10 Genius Hacks That Will Make You Fall Asleep Faster

With a growing rate of young Indian population working shifts, there is an increase in the number of people who suffer from mild or chronic insomnia in India. According to an article published by Times of India Lucknow, 93% of Indians are sleep deprived. While it may seem like a minor issue, this is certainly not true. A lot of times when you cannot fall asleep fast you tend to over think, further reducing your sleep time and patterns. Insomnia or erratic sleep patterns is known to hamper your health and immunity to a great extent. People who sleep well have better immune responses and healthy bodies. This being true, every once in a while we can suffer from an occasional lack of sleep due to change in routine, jet lag, oversleeping in the afternoon or even stress. For such situations we have made a list of 10 genius hacks to fall asleep quickly. Make use of these techniques to fall asleep fast and never miss a good sound sleep.

How To Fall Asleep Quickly

1. Breathing exercise

Just as the famous 4-7-8 breathing technique works for controlling your cravings and calming your mind, it also works wonders for putting you to sleep faster. Dr. Andrew Weil, a proponent of this technique says that this utterly simple technique to fall asleep requires almost no time, no equipment and can be done anywhere. Here is his guide to performing the 4-7-8 breathing exercise to fall asleep fast. This is definitely one of the most famous trick to fall asleep

Start with placing your tongue against the backside of your upper front teeth and maintain it there throughout the whole exercise. Your inhalations have to be through your nose while exhalations have t be through your mouth.

Step 1: Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound.

Step 2: Close your mouth and inhale quietly through your nose to a mental count of four.

Step 3: Hold your breath for a count of seven.

Step 4: Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound to a count of eight. This is one breath.

Step 5: Now inhale again and repeat the cycle three more times for a total of four breaths.

2. Sleep masks and Ear Plugs

Another one of the great ways to fall asleep fast is by using a sleep mask. A study showed that noise and light account for less than 30% of all arousals from sleep at night. Sleep masks or eye masks block out all the light that hinders you from getting a relaxing and deep sleep. Eye masks create a sensation of complete darkness which urges the brain to produce melatonin, a sleep-inducing hormone, this can make you sleep fast and complete your sleep.

Ear plugs do the same trick as sleep masks but block noise instead of light. They come in various shapes and sizes. Ear plugs tend to get uncomfortable at times and can be done away with unless absolutely necessary, for someone who wants to

3. Use Lavender

The scent of the lavender flower is known to relax your muscles, calm you down and even lower your blood pressure. A 2005 study found that those who sniffed lavender oil before bedtime had more deep sleep and felt fresher in the morning.

There are a variety of ways in which you can expose yourself to lavender before bedtime. The most common is to scent the room with concentrated lavender oil or use lavender flavored candles. Many people also add a few drops of lavender concentrate to their bath water right before bedtime. Alternatively, you can also use a skin moisturizer infused with lavender scents before going to bed.

4. Cold shower

If you’re thinking How to fall asleep Fast and complete your full cycle of sleep one of the most relaxing ways to fall asleep is to take a Cold shower. Body temperatures have an impact on your sleep patterns at night. If your body is too warm close to bedtime, it becomes difficult to fall asleep instantly.  A cold shower or a hot shower ending with a cold blast is a good idea 1 hour before bedtime. A cooled down body reduces blood pressure and automatically relaxes your body down, preparing for a night of deep sleep.

5. Count backwards

Here’s a trick to distract your mind from stressful and mundane thoughts and make way to fall asleep fast. Counting backwards from 1000 (1000, 999, 998, 997… and so on) is a mechanical activity that forces your mind to drop out all other conscious thoughts and focus on getting the numbers right in the backward order.

We can confidently say that you will find yourself fast asleep before you reach 970.

6. Visualization

This is a variation of the counting backwards trick which makes you think about a desired thought instead of counting. Visualizing a happy and calm place momentarily distracts you from your worries and stressful thoughts.  It has a calming effect on your nerves and has been shown by Oxford University to make even insomniacs sleep 20 min faster.

