Americans aren’t sleeping too well.
A Gallup poll released in April revealed only 26 percent of adults said they got the recommended eight hours of sleep, and 20 percent said they were getting five hours or less on most nights.
That’s not good, because the health benefits of sleep are well documented. Proper rest improves your immune system, reduces stress levels, reduces risk of chronic disease, and provides you the energy you need to perform your best through the day.
Lack of sleep can affect your productivity and your performance at work and school, and it’s associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes, and poor mental health.
Sleep experts say most healthy adults should fall asleep within 10 minutes. If you’ve been trying for longer than 20 minutes, past wisdom used to be that you should get up and do something relaxing until you feel tired. That doesn’t always work though.
On those occasions, here are four ways you can lull your body into slumber:
1. Tell yourself you’re not going to fall asleep.
It sounds counterproductive, but telling yourself not to fall asleep could end up putting you to sleep pretty quickly. This is a psychological therapeutic technique called paradoxical intention, in which you are supposed to face your worst fear. Instead of telling yourself, “I need to fall asleep,” you tell yourself, “I am not going to sleep. I am going to stay awake all night.” Lie still with your eyes open. If your body is tired, you’ll eventually find it hard to keep your eyes open for long.
2. Relax one muscle group at a time.
Lying in bed shouldn’t be an activity where we’re tense. But if you’re forcing yourself to fall asleep, it’s hard not to be tense. This can make sleep even more elusive, unless we find a way to relax ourselves. Focus on one major muscle group at a time, working your way from your neck all the way down to your feet.
To release tension and relax your muscles, tense the muscle as you count backward from 10. Then relax the muscle, taking several deep breaths as you do. Repeat as needed until the muscle is completely relaxed before moving on. Relaxing your muscles one by one in this way helps most people achieve sleep before they’ve even worked their way through every major muscle group.
3. Engage in deep breathing.
Try this deep breathing exercise that uses the same principle as counting sheep—by engaging in some mindless counting, you distract your brain enough that it is able to relax. This is especially good if you think your sleeplessness is caused by having a lot on your mind.
Remember the numbers 4-7-8. Start by inhaling slowly for four seconds. Then hold your breath for seven seconds before exhaling slowly over the course of eight seconds. Repeat this exercise until you’ve relaxed your mind enough to find sleep.
4. Think of guided imagery.
Guided imagery requires you to picture a serene setting in your mind that will relax you—a tranquil lakeside, a snowy forest, or a flowery hillside, for example. Take slow, deep breaths as you focus on each one of the sensory details in this scene. Imagine everything you would see around you, what sounds you might hear, and what you might feel. As you focus on each detail one by one, imagine the stress leaving your body as you exhale your deep breaths. You could imagine this guided imagery on your own, or you could try a recording (search for a free one online) that can direct your thoughts.
