Here‘s Exactly How to Fall Asleep Easily Tonight
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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 15 percent of Americans struggled to fall asleep most days or every day in the last month. When you’re one of those people, it feels like a problem with no solution. You know you won’t function well the next day, and that worry can often keep you up longer.
What’s important to know: According to The Sleep Foundation, most people don’t have a sleep issue, but end up staying awake because of either poor sleep hygiene or anxiety.
Sleep hygiene refers to bedtime routines and environments, which can either help us fall asleep or keep us awake longer than we want. These routines tend to develop over time, and sometimes it’s hard to realize that our habits, like watching videos on our phone, are keeping us awake.
Fortunately, we asked experts to share their best tips to help you fall asleep tonight, whether you have trouble with quality sleep on the regular or random nights here and there. Plus, they explain how to create better bedtime habits to improve longterm sleep hygiene.
3 Expert Tips to Fall Asleep Faster Tonight
1. Read a Book
People often feel guilty admitting that when they read, they immediately fall asleep, but, in reality, it’s wise to consider reading a sure-fire way to fall asleep. In fact, research backs up the power of reading to fall asleep.
The tracking eye movements that occur while you read a book can offer soothing vibes and may assist in amplifying your drowsiness, Russell Foster, director of the Sir Jules Thorn Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute in Oxford, United Kingdom and author of Life Time: Your Body Clock and Its Essential Role in Good Health and Sleep, tells Runner’s World.
Keep a book on your nightstand and turn to it instead of your phone when you get into bed. While you can listen to sound, such as an audiobook or music, try to avoid playing games on your phones. They can stimulate you and demand interaction, says Abhinav Singh, M.D., medical director at the Indiana Sleep Center, medical review expert at Sleep Foundation, and author of Sleep to Heal.
In fact, the experts say that the problem with phones isn’t the light, per se, but the engagement. “If you are trying to get your high score on Candy Crush, you are not trying to sleep,” Michael J. Breus, Ph.D. and founder of thesleepdoctor.com tells Runner’s World. And you do need to intentionally try to fall asleep.
2. Practice the Military Routine
Foster also recommends a sleep method the American military taught to World War II pilots so they could fall asleep quickly no matter where they were. It is a lot like mindfulness meditation, he says, and data shows that it works.
To do it, follow these steps:
While you take slow, deep breaths, consciously relax each part of your face, including your jaw and tongue.
Work your way down your body, visualizing tension leaving each body part, from your shoulders to your arms and hands.
Continue to breathe deeply as you relax the muscles in your chest, stomach, legs, and feet.
Finally, begin to count your breaths and imagine that peace fills you with each inhalation.
3. Cool Down
Part of falling asleep involves a drop in core body temperature, Foster says, and there are things you can do tonight to support this natural occurrence in the body’s daily rhythm. This includes not exercising too much before bed, keeping your room at about 65 degrees, and, if necessary, taking a cool shower to lower your body temperature.
Generally, most adults fall asleep in less than 30 minutes, says Singh, so don’t expect to get into bed, turn off the light, and fall asleep. Instead, know that you it takes time to transition from wakefulness to sleep.
How to Create a Sleep Routine for the Future
To feel less anxiety about falling asleep, it’s important to create a bedtime routine that contributes to sleepiness and relaxation. Here are six ways to do that.
1. Understand Your Chronotype
A chronotype is the name for your natural pattern of sleep and wakefulness, according to the Sleep Foundation. Most people consider themselves larks or early risers (about 10 percent of the population) or night owls ( about 25 percent of the population), but the Sleep Foundation uses four different animal chronotypes: dolphin, lion, bear, and wolf. Lions prefer very early mornings and wolves like to be awake at night. Bears are the most common chronotype—they wake up with the sun, but also enjoy being awake in the evening. The rarest type, dolphins, are insomniacs.
Whatever your animal sign, recognize and work with your natural tendencies, rather than trying to fight them, says Foster. Throughout history, many people have slept in two phases during a 24-hour period, so if you naturally wake up late at night, it’s okay to build a nap into your day and let that be part of your sleep schedule.
Daily rhythms of sleep and wakefulness change as we age. If you’re an older cyclist, don’t be surprised if y0u prefer early morning rides more and go to bed earlier, even if you used to be a night owl.
2. Expect to Wake Up During the Night
Most people fall asleep and wake up a few times during the night. This is perfectly normal. In fact, “sound sleeping” is somewhat of a myth, says Foster. Your body may just be telling you to change positions or you may need to use the bathroom, which is common. Instead of worrying about this, learn to accept it as part of your sleep routine.
To make sure these sleep interruptions don’t keep you from falling back asleep, don’t check the clock or look at the phone, says Foster. You can also use the military routine again and remind yourself that waking up is a natural part of sleeping.
If you are someone who wakes a lot to go to the bathroom, consider drinking less before bed or stopping your fluid intake earlier in the evening.
3. Get Early Morning Light
Circadian rhythms, according to the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, are our internal clocks that sync to the outside world with light and temperature. To help set that rhythm, wake up and go to bed with the light.
Foster says this is one reason dog owners get solid sleep, as the research shows that it is tied to having to get outside in the morning with the sun. While not everyone can rely on a dog to get them outdoors, one of the best ways to make sure you fall asleep at night is to get out of bed early in the morning.
Walking or exercising in the morning also raises your core body temperature so that it will naturally fall in the evening.
4. Think Protein Not Carbs for a Nighttime Snack
While you don’t want to go to bed hungry, you also don’t want to eat too many carbs as that can lead to an energy boost, says Foster. Eating can also raise body temperature, which can promote wakefulness, he adds.
If you typically snack at night, eat a small amount of protein and fat, rather than something high in sugar. Foster suggests unsalted nuts or unprocessed meats.
5. Try a Sound Machine
You may not realize that environmental noise makes it difficult for you to sleep, including traffic, television, and even music. The experts agree that “white noise,” which contains a full range of audible frequencies, can mask the intrusive sound of most other frequencies, thus allowing you to get some rest.
In fact, there are three types of noise according to the Sleep Foundation: brown (deep sounds such as a waterfall or thunder), white (all across the spectrum, such as the sound of fans or vacuums), and pink (higher frequencies, such as light rain and wind).
A 2017 study published in Sleep found that people fell asleep significantly faster when they heard white noise, compared to environmental noise.
6. Reserve Your Bedroom Only for Sleep
Foster says people need to remember that the bedroom isn’t a workspace, nor is the bedroom a place to have difficult discussions. Instead, your bedroom should be sleep-focused.
Likewise, consider using scent, such as lavender, to both relax you and strengthen your understanding that the bedroom is a place to sleep, says Foster. In fact, according to a 2015 study published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, lavender improved sleep quality for 79 college students who struggled with sleep.
Even better, if you are traveling for a race or to ride and have to adjust to a new time zone (which typically takes a few days, says Foster), you can take elements of your sleep ritual, including scents and reading. This is another reason why a ritual is helpful in the longterm.
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