How To Get To Sleep Fast?

The struggle to fall asleep has likely been experienced by many people worldwide, with factors such as stress, irregular working hours, mental health or your home environment all playing a significant part. In the UK alone, it is estimated that around 36% of adults struggle to fall asleep at least once every week. 

However, if you’re struggling to fall asleep or want to learn how to get to sleep fast, you can try various methods and techniques that could help you relax at night. Keep reading for some valuable tips, as well as habits you should be avoiding. 

Meditation & Yoga 

Stress and unwanted thoughts can often be responsible for keeping you awake at night. To try and release tension and unwind, many people recommend meditation and practising mindfulness. Meditation can come in many forms, but it often involves clearing the mind and focusing on the present. 

By practising meditation and yoga, you can learn how to control your breathing, which you can use at night to help you relax. A study✓ involving mindfulness meditation amongst older adults found that meditation could be a good short-term solution to help moderate sleep disturbances. Regarding yoga, a 2014 study✓ involving older adults who have insomnia concluded that yoga helped improve overall sleep quality, sleep efficiency and sleep duration. 

As well as regularly practising yoga and meditation, you can also find specific practices for the evening to help you unwind. There are plenty of free resources on sites, such as Youtube and Spotify, which offer guided meditation and yoga to help you sleep faster. You can also subscribe to sleep aid websites, which provide many features such as meditation practices, relaxing sounds and bedtime stories.

 Military Method 

The so-called military method was initially made popular on TikTok after being introduced by personal trainer Justin Agustin. The fitness guru took inspiration from the military, as the technique helped soldiers fall asleep at any time or place. Agustin claims the method can help people fall asleep within two minutes, and it has proved popular amongst those struggling to fall asleep. Below are the steps you can take if you want to try the military method. 

1. Take deep breaths and try to concentrate on relaxing the body. 
2. Start from the top by relaxing every muscle, starting from the forehead, to the eyes, cheeks and jaw.
3. Relax the shoulders and try dropping them low so your arms, hands and fingers aren’t tensed up. 
4. Imagine a warm sensation going down your entire body while maintaining deep breaths. 
5. Throughout the process, try to clear your mind of unpleasant thoughts and worries. 

Mental Exercises  

In addition to meditation and breathing techniques, various other psychological methods could help send you to sleep faster. As it is often the mind which can prevent people from sleeping, it can be effective also to use the mind to your advantage.

To relax the mind and body, you could try visual imagery, a technique that involves imagining a peaceful or relaxing place in your head. To help you fall asleep, you can explore the place and focus on the smaller details. This can help take your mind away from any stressful or unwanted thoughts and focus your attention on calm imagery. 

Surprisingly, another mental exercise that could help you to fall asleep could be doing the opposite and attempting to stay awake. This is called paradoxical intention✓, which has been used as therapy for those who have insomnia to help take attention away from worrying about sleep loss and its consequences. Research has been mixed surrounding paradoxical intention, with some studies praising its effectiveness and others finding it serves no advantage. 

Sleeping Environment 

If possible, creating the right sleeping environment can also play a big part in helping you to relax and get to sleep faster. Below are some points worth considering if you want to create the ideal environment for sending you to sleep. 

1. Light: Your circadian rhythm acts as your natural body clock, and can work with elements in your environment, such as lighting, to tell your brain when it’s time to go to sleep. Research✓ has found that exposure to light in the late evening can delay your internal clock and you are more likely to develop the habit of going to sleep later. 
2. Noise: In addition to light exposure, noise can also have a negative impact on the circadian rhythm. Studies✓ have indicated that environmental noise can cause significant sleep disturbance and can negatively affect sleep quality. For this reason, maintaining a quiet sleep environment could help you get a better nights rest. 
3. Temperature: The ideal temperature for sleeping is said to be around 18°C, give or take a few degrees. While being too hot or too cold can both have a negative impact on your sleep, a study✓ found that cold exposure may have a greater impact on sleep and other physiological factors. 
4. Bed: Finding the right mattress and bedding for your preferences can have a big impact on your sleep quality. Make sure you find the correct mattress and pillow firmness for your weight, sleeping position and personal preferences. If you struggle with stress or anxiety before bed, a weighted blanket could also help you relax. 

What To Avoid 

There are many steps you can take to try and get to sleep fast, often involving techniques to help you relax and unwind. However, some habits may be worth avoiding if you’re struggling to fall asleep at night. 

• Napping: While there is no solid evidence that short power naps have a significant impact on sleep, frequent longer naps may cause some disruption. A study✓ with 224 participants found that frequent naps were associated with shorter nighttime sleep duration, as well as more daytime sleepiness. 
• Clock-watching: When you are struggling to go to sleep, it is often tempting to check the time and see how much sleep your losing, However, this can cause further stress and frustration. Whatsmore, research✓ has identified a connection between time monitoring behaviour, and those suffering insomnia. 
• Caffeine: It’s well known that caffeine can cause you to be more alert and therefore less likely fall asleep quickly. A study✓ in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, found that you should avoid caffeine for six hours before bedtime as it can have significant disruptive effects on your sleep. 
• Technology: It is recommended to avoid using your mobile and other forms of technology before going to bed, as it can cause your brain to become more alert. In addition, research✓ has found that two hours of exposure to blue light is enough to suppress melatonin, the hormone that can encourage sleep.

“Checking your phone stimulates the brain so we are more active and awake, even just a quick check can engage your brain and delay sleep.”

Dr. Harneet Walia, MD - Sleep Disorder Specialist

Frequently Asked Questions