We all know that getting eight hours of sleep a night offers countless health benefits, but for many of us, it is easier said than done. According to one survey, nearly half of UK adults regularly struggle to fall asleep, and there are, on average, 135,000 Google searches for 'how to fall asleep' every month. Many people will have already ditched caffeine, invested in red-light glasses, and spent hours meditating in a last-ditch attempt to get a decent night's rest.
Whether it is racing thoughts, anxiety about work, or dread over an early alarm, plenty of us will find ourselves staring at the ceiling at 3am, wide awake despite feeling exhausted. This can also be a sign that the brain's glymphatic system, a pathway that clears waste build-up from the brain when we sleep, is not working as it should. A good night's sleep is vital for health, but concerningly, only around a quarter of adults manage to get the recommended eight hours. And with poor sleep linked to a swathe of illnesses including dementia, losing hours to tossing and turning can be downright cruel.
Tell Yourself to Stay Awake
Whilst even the world's top sleep experts are not immune to insomnia, Dr Deborah Lee has found a somewhat counterintuitive way to fall asleep faster. 'This technique is reverse psychology at its finest,' Dr Lee explains. 'By telling yourself to sleep constantly, it will drive stress and anger around the fact that you are not falling asleep. However, by doing the complete opposite, and telling yourself to stay awake, it will help you drift off a bit quicker. Just keep repeating the phrase, in your head, "do not fall asleep". Eventually, your eye muscles will tire out and you will be asleep before you know it!'
There are studies to back up this bizarre phenomenon. Paradoxical intention has been used to treat anxiety disorder since the 1930s. Sleep specialists believe this works because it short-circuits 'performance anxiety' around sleep, that frustrating cycle where the harder you try to nod off, the more alert and stressed you become. Of course, it is not a magic fix for everyone. Experts say paradoxical intention tends to work best for those whose insomnia is driven by racing thoughts or anxiety about sleep itself, rather than underlying medical conditions. Still, as Dr Lee puts it, 'when sleep starts to feel like a battle, sometimes the smartest move is to stop fighting it altogether.'
Use This Breathing Trick That Sends You to Sleep in 60 Seconds
It won't come as a surprise to know that it is easier to fall asleep when your body is relaxed. This is where the 4-7-8 breathing technique comes in, Dr Lee says. It involves pressing the tip of your tongue against your upper front teeth and breathing in through your nose for a count of four, holding your breath for seven, then exhaling through your mouth for eight. 'You might find that a weird noise comes out of your mouth, but this is all part of the process. Keep repeating until you fall asleep,' she says.
Whilst this might seem like a pointless exercise at 2am in the morning, the technique has been used for decades, pioneered by sleep expert Dr Andrew Weil. But it really comes down to consistency. 'You have to do this two times a day religiously,' he says. The idea is that breathing more deeply allows the lungs to fill to their full capacity, allowing more oxygen into the body which promotes a state of calm. Repeating the process daily before bed will help the brain learn to treat it as a signal that it is safe to shut down and go to sleep. Unlike sleeping pills, the exercise becomes more effective with practice.
Breathing through only one nostril can have a similar effect, Dr Lee says. 'If you lie on your side and breathe only through your left nostril, it may help you drift off a little bit faster. By covering your right nostril with your finger, this could help you lower your blood pressure and calm the body ready for bedtime.'
Rinse 90 Minutes Before Bed
If your brain needs deep sleep to properly get rid of waste build-up, body temperature helps decide when that clean can begin. One of the simplest ways to trigger this sleep stage is by taking a warm bath or shower an hour-and-a-half before bed, says Lisa Artis, a sleep expert at the Sleep Charity. 'I often describe sleep not just as rest, but as a vital cleanup process for the brain,' Simba's sleep partner explains. 'Each night, the brain clears waste that builds up during the day, a process that is essential for focus, memory, mood and long term brain health. And when this internal clean-up does not happen, as a direct result of not getting enough deep sleep, it not only shows up as brain fog and problems concentrating the next day; it can exacerbate the cycle of lying awake at night desperate to sleep.'
A review from the University of Texas found that having a warm bath or shower one to two hours before bed can help people fall asleep faster and improve overall sleep quality. The reason, Artis says, is because the heat draws blood to the skin, and when you step out of the bath or shower, your core body temperature shifts, a key signal to the brain that it is time for deep sleep.
Take Yourself Through Your Day, and Maybe Even Make a To-Do List for Tomorrow
Whilst counting sheep may work for some people, for others it is simply not mentally challenging enough to distract a busy brain, Dr Lee says. 'Instead, take yourself through the day, but not just in any order, in reverse,' she suggests. 'Keep it detailed, remind yourself what you had for breakfast, lunch and dinner, what you did at work and what music you listened to in the car on your commute. Start from what you watched on TV before bed and go back through the day taking you right back to when you first woke up. This will keep your mind occupied, not letting you think of something that might be the reason that you are keeping up.'
Alternatively, research published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology shows making a to-do list for the next five days can help people fall asleep more quickly. In the study, 57 participants were either asked to spend five minutes journaling about everything they did that day or everything they had to remember to do over the next five days. Results from sleep lab analysis showed that those in the to-do list group fell asleep around 10 minutes faster than those who used the time to reflect on their day. The more thorough and specific the to-do lists were, the quicker they fell asleep.
