If you're anything like me, your night goes something like this. After a busy day, you brush your teeth, put on your Zelda pajamas, snuggle into bed, turn off the lights, and then nothing. No, not the good kind of nothing, the "literally 10 seconds ago I felt like I was going to die if I didn't get into my bed and now I'm fully awake" kind of nothing. So try squeezing your eyes tighter, or maybe I'm just not in a comfortable position? Yeah, that'll solve it! But no. The clock is ticking and you're becoming more and more aware that you're losing every waking second of sleep time and that tomorrow is getting worse. If only you could have slept at school or work. It was so easy then, but now, in the loneliness of the night, all you have are your deepest, darkest thoughts and that damn clock that... Oh my God, it's been three hours? If that sounds familiar, then this article is for you, because we've put together some of the best advice and practices to increase your chances of falling asleep in minutes, and while we start with the things you should do before you go to bed, we also have a technique used by the US Navy to fall asleep in two minutes if you're stuck lying awake. So let's start with seven things you should do before you sleep. No. 1 is to sleep in a colder environment. Your thermal environment, specifically the area around your head and body, is perhaps the most underrated factor that will determine not only the ease with which you fall asleep tonight, but also your quality of sleep. Whether you overheat due to heavy blankets, pajamas, or just a hot room, it has been shown to decrease slow-wave sleep and REM sleep. Just to induce sleep, your body needs to drop 1.5°C or 2°F, and a colder temperature will help you drop your temperature faster. It may shock you, but the recommended temperature for your room is 18.3°C or 65°F. Too cold isn't good either, but it doesn't have the same disruptive effects on falling asleep or your sleep quality as a hot room. No. 2 is to take a hot shower or bath before bed. You might think you'll be warm and cozy when you sleep, but it's actually the opposite. When you're exposed to a hot temperature, your body can't hold in the heat and sends blood to the surface of your skin, causing you to turn red. Once you step out of the heat, the dilated blood vessels radiate the internal heat to your surroundings and your core body temperature drops. This triggers the body and brain to think it's time to sleep. No. 3 is to put your watch away. Simply looking at the time to figure out how much you haven't slept isn't helpful and will honestly just stress you out. In fact, keeping track of time is strongly associated with stress and waking up. 4.You should minimize or avoid caffeine and nicotine; Coffee, cola, some tea and even chocolate can take up to eight hours to fully consume, and nicotine is a stimulant. So avoid them too late in the day. It's also worth avoiding eating too close to bedtime. While some studies show that avoiding diets overly focused on carbohydrates helps, it's better to simply avoid being too hungry or too full before bed. 5. Exercise and physical fatigue can help you fall asleep faster, but exercising 2-3 hours before bed can keep you awake longer. So it's better to exercise earlier in the day, and the same goes for naps. They are great, but don't do them after 3pm or it will be harder to fall asleep at night. No. 6: Make sure you actually relax before bed. If you're trying to sleep and you're hyper, your brain just won't be ready. A relaxing activity in the hour before bed, like reading, is the perfect ritual to put you in the right mood. And finally, #7, make sure you expose yourself to the sun during the day and minimize your light exposure in the evening. You've probably been told not to use a screen before bed, which is true, but it's just as important to get at least 30 minutes a dayof natural sunlight if you're having trouble falling asleep. This will help condition your body's schedule and trigger sleepiness at the right times. So now that we've created some conditions to optimize your sleep patterns... ...you're still awake. Maybe you've even done these things and are currently lying in bed, frantically searching YouTube for how to fall asleep faster, which led you to this article. Don't lie. In this case, you broke rule #7 about not looking at your phone, but I forgive you if it was out of sheer desperation. I mean, I'm not gonna complain about the extra look. But seriously, if you're lying in bed after all that, there's a technique the Navy "supposedly" used that, when practiced, will literally put you to sleep in 2 minutes no matter where you are. I say "allegedly" because the studies are not publicly available, but they claim they were used on fighter pilots who would often make avoidable mistakes due to stress and ultimately insomnia.
In fact, they were designed so that they could even fall asleep sitting up. And after 6 weeks, they claim that 96% of pilots were able to fall asleep in less than 2 minutes. Here's how it works. First, you need to systematically relax every part of your body. Take a deep breath. Close your eyes and start focusing on your face. Imagine how each muscle slowly relaxes. If you need help, pinch your face first and then let it relax. Breathe out as you feel your cheeks, tongue, mouth, and jaw relax,and even imagine your eyes sinking into their sockets. Then slowly go down your body and do the same with each muscle group; Tense and relax your shoulders, then your arms, from your forearms to your fingers, chest and legs, and finally your feet; Breathe deeply as you do this and concentrate on relaxing. Once you have gone through the whole body, focus on putting your mind into a meditative state. If thoughts about your day or images come to mind, try not to dwell in them and let them pass. Just thinking about movements can cause your muscles to contract involuntarily. Similar to meditation, don't let thoughts overwhelm you. Try focusing on breathing in and out, or imagine yourself in a calming place, such as a hammock on a warm summer day, swaying slowly back and forth. If you can't stop your thoughts, they suggest repeating "don't think, don't think, don't think..." for 10 seconds. It may sound silly or pretty simple, but it's practice that makes perfect and anecdotally, online, people have found it works after taking time to do it. But the key, as with most things, is to practice consistently every night. It won't be an easy fix the first night, but after a few weeks, you'll be much more likely to be able to fall asleep right away - assuming you don't have a sleep disorder or other issues. Now there is one more suggestion that is considered the most important tip for falling asleep right away, and if you can't follow any other; follow this one. Go to bed and wake up at the same time of day, no matter what; even on the weekends. I know it sucks, but we are creatures of habit and if you want to be able to fall asleep right away, a good routine will set your body up to literally work like clockwork. And if you still can't fall asleep after all that, don't stay awake in bed. Studies show that not falling asleep for an extended period of time causes anxiety and only makes things worse. So just get up and do a relaxing or mildly boring activity until you feel sleepy.
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