Fall asleep quickly
This trick will help in a minute
Falling asleep quickly is not rocket science: With this breathing technique – and a little practice – you can easily fall asleep in less than a minute.
How long did you roll around in bed yesterday before you finally fell asleep? Often in the evening the thoughts start to rattle in our head. Even during the day, stress and worries drive our adrenaline levels up: the heart beats faster, we breathe short and shallow – or even unconsciously hold our breath. He is precisely the key to relaxation and rest.
Fall asleep quickly – with this breathing technique
While Indians have known and used the power of breathing for centuries, we still do not pay enough attention to it. Keeping a certain breathing rhythm has a positive effect on the vegetative, as the involuntary, nervous system, from which we can benefit in many situations. A message that the American Dr. Andrew Weil has been preaching for years. He deals with yoga and integrative medicine and is one of the most prominent representatives the so-called 4-7-8 breathing technique.
It takes less than a minute, costs nothing, and works as follows:
- Inhale through your nose and count to four.
- Hold your breath and count to seven.
- Exhale through your mouth and count to eight. Place the tip of the tongue behind the upper incisors on the roof of the mouth so that the air to the right and left of the tongue escapes with a slight hiss. It is easier if the lips are pursed a little.
- Repeat this breathing cycle four times.
Because recommends Do four cycles each morning after waking up and in the evening before going to sleep.
Falling asleep quickly: why does this technique help?
By breathing in for a long time, we force the body to take in more oxygen. This gets into the blood by holding one's breath. And by breathing out even longer, we let a lot of used air out of our lungs. The exercise has a calming effect, lowers the pulse and gently brings us to sleep. It doesn't matter how fast or slow you count.
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It is crucial that you do this exercise regularly. After about eight weeks, according to Weil, you can increase to eight cycles in the morning and in the evening. You can perform the breathing technique while lying down, sitting or standing. And the best: It not only helps you to fall asleep, but also in other situations – be it with nervousness, anger, stress or fear of flying. Try it out!
Even more tips for falling asleep faster
Of course, there are many other tips that should improve the quality of our sleep and prevent you from rolling around and lying awake in bed. These include:
- Counting sheep: A simple tip that can actually help you fall asleep. Counting is monotonous and low-stimulus – which can help us to ignore thoughts that can prevent our sleep. In fact, it's less about counting and more about calming thoughts: imagining a beautiful landscape can help just as well, provided you can really relax while doing it.
- Read: Unless you're into disturbing books like thrillers or crime novels, it can also help to read. This makes it easier to switch off. However, you shouldn't read in bed: in the long term, the brain anchors the bed as a place to relax, but not to sleep at night.
- Get up again: Sounds counterproductive, but it can actually help! Anyone who lies in bed for more than 15 to 20 minutes and cannot fall asleep should get up again and do a monotonous activity – for example sorting the laundry. That makes you tired and it is easier to fall asleep.
- Turn down the heating: Most people sleep best at a temperature between 16 and 18 degrees. So turn down the heating in the bedroom about half an hour before you go to bed – and ventilate again. To do this, open the window completely for about ten minutes. Because fresh air also promotes sleep.
- Rituals: Humans are creatures of habit. Fixed rituals every day help us adjust to sleep. It doesn't really matter whether you read a few pages in a book every evening, drink a cup of tea or meditate – the main thing is that you get tired and relaxed and get ready for sleep.
- Keeping warm: Especially cold feet make it difficult to fall asleep. Because in order for us to be able to sleep, the body temperature has to drop about one degree. But if the limbs are cold, the blood vessels constrict, which makes it difficult for the body to drop in temperature. A warm hot water bottle on your feet can help. But if you like, you can also wear socks.
- Switching off the mobile phone and television: The monitors of cell phones and televisions use a certain blue light that prevents the release of the so-called sleep hormone melatonin. Therefore, you should refrain from using the devices at least one hour before going to sleep.
- Light movement: Anyone who moves is physically exhausted and can sleep better – of course. Exercising right before you fall asleep can have the opposite effect, however. It is better to do light exercise such as doing yoga about two to three hours before bed to give the body time to shut down.
What about warm milk with honey?
Warm milk with honey is often recommended as a sleep aid because milk contains melatonin and the amino acid tryptophan, which are said to promote sleep. However, the quantities are too small to actually have an effect. If anything, the warm milk has more of a psychological effect because it has a relaxing effect.
Reading tips: You can find out everything about sleep disorders and persistent sleep disorders in general here. We reveal natural sleeping pills here.
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S3 guideline of the German Society for Sleep Research and Sleep Medicine: Non-restful sleep / sleep disorders (as of 2017)
German Society for Sleep Research and Sleep Medicine, (DGSM); www.dgsm.de
Stuck, B.A. et al .: Praxis der Schlafmedizin, Springer Verlag, 3rd edition, 2018
Staedt, J. & Riemann, D .: Diagnostics and therapy of sleep disorders, W. Kohlhammer Verlag, 1st edition, 2006