5 Classic Tricks for Falling Asleep Faster

March is Sleep Awareness Month, and there's never been a better time to reflect on sleep, how to get more of it and everything it does for us.

As people who've often struggled with getting a great night's sleep, we're always on the hunt for ways to enhance our rest, and we've stumbled upon a few interesting sleep tricks over the years. This isn't about sleep hygiene or setting up the right environment, but literal hacks you can test out for anytime, anywhere to encourage sleep. Your mileage may vary, but below are five of the most famous tricks for falling asleep fast.

Counting Sheep

Everyone's heard of the classic sleep method of counting sheep. The idea is that you imagine a series of infinite and identical sheep hopping over a fence, and counting them as you do, in order to expend mental energy while keeping the brain busy and generating boredom. While this method has been known to work for some people, they're typically not the ones who struggle to fall asleep in the first place. It's famous for a reason, but we'll generally give it a pass.

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Also read about: Heard of White Noise? Discover the 'Colors' of Noise and What They Might Do for Your Brain

 

Visualizing Peaceful Imagery

If literally counting sheep doesn't do the trick for you, using your imagination to conjure peaceful imagery might, as it helps you focus the same parts of the brain, except more intensely, for more effective sleep.

Whether you're recalling a real, physical place or making one up from scratch, the scene should be serene and relaxed, without too much commotion. As you mentally add more sensory details to the scene—sights, sounds, scents, textures and even flavors—breathe deeply and imagine the stress physically leaving your body to form each new element. If visualizing is a struggle for you, you can also search online for calming audio that will help you paint the scene with guided imagery. In our experience, this works much better than sheep ever did.

 

Progressive Muscle Relaxation

It may sound counterintuitive, but briefly and lightly tensing your muscles can actually lead to a more relaxed body and mind through a technique called progressive muscle relaxation. PMR involves working from head to toe, tightening the muscles (without straining them) for five seconds each before releasing and relaxing the muscles for 10 seconds each, freeing more tension each time.

Start with raising your eyebrows as high as you can as the first step before smiling as wide as you can as the second. Then clenching your eyes tight as the third before lightly tilting your head back to gaze at the ceiling as the fourth. Repeat this process down of tensing and releasing through your entire body, heading to your torso and arms next and finally down your legs to your feet. If you fall asleep during this process, that's great! If not, with your entire body feeling more relaxed and at ease, you'll likely have an easier time drifting off.

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Also read about: 7 Ways to Improve Your Sleep Hygiene in the New Year

 

The Military Sleep Method

Want to try a trick implemented by the American military to encourage sleep, even on a battle field?

Start with your face. Relax every muscle in your face, from your brows, cheeks and nose to the muscles inside your mouth. Next, bring that sense of relaxation down. Let go of any stress in your shoulders and drop your hands to the side of your body, releasing any tension there. Next, exhale deeply while relaxing your chest before letting that sense of ease flow all the way through your legs, releasing any tightness down to your feet.

Next, empty the mind by conjuring up a soothing scene—for example, floating gently in a boat on a still lake or resting in a hammock in pitch black—and hold it for 10 seconds. If that's not successful, clear the mind by repeating "don't think" for 10 seconds. The idea is that you should fall asleep within that period (even if it hasn't been very successful for us).

 

Meditation

While this sleep "trick" probably falls under the sleep hygiene category, we still love meditation as a healthy way to promote sleep. It's truly incredible how simply being mindful can benefit us when busy minds are keeping us awake. Through meditation, you work on focusing on the present, from the sensations you feel to the breaths coming in and out of your body, and strive to let go of everything else. Any feelings of anxiety, dread, judgment or restlessness that might prevent sleep may arise, but through meditation, you learn to observe them and allow them to float away. The results may not be immediate, but once you build up these skills, they can make for an effective sleep enhancing-tool for life. If you're struggling, guided sleep meditations can also be a game-changer.

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New to meditation and breathing exercises? Click HERE to learn more about how they can help you deal with stress.