7. Ditch Coffee/ Alcohol before bed

If coffee is known to get you alert and focused, we suggest you remove it completely from your evening routine. Alcohol on the other hand makes you drowsy and might likely give a feeling of faster sleep inducing. However, alcohol tends to briefly wake you up at frequent intervals during the night. This translates into lesser periods of deep sleep and more fatigue and tiredness when you wake up.

8. No Screen Time before Bed

It is really tempting to mindlessly browse websites or watch videos on your smartphone, tablet or laptop, or binge-watch TV shows. However, the blue light from screens has been known to harm your eyes, suppress melatonin levels and hinder your mind from recognizing that when and how to go to sleep fast.

Many sleep specialists also suggest buying an alarm clock so you don’t have to carry your phone to the bedroom with the excuse of setting an alarm.

9. Morning Run

While everyone knows the benefits of exercising during the day, we can’t stress them enough if you want to fall asleep instantly and get a good night’s sleep.

The best way to start your day is with a morning run. Even if it is a brief sprint, it is known to have a lasting impact on the rest of your day. Your body and mind will feel extremely fresh and focused during the day when they need to and perfectly regulate back to sleep at night.

10. Stick to a Sleep Routine

One of the most effective ways to instantly fall asleep when you hit the bed, is to maintain a specific bed time every night and not default on it at all. If you decide 11pm is the time you need to sleep to be able to wake up at 6:30 am, leave everything you are doing, stow away your devices and force yourself to sleep at 11pm.

In just a few days, you will notice that your body automatically starts craving sleep at the same time every day and is able to wake up at the desired time the next day. Forcing yourself to sleep at a specific time also makes you plan your tasks around it and makes a positive impact on your overall routine. It is the healthiest way to falling asleep regularly and sleeping faster every night.

Effects of Sleep Deprivation or Insomnia

Whether you have isolated sleepless nights or suffer from chronic insomnia, it is bound to leave you feeling restless, tired and unproductive during the day. We have 10 solid ways to help you sleep faster reliably. Our tips range from instant solutions for stressful times or when you are particularly tired,to long term lifestyle habits that help you get a faster and more undisturbed sleep.  But first let us look at what lack of sleep or lack of being able to put yourself to sleep can do to your health. According to the American National Institute for Health, insomnia can increase risks associated with physical as well as mental health problems.

1. Medical Conditions Due to Lack of Sleep

Extreme and regular lack of adequate sleep can lead to medical conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, obesity, impaired immunity, inflammations, asthma, strokes etc.

2.  Mental Health Conditions Due to Lack of Sleep

Long term effects on mental health can include depression, anxiety and stress.3. Reduced Performance Due to Lack of Sleep

Insomnia usually leads to a feeling of tiredness and fatigue during the day. This can lead to lack of focus, affect memory, sexual performance and thought processes.

4. Shorter Life Expectancy Due to Lack of Sleep

A series of 16 studies that covered over 112,566 participants looked at the correlation between sleep duration and mortality. The studies showed that compared to those who slept for 7 to 8 hours every night, those who slept lesser exhibited a 12% higher risk of death.

Better Sleep is a Choice

Many of the techniques we advocated in this article are used by CEOs, soldiers, teachers and professionals who work in shift jobs. However, it is unwise to wait to practice these until you are in dire need of them. We believe that even students, regular office-goers and ground workers can have a great night’s sleep with both instant sleep and deep sleep if they practice a few of these techniques consistently.

While our techniques are known to help people sleep better, the quality and duration of your sleep ultimately depends on a sum total of factors such as diet, stress, medical conditions, exercise, screen time etc. but more often than not, quality sleep and its impact on the rest of your day is in your hands.

With the help of these remedies, you can fall asleep instantly on a Sleepless Night. For better health and healthy and working hormonal system always ensure that you sleep well and complete a good 8 hour sleep every day. Hope this article you help you out. Please share with us what you think. We will be thrilled to know.