Do you have trouble falling asleep? do you toss and turn at night while your brain refuses to slow down? a good night’s sleep is necessary for optimal health so if you’re one of the millions of people in the world who suffer from sleep deprivation or you want to fall asleep faster, keep reading to learn a trick straight from the US Navy on how to sleep fast.
How to sleep fast ?
It’s quite common these days to struggle sleeping once you lie in bed at night. Depriving your body of sleep during night time can hormonal imbalances which can lead to weight gain, slower reaction, times irritability, memory problems and depression, but you’re not the only one fighting this battle. According to the American Sleep Association about seventy million US adults suffer from sleep disorders. It’s estimated that around 27 percent of people worldwide suffer from sleep deprivation.
If this sounds familiar to you then this article is for you because we have compiled some of the best practices to increase your odds of falling asleep in minutes and while we’re going to start with the things you should do before hitting your bed, we also have a method used by the U.S. Navy to fall asleep in two minutes when you’re stuck there lying awake. So let’s start with three things you should do before you sleep:
You need to sleep in a colder environment
The temperature is perhaps the most undermined factor determining not only the ease with which you’ll fall asleep, but also your sleep quality. it’s been shown that overheating decreases slow-wave sleep, that is deep sleep. Even just to initiate sleep, your body has to drop 1.5°C and so being colder actually helps bring your temperature down faster. It might shock you to know that the recommended temperature is around 18°C for your bedroom. Going 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 does.
You better take a hot shower or bath before bed
You might think being warm is what makes you sleep, but it’s actually kind of the opposite. When you’re showering with hot water, your body can’t hold on to the heat and directs blood to the surface of your skin, giving you that flushed red look. Once you step out of the warmth, your body radiates out the inner heat to your environment and your temperature drops. This triggers the brain to think that it’s sleep time.
You should minimize or avoid caffeine and nicotine
Coffee, colas, tea and even chocolate … these can take as long as seven hours to wear out fully and nicotine is a stimulant. So avoid them too late in the day. It’s also better to just avoid being too hungry or too full before bed.
So now that we have set up some conditions for optimizing your experience of falling asleep. You’re still awake. In fact, maybe you’ve done those things and you’re lying in bed right now desperately waiting for sleep to come. If that is the case, there’s this technique that the US Navy used that, if practiced, can literally have you falling asleep in 2 minutes, no matter where you are.
Here are the mental and physical steps you need to take, spending approximately two minutes on them. You’ll be systematically releasing tension in different parts of your body, one by one. Once you’ve completed the five easy steps, you should be able to fall asleep in the next three minutes.
Step 1
Lie on your back in bed. Close your eyes. Squint your face first and then let it relax; Rest your facial muscles including your jaw, tongue and the muscles around your eyes. If you realize you have a frown, focus on releasing the center of your forehead. Your forehead should be smooth. Lastly, imagine your eyes sinking into their sockets.
Step 2
Make your way down your body and try to relax each and every muscle. Tighten and then relax your shoulders. This will also help you release the tension in your neck, then arms, from forearms to fingers. At the end include your hands and fingers.
Step 3
Breathe deeply and relax your chest. Feel the air fill up your lungs.
Step 4
Relax your legs. Release the tension from your thighs first then let the relaxation move down to your calves. Finally, focus on your ankles and feet.
Step 5
Once you have gone through the whole body, it’s time to clear your mind into a meditative state. , focus on clearing your mind. As thoughts about your day pop into your mind, try not to dwell on them and let them go. Lloyd (Bud) Winter the author of the book Relax & Win suggests envisioning the two following scenarios to help clear your mind and block out any distractions.
First, visualize yourself lying in a canoe on a calm lake with nothing but a clear blue sky above you.
Or imagine you are snuggled up in a black velvet hammock in a pitch-black room.
If images the two images don’t work, say to yourself: “don’t think don’t think don’t think” over and over again for 7 seconds. It sounds silly, but it is the practice that makes perfect.
Lastly, I’d recommend heading to bed when you feel the first sign of tiredness without ignoring what your body is asking of you, on the other hand, avoid going to bed if you aren’t tired, because going to bed too early can be frustrating, but if that’s the case don’t lie awake in bed. Numerous studies have shown 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 activity until you feel sleepy.
So tell us Outladishers did this technique work for you let us know in the comment section.
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