The Best Ways to Fall Asleep
After a busy day working from home, traveling, or just enjoying time with the family, we can all use a few tricks to fall asleep fast. After all, when your mind has been active all day, it can be tough to wind down before bed. Here are our three favorite ways to fall asleep quickly.
- Use your imagination. Picture your favorite place. Really see your favorite spot in Butchart Gardens or your go-to romantic getaway. Once you can see it, focus on your five senses. Relax and smell the fragrant flowers, taste the air or that chocolate souffle. It works because it distracts your mind from worry and anxiety!
- Practice relaxation breathing using the 4-7-8 method. Place the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth behind your upper teeth and keep it there throughout. Expel the air in your lungs. Breathe in deeply through your nose for four seconds. Hold your breath while you count to seven. Then breathe out from your mouth for eight seconds. Repeat this exercise up to four times to help you nod off.
- Use a calming scent such as lavender spray on your linens to help you go to sleep more quickly. There are studies showing the scent helps to lower blood pressure and encourages deep, restorative sleep.
Try not to focus on falling asleep right away, as that can have the opposite effect. If you try to force yourself to sleep, you create additional stress and anxiety, which inevitably keeps you awake. Instead, try one of these tricks to get a great night of sleep.
About the Author
Anam Ahmed is an avid traveler, writer, and editor. Her journeys have taken her everywhere from the jungles of Cambodia to the canals of Venice and back home to the markets of Toronto. She is always on the lookout for sleeping tips so she can get the rest she needs everywhere she goes.
