This breathing technique could get you to sleep in seconds
Anyone who regularly rolls around for at least 30 minutes to an hour before finally falling asleep will appreciate this simple sleep technique to nod off in no time.
Dr Andrew Weil, from the University of Arizona, teaches the ‘4-7-8’ breathing technique which he says is a ‘natural tranquilliser’ for our nervous system, The Sun reports.
The idea is centred around the fact that most of us don’t breathe deeply enough – because of things like bad posture – and the technique is meant to help us get more oxygen into our body.
When breathing too shallow “the body remains in a cyclical state of stress—our stress causing shallow breathing and our shallow breathing causing stress”, meditation app Headspace explains.
This in turn will help slow the body and mind down, ready for sleep.
All you have to do is sit comfortable in bed for a few minutes before you want to go to sleep and follow some simple steps.
How to breathe yourself to sleep
Dr Weil’s approach requires just four simple steps:
Put the tip of your tongue on the ridge of the gum just above your upper front teeth before exhaling forcefully through your mouth to make a whooshing sound.
Then close your mouth and inhale through the nose for a count of four.
Hold your breath for a count of seven, then exhale through the mouth making that whooshing sound again, for a count of eight
Repeat the cycle four times.
Can’t sleep because it’s too hot?
If it’s the heat making it difficult for you to fall asleep then we have some tips for that as well.
A comfortable bedroom temperature should be between 17C and 19C, and sleep will be disrupted if the temperature climbs above 25C.
Sleep expert Cheryl Fingleson says it’s more difficult to sleep during the heat because our core body temperature and circadian rhythms are so closely linked.
“Melatonin is the magic hormone that helps regulate our sleep cycle by dropping our core body temperature,” Cheryl tells Yahoo Lifestyle.
Cheryl shares her top tips here.
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