How to Fall Asleep Faster
Catching those zzzs in no time
Many people find it hard to fall asleep. They feel tired when going to bed, they have no worries or physical discomforts, and yet they lay awake for hours. If chamomile tea or warm milk doesn’t do the trick, these relaxation aids and techniques are sure to help.
Eat something
While it’s not recommended to go to bed on a full stomach, there’s nothing wrong with snacking on the right foods. Almonds, cherries, and tart cherries are packed with melatonin, a sleep-inducing hormone that has a relaxing effect on the brain. In the absence of cherries, bananas will help. Bananas contain magnesium and potassium, both classified as muscle relaxers.
Relaxed breathing
Some people suffering from insomnia have found relief with the following breathing technique. Simply lie on your back with your arms by your side. Mentally count to ten while inhaling and exhaling, one … inhale, two … exhale. Repeat this exercise five times. Next, take a deep breath, hold your breath for seven seconds, forcefully exhale and stay without air for seven seconds. Repeat this exercise four times. To finish, repeat the counting to ten exercise.
Lavender oil
To help you fall asleep faster, put one or two drops of lavender oil left and right on your pillow. Alternatively, you can drizzle some of the oil on a cotton swab and place the swab next to your bed. If you have a diffuser, you can add lavender oil to the water.
Sound machine
With a sound machine, you can choose from a variety of sounds to help you relax. Sounds to choose from are white noise, falling rain, waves lapping onto a beach, zoo sounds, birdsong, city noises, and home appliances. Volume intensity is adjustable and one can choose to have the sounds play continuously or shut off after 30 minutes or one hour.
Try to stay awake
Another way to help you doze off is to try to stay awake. For this method, you close your eyes and imagine any kind of scenario. You could pretend to drive a car and follow a familiar route you take to work, to the supermarket, or to visit family or friends. You can imagine following a cooking recipe, working out at the gym, going for a walk in a field or forest, or any other situation you find relaxing.
Eye exercises
Giving your eyes some exercise will also help with fall asleep faster. With your eyes open, look as far up and down and from left to right as you can three times. Next, close your eyes and repeat the exercise three times. Not only will this help you fall asleep, but you’ll also build strong eye muscles in the process.
Get up
If despite your best efforts you can’t get to sleep, get up. Get out of bed and stand in front of the window for a while, have a drink of water in the kitchen, read a few pages of a book in the living room, or have a warm shower.
Going to bed at more or less the same time also helps with falling asleep faster. If you go to bed at irregular times, your body doesn’t develop a routine. Once you have a routine in place, you’ll find that catching those zzzs becomes a lot easier.
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