With insane amounts of homework, demanding work schedules, and endless seasons of Netflix just waiting to be watched, it can be tricky finding any time to sleep. Every second that can be spent sleeping should be spent actually asleep, not tossing and turning for hours on end. Sipping a hot beverage, listening to music, or smelling lavender may be effective paths to sleep for some, but they simply don’t work for others. Worry, anxiety, and endless to-do lists cloud our minds and steal precious nights of sleep away. Several recent scientific studies have found unusual sleeping techniques that are proven to drift you off to dreamland faster. So, if counting sheep isn’t working for you, try some of the hacks below that are sure to get you snoozing.
1. Try to Stay Awake
Although it seems implausible, catching some shut-eye may actually come easier if you keep your eyes open. Get into a comfortable sleeping position and stop shifting around. Then open your eyes and relentlessly will yourself to stay awake. Don’t use any electronics, like television or radio, to distract yourself from trying to not fall asleep. Simply lay down and tell yourself to never sleep again. You’ll tire yourself out by trying to stay awake, and you’ll be peacefully snoring in no time.
2. Blow Bubbles
Blowing bubbles helped you pass sunny summer days as a kid, and they’re back to help you again. Blowing bubbles out of the tiny plastic bubble wand requires lots of deep breathing, which helps get you into a calming state. Deep breaths alone accomplish the same state, but while bubbles are obviously a lot more fun, they also provide another soothing property. They are “slightly hypnotic to look at” and still your body and mind before sleep. Try keeping a bottle of bubbles on your nightstand for your next restless night.
3. Get a Little Chilly
Try rapidly decreasing your body temperature before bed. This lowers your heart rate and blood pressure and slows your metabolism, which helps ready your body for sleep. One way to do this is to take a warm shower and then step out into cooler air. You can also try sleeping with little or no clothes for a temperature decrease if your roommate won’t let you lower the thermostat. Another option is to submerge your face in frigid water for half a minute. Immersing your face definitely chills your body, but it also helps to soothe your jittery nerves and anxious mind from a long, stressful day, allowing yourself to cool down and calm down before a much-needed rest.
4. Eat a Candlelit Dinner
Allowing your mind and body to slip into a relaxed state before getting into bed makes falling asleep a lot smoother and easier. Exposure to light, most powerfully blue light, reduces your melatonin production. Melatonin helps control your body’s circadian rhythms, which are your cycles of sleeping and waking. Blue light is found in smartphones, fluorescent light bulbs, and LED lights. Limit your interaction with electronics and harsh lighting before bed, and you’ll be easily dozing off after a romantic and relaxing dinner.
(Be sure not to eat too much, though. Overeating can keep you awake, causing the whole dinner to be counterproductive.)5. Just Breathe
If you’re constantly counting how many hours, minutes, and seconds of sleep you’ll get if you fall asleep immediately, of course you won’t be able to relax enough to drift off to dreamland. There’s a scientifically proven breathing technique used to flood your body with oxygen and help you drift off. It’s called the 4-7-8 technique. You breathe in for four seconds, hold your breath for seven, and release for eight. To fully complete this method, keep your tongue placed high up on the back of your two front teeth and breathe out completely before beginning the process. Always breathe in using your nose, and out through your mouth while making a whooshing sound. Repeat the process three times, and you’ll be fast asleep in no time.
We all know sleep is needed to recharge our minds, repair our bodies, and refresh us for another early morning. Sleeping hacks can be the easiest ways to make sure you’re getting as much sleep as possible. So next time the visions of sugar plums stop dancing in your head, test some of the hacks above to see which ones works best for you.
