How To Fall Asleep Fast

In today’s busy world we need tools to help us fall asleep fast. Are you tired of rolling around in bed not being able to sleep?

I think the famous saying goes, “time is money”. Which reminds me of the movie Jerry Maguire.

Keep reading, I’m going to give you two of the best methods to fall asleep fast.

Tired But Can’t Fall Asleep

The average person breathes in and out 12 to 20 breaths per minute. That means we take 17,280 to 28,800 breaths daily.

We breathe enough then right? Wrong!

The average person breathes very shallowly. Shallow breathing is a stress response to anxiety and fear. Shallow breathing may seem normal to most people because they have adapted to it.

We adapt sometime after childhood when life starts to get too stressful and we don’t have tools or techniques to handle the stress.

We all have similar daily stress factors, such as our environment, work, school, and families.

These stressors may be keeping you awake even when you’re tired.

Cortisol Stress

Cortisol is our most common stress hormone. Daily stress factors can raise our cortisol levels dramatically.

Cortisol is responsible for keeping you awake even when you’re tired.

The stress levels in our body help regulate our sleep.

It’s imperative to manage stress better to fall asleep fast.

The Crucial First Step: Deep Breathing 

Noticing your shallow breathing is a huge step in the right direction but that’s just the start.

We need to “wake up” your parasympathetic nervous system. The science geeks won’t like that term but I try to simplify the complicated and break it down in to actionable steps for you to take. Lets continue…

The parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for slowing us down and relaxing our body. For example, we are parasympathetic when we digest food and sleep.

This is one of the first assignments I work on with all my personal training clients.

I teach them how to activate the parasympathetic nervous system with deep breathing. I also use Postural Restoration Techniques. If you want to know more about those, make sure you sign up for my e-mail below and don’t miss out on my next posture and sleep articles.

This deep breathing crucial first step is method number one on how to fall asleep faster.

Deep Breathing Technique To Fall Asleep Fast

There is a plethora of breathing techniques out their but deep breathing doesn’t have to be complicated. The most popularized breathing technique is the 4-7-8 method. I haven’t seen very much research to back this method up scientifically. However, anecdotally it’s a great way to breathe deeply.

Dr. Andrew Weil popularized it and because it worked for people, it grew like wildfire. I have also seen it called pranayama, which is used by monks as a deep breathing technique.

Breathing deeper than the typical shallow breathing patterns produces incredible results no matter what numbers you use. I personally prefer a 4-6-10 method. It’s easy to teach and focuses even more on the exhale portion, which is an important factor.

Follow these steps to practice deep breathing before bed or as you pull the covers over yourself to fall asleep faster.

1) Place your tongue on the roof of your mouth.

2) Exhale complexly and close your mouth.

3) Inhale through your nose for about 4 seconds.

4) Hold the breath for 6 seconds and try to focus on holding it in your stomach (diaphragm).

5) Exhale in a controlled fashion through your mouth for 10 seconds or as long as you can. Treat this like an art, think crouching tiger hidden dragon, full control.

6) Place your tongue on the roof of your mouth again for 4 seconds while holding the full exhale.

7) Repeat until you fall asleep or should I say wake up : )

Fall Asleep In a Minute Cocktail: Step Two

This is my favorite natural night cocktail. I have experimented with many different ingredients and I think I have created an unparalleled concoction. I have a free infographic to remind you how to do this on my Definitive Guide To Get Better Sleep.

1)  Chamomile Tea (click the name and you can buy it on Amazon or shop around for another chamomile tea.) An earl grey tea is also good but not as effective in my opinion.

Warm liquid soothes you and relaxes the body. Eastern medicine has been using tea in manyy different ways for thousands of years and this is just the tip of the “ice berg of sooth sauce”. This is why I pick these two teas to mix in my deep sleep tonic.

2) Magnesium is needed for more than 300 biochemical reactions in your body. Magnesium is vital, especially to fall asleep fast.

This mineral directly relates to sleep because it helps us maintain a healthy sleep cycle, relaxes muscles and nerves, regulates hormones, and many other bodily functions.

Magnesium deficiency syndromes are like those drug commercials that name every possible side effect known to man; there are just too many to name.

Magnesium Threonate and Citrate are the two types I use but you don’t need both. I like to give you guys options due to price and other considerations.

Threonate is also known for enhancing memory and cognition.

Citrate is inexpensive and highly absorbable.

The well-known magnesium brand, “Calm” uses citrate.

3) Apple Cider Vinegar is one of those miracle ingredients that will do just about anything except it hasn’t cured cancer yet.

A spoon full of vinegar helps the adult go down for a nap is how my mom always told it.

Most swear by it, me included, except I was taught never to swear. I use it religiously and if one day someone says it’s the placebo effect, I’ll still keep using it.

The guy yelling “placebo effect alert” always seems to forget, it works!

4) Honey, good old fashioned yummy-in-my-tummy honey.

Some health nuts will swear it needs to be organic, grass-fed, neutered honey but I say buy what you can as long as it came from a bee.

I do strive for the least amount of processing in my food and no added sweeteners are necessary when adding honey to your tea.

There is usually a local bee harvester near by and you can source it from there if you already ordered too many things from Amazon this month.

 Fall Asleep Fast Made Easy?

Did I make falling asleep fast almost sound easy? It may not be easy but it’s possible!

These two fall asleep fast tools can work like magic if you put a little effort in.

Make sure you shoot me a comment here or social media after you tried deep breathing and my all natural sleep cocktail.

Now go enjoy your day because tonight you’re going to sleep really well.

Help a friend or family member and pass this on to them. I appreciate the shares!