they are useful, and if you are interested, you can read more about my personal experience in my article “I’ve Tried These Tips to Fall Asleep Fast - Here’s My Verdict.”

Healthy zzz’s rules

To go directly to the methods, let's go through the basic rules that are best to follow for effective sleep.

1. Go to bed and get up at the same time.
2. Reduce mental and physical activity an hour before going to bed.
3. Refuse to take coffee, strong tea, cola, alcohol, and nicotine a few hours before bedtime.
4. Don't use brightly lit gadgets before bed. Better yet, don't use your phone at all for about an hour before bedtime.
5. Use a slightly firm mattress and pillows. Too soft things can interfere with posture and sleep.
6. Don't eat or work in bed so that your brain will associate it with sleep only.

5 effective methods to help you fall asleep

1. Clear your mind

For some, the multiplication table helps to fall asleep, for others, counting sheep, for some, the dream of a vacation at sea or memories of childhood. Think about which images are close to you.

For example, imagine how the crowns of trees rustle on a summer day, how in the depths of a dense forest, on deaf paths overgrown with nettles, sunbeams play ... Where do these paths lead? Do you want to walk along with them?

Let your imagination run wild, let it finish the details: wild rosemary along the edges of the path, the chirping of birds, the cobweb between the old pines. And the path leads you further and further… Along with such thoughts, calmness, peace, and sleep will come.

Another way: imagine a big house. It can be either a real or fictional building. Then mentally enlarge it to a huge size and consider all the details - cornices, gables, roof slopes, cracks in the walls. Such a mental projection will distract you from life's worries and help you fall asleep faster and sleep well.

2. Learn breathing techniques

Followers of yoga and other Eastern practices claim that regular simple exercises before going to bed can cure any insomnia.

Indeed, during the day we experience physical and emotional stress, and many yogic techniques are aimed specifically at relieving tension in the muscles, which leads to the necessary relaxation, purification of the mind and sound, and healthy sleep.

Examples include the 5-5-5 and 4-7-8 breathing techniques. Each digit is the number of seconds during which you need:

• slowly draw air into the lungs;
• hold your breath;
• release air.

At the same time, the mouth should be closed, and the tongue should rest against the palate; above the line of teeth, inhalation/exhalation is carried out through the nose.

When doing exercises, do not think only about technique, use a creative approach. For example, imagine that with the exhalation, disturbing thoughts leave the brain, and with each new breath comes bliss and pleasure.

Despite their apparent simplicity, these techniques are very effective. As a result, your body will be saturated with oxygen, and the mental counting of seconds will increase fatigue, and this will help you fall asleep faster.

3. Practice good sleep hygiene

Buy an orthopedic mattress and pillows - they help to relax. Bed linen and sleepwear should be made from natural materials - silk, cotton, and bamboo.

Folk remedies, for example, the aromatic power of herbs, will help to calm and inspire sleep. Of course, it is difficult to arrange full-fledged herbal aromatherapy at home.

On the other hand, this is not required: it is enough to buy a small pillow that will lie at the head of the bed and exude a healing aroma of anise, basil, chamomile, valerian, or motherwort. Herbs can be bought in specialized online stores or collected and dried by yourself.

4. Start the mode

Any habit becomes a part of life in just 21 days. Make a schedule and follow it during this time, and you will see how much easier it will be to wake up in the morning, feel alert, healthy and enjoy every new day.

This is especially true for falling asleep and waking up - learn to go to bed and get up at the same time. If you have a “floating schedule”, it is difficult for the body to tune in to the desired mood, and it is unlikely that you will be able to get enough sleep.

Include physical activity in your routine, but free up the evening for rest - at this time of day, the muscles should be relaxed.

Do not eat heavy food 3 hours before going to bed, otherwise, the body will spend energy on digesting it, which will increase the duration of falling asleep. In general, it is better to go to bed on an empty stomach - just drink a glass of warm milk or plain water.

5. Maintain a healthy bedroom environment

The lack of fresh air can not only affect one's well-being. Sleeping in a stuffy, unventilated room often leads to oxygen starvation (hypoxia), which is expressed in headaches in the morning.

The reason is that the increased concentration of carbon dioxide exhaled during sleep provokes active vasodilation, and this, in turn, causes a feeling of heaviness in the head, increased fatigue, and general malaise.

Therefore, it is important to ventilate and set the correct temperature and humidity in the room if you do not want to wake up in the morning with a headache and lack of sleep.

The bottom line

Healthy sleep is important for comfortable well-being, maintaining productivity, and a good mood during the day, which is why it is worth fighting insomnia as soon as the first signs appear.

In this article, I talked about the best ways to fall asleep quickly if you do not want to sleep. If the described methods do not help, seek the advice of a specialist, you should not suffer from insomnia and drink medications without a prescription.