When you’ve got a million things on your mind, it doesn’t matter how tired you are — falling asleep feels impossible. It can be tempting to watch an episode of your favourite show on Neflix to help you turn your brain off. But let’s be honest, one episode always turns into three, so you end up staying up later anyway. Plus, the blue light on your computer leads to a crappy night’s sleep anyway.
So, what’s a girl to do on those nights where sleep evades you? Don’t worry, we’ve got a foolproof technique to put you to sleep – the ‘4-7-8’ method. No, you won’t be doing maths before you hit the hay. This technique is all about focusing on your breath to slow down your heart rate. It’s simple: breathe in through your nose for four seconds, hold your breath for seven seconds, and exhale through your mouth for eight seconds. You may be tempted to count a little faster than normal if you start to feel light headed but as long as you keep to the 4-7-8 ratio, you’ll be in the land of nod in no time!
Here’s how to get to sleep:
- Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound.
- Close your mouth and inhale quietly through your nose to a mental count of four.
- Hold your breath for a count of seven.
- Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound to a count of eight.
- This is one breath. Now inhale again and repeat the cycle three more times for a total of four breaths
This trick is great for any time you need to stop, take a breath (literally) and de-stress because you can actually feel your heart slowing down. Your heart, mind and central nervous-system will immediately feel more relaxed because of the increased levels of oxygen within your bloodstream.
So next time you find your mind wandering whilst you’re trying to fall asleep, try this trick and you’ll be asleep before you know it!
