I wasn’t originally going to include this life hack; as the rule was, I would only include fact-checked or tested life hacks.
However, I had not one but two friends try it, and it worked for them, so I decided to go and include the fall asleep life hack based on their experience. However, I want to add my own trick that worked even better.
Sleep plays an important role in your physical health. For example, sleep is involved in the healing and repair of your heart and blood vessels. Ongoing sleep deficiency is linked to an increased risk of heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and stroke.
Sleep is a naturally recurring state of mind and body, characterized by altered consciousness, relatively inhibited sensory activity, reduced muscle activity and inhibition of nearly all voluntary muscles during rapid eye movement sleep, and reduced interactions with surroundings.
If you’re in bed unable to fall asleep as your mind is racing, focusing on all kinds of craziness, you are supposed to instead focus on your physical body. Start thinking about the weight of your blanket, then the softness of your pillow. This should help put your mind at ease and will help you get to sleep. But as I said before, when I tried this, it didn’t work all that well for me. However, two of my friends reported to me that they had tried it, and both had positive results.
That being said, I wanted to share with you a better sleep life hack. It’s one that I use all the time, and it works great.
Close your eyes and focus on a story. Play the story out in your mind as if it were a movie. Think about it as a book. Who is your female character? Who is the male lead? How do they meet? Where do they go on their first date? What are they wearing? Where do these characters work?
Focus on these details, and your mind and body will be at ease, allowing you to fall asleep faster instead of fretting about the everyday stresses of life that can cause your mind to race.
Of course, if that doesn’t work for you, you can always try the military sleep method.
- Relax your entire face, including the muscles inside your mouth.
- Drop your shoulders to release the tension, and let your hands drop to the side of your body.
- Exhale, relaxing your chest.
- Relax your legs, thighs, and calves.
- Clear your mind for 10 seconds by imagining a relaxing scene.
- If this doesn’t work, try saying the words “don’t think” over and over for 10 seconds.
- Within 10 seconds, you should fall asleep!
If this doesn’t work for you right away, don’t worry, you may just need to work on the foundations of the military method: breathing and muscle relaxation. At first, it could take several minutes to work. But over time, as you get more experienced in regulating your breathing and relaxing your muscles, you’ll be asleep in no time.
Remember that the premise is to tense — but not strain — your muscles and relax to release the tension. This movement promotes tranquility throughout your body. Now breathe in, and breathe out. As you do this, focus on how relaxed and heavy your body feels when it’s relaxed and in a comfortable state.
