Dubai: The National Sleep Foundation claims that it should take between 10 and 20 minutes for an average person to fall asleep. Your daily routine affects how well you sleep. If you go to bed around the same time every night, your body will thank you by being more consistent with your nightly snoozes. Some people are lucky enough to fall asleep the second their head hits the pillow, while others need hours to nod off. Here are 7 science backed ways to fall asleep faster.
Before bedtime
1. Take a warm shower
Apart from the psychological satisfaction of going to bed clean and fresh, when you step out of warm shower, your body temperature drops significantly, which causes sleepiness. So take your showers in the night time so that falling asleep can be easier.
2. Cool your room down
Nothing is more disruptive to sleep than an overheated body. The ideal temperature to adjust your thermostat on is between 21 and 23 degrees Celsius. Wear light cotton pyjamas and make sure your bedroom is a cool and dark environment.
3. Put your phone down
Every single phone screen emits a blue light, which causes the brain activity to increase right before bedtime, when we should be doing the exact opposite. If you really can’t live without your phone, then dim your screen, switch on night mode if possible, or download a dimming app, so you can keep your brain activity low.
If you’re having trouble falling asleep:
4. Stick your feet out
Exposing even part of your feet to the cooler air helps your body heat to drop more quickly. It’s a surprisingly simple sleep hack, one that helps you fall asleep more quickly and sleep better.
5. The 4-7-8 method
Dr. Andrew Weil, a bestselling sleep author, swears by the “4-7-8” breathing method. The method is said to relax you by increasing the amount of oxygen in your blood stream, slowing your heart rate down and getting rid of CO2 from your lungs.
Push your tongue lightly behind your upper front teeth, and keep it there the whole time. Exhale completely. Breathe in through your nose for 4 seconds, hold your breath for 7 seconds, and then release the breath through your mouth for 8 seconds. Repeat the cycle and you should fall asleep within 1 minute.
6. Massage your pressure points
Massaging certain parts of your body causes you to relax and fall asleep faster. Apply pressure to the area between your eyebrows right above your nose for 1 minute. Press the area that’s between your first and second toes, on top of the foot. Or massage both of your ears for a minute.
7. Reverse Psychology
Instead of forcing yourself to fall asleep, why not focus on trying to stay awake? You should try making yourself stay up, by reading or by thinking of something elaborate, and your mind will feel tired and start falling asleep.
A few tips that work:
Blink uncontrollably for 1 minute straight
Wear a sleep mask to eliminate light completely
Breathe out of your left nostril 26 times
Use a white noise app
Don’t look at the time. That will stress you out and make it even more difficult
