- Reverse Psychology
By lying in bed and forcing ourselves to do nothing but stay awake, we can actually reduce anxiety towards sleep and fall asleep sleep quicker. This is due to the “paradoxical intention” factor in our brains as it gives us a new task to focus on instead of putting all our energy into sleeping.Save your bed for just sleeping
2. Save your bed for sleeping
When we associate our bed with other things, like TV, eating, doing homework, or thinking anxiously about not sleeping, it becomes really hard to do the thing it was meant for in the first place– sleeping. Doing homework at a table, watching TV downstairs, and keeping meals away from those sheets are all methods of “stimulus control,” and you’ll find yourself going right to sleep in no time.
3. Release the mammalian dive reflex
Our mammalian ancestors had something called a dive reflex, where when we dove into cold water, the shock to our system lowered heart rate and blood pressure. We can imitate the same scenario by dunking our face in ice-cold water. This gives our nervous system a reboot and can stop anxious thought processes in their tracks.
4. Bubbles
We all can remember blowing bubbles when we were younger. Now, bringing back that childhood nostalgia can help us sleep. Rachel Marie E. Salas, M.D., of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine cites it as “a deep breathing exercise, which helps calm your body and mind […] it can also take your mind off of any potential sleep thwarting thoughts.” So