Falling asleep is one of the most enjoyable feelings in the world. However, for some people, it turns into a nightmare. When your brain doesn't shut off even when you feel exhausted, surviving the night becomes a challenge.
A healthy body and a healthy mind should be able to fall asleep in just five minutes. If yours take longer, you may need to make an extra effort. The key to having a restful night is calming your nervous system down. This requires making a few changes to your evening routine.
Falling asleep in five minutes is realistic when your body is tired, but your brain is still wired. Helping the brain calm down is not a complicated process. You just need to know which "buttons" to push and how to push them.
Why Falling Asleep Fast Is Harder Than It Should Be
Your body and mind have many obstacles to overcome before you can fall asleep. Modern lifestyles create multiple stressors that turn into problems the brain tries to solve when the body is finally settled into bed.
A hormone called cortisol is responsible for waking you up in the morning. However, its levels must be low for you to fall asleep. If your mind is overly alert before bed, cortisol levels may not drop properly. As a result, your body believes that it should be awake.
Constant screen exposure before bed doesn't help either. It forces your mind to work and stay active even if your body no longer needs it to be. An overly alert nervous system interferes with the process of falling asleep.
5 Techniques That Can Help You Fall Asleep in 5 Minutes
If you are experiencing problems falling asleep quickly, you can try a few simple techniques. For many people, a slight change can be all their brain needs to settle down.
1. The 4-7-8 Breathing Method
The 4-7-8 breathing method is a type of pranayama. It's a yoga practice that involves controlling your breathing. For some people, it can work in just one minute. The process is simple:
- Breathe in through the nose for 4 seconds
- Hold your breath for 7 seconds
- Exhale through the mouth for 8 seconds
- Repeat
If you can't hold your breath for that long, you can start with the 2-3-4 technique first. With time, you'll be able to switch to the 4-7-8 method.
While not many studies have been done to justify this particular method, rhythmic breathing has some scientific support behind it. Research shows that deep and slow breathing can help people restore vagal tone. Vagal tone refers to signals sent from your brain to your organs that promote a state of rest and calmness.
More studies show that slow breathing techniques can reduce your heart rate and increase relaxation. All of this can help your mind and body catch the right rhythm and start falling asleep faster.
2. The Military Sleep Technique
The military sleep technique was developed to help soldiers fall asleep quickly, even in stressful environments. The idea behind it is simple: remove physical tension first. When your muscles relax, the brain receives a signal that it is safe to sleep.
- Relax your face completely: Release your forehead, jaw, tongue, and the muscles around your eyes.
- Drop your shoulders: Let them sink into the bed. Then relax your arms one at a time.
- Relax your legs: Start with your thighs and move down to your calves and feet.
- Clear your mind: Visualize a calm scene, such as lying in a canoe on a quiet lake (or another environment you find relaxing).
Physical tension is one of the things that keeps the brain alert even after a very long day. The smallest muscle contractions can tell your nervous system that something requires attention. When you release that tension, the body shifts into a relaxation state.
3. Cognitive Shuffle (Mental Distraction Technique)
The cognitive shuffle is a mental trick that helps you mimic the condition your brain should be in before you fall asleep. You need to gently redirect your mind away from stressful thoughts and prepare it for sleep. Here is one way to do it:
- Close your eyes
- Think of one word (for example, house)
- Take the first letter of the word and come up with words that start with the same letter (e.g., heat, horse, hat)
- For each word, try to conjure up a fitting image
- When you run out of words for the first letter, move on to the next letter, and so on.
This works well because before falling asleep, the brain naturally moves into a dream-like state where thoughts become scattered and illogical. The cognitive shuffle copies this process. By staying busy with harmless mental imagery, the brain stops trying to solve problems.
You may not succeed with this immediately. Your brain will keep trying to return to stressful thoughts. You must constantly remind yourself to get back into the exercise.
4. Drop Your Body Temperature Quickly
Your body needs a small drop in core temperature to start the sleep process. If you feel too warm, falling asleep becomes harder. Making a small temperature adjustment can help you drift off faster.
- Lower the thermostat in your bedroom slightly
- Kick one foot out from under the blanket
- Switch to a lighter blanket
Sleep onset is closely connected to body temperature. In the evening, your brain begins lowering your core temperature as part of your circadian rhythm.
Cooling the body slightly helps signal that it is time to sleep. This allows melatonin and other sleep hormones to do their job.
This trick works best if you feel restless in bed. If you are a "hot sleeper," you are more likely to benefit from this technique.
5. Stop Trying So Hard
Sometimes the biggest sleep problem is trying too hard to fall asleep. Performance anxiety is one of the most annoying but realistic issues that interfere with your night routine.
Sleep effort increases alertness. The brain becomes focused on monitoring whether sleep is happening. This creates pressure and keeps the nervous system active.
Instead of telling yourself, "I must fall asleep right now," switch your goal to simple rest.
Tell yourself something like: "I'm just resting. Sleep will come when it's ready."
Meanwhile, lying down with your eyes closed and your mind calm can contribute to your overall restfulness in the morning even if you don't fall asleep immediately.
If You're Tired but Still Can't Fall Asleep
If you are tired but still can't fall asleep, you need to try to control your mind. Besides stressing about problems, other culprits could be light exposure or switching time zones. Even when you finally fall asleep, you may wake up at the middle of the night for no obvious reason and face the struggle to fall asleep all over again.
In some of these situations, you may need to explore sleep aids like CBN or melatonin. They can help calm your mind and body and help you get ready for a good night's sleep. Cannabis has the potential to improve your sleep routine as well, especially when you choose the right terpenes.
When Fast Sleep Techniques Don't Work
No matter how well you practice the above-mentioned techniques, they may not always work. The most common reason it happens is that your body is not tired enough. You may also be overly stressed or facing a health issue that needs solving.
If you constantly find yourself falling asleep for hours or waking up repeatedly, you need to speak to a medical professional.
The Bottom Line
An alert nervous system is the most common reason why you can't fall asleep quickly. Mastering a few simple techniques can help you fall asleep within five minutes and wake up rested.
Don't expect these techniques to work immediately (even though sometimes they do). You can perfect them through practice and enjoy excellent results down the road. Over time, these practices can become a routine you don't even have to control.
References
- Harding, E. C., Franks, N. P., & Wisden, W. (2019). The temperature dependence of sleep. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 13, 336. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2019.00336
- Magnon, V., Dutheil, F., & Vallet, G. T. (2021). Benefits from one session of deep and slow breathing on vagal tone and anxiety in young and older adults. Scientific Reports, 11(1), 19267. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-98736-9
- Zaccaro, A., Piarulli, A., Laurino, M., Garbella, E., Menicucci, D., Neri, B., & Gemignani, A. (2018). How Breath-Control Can Change Your Life: A systematic review on Psycho-Physiological correlates of slow breathing. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 12, 353. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2018.00353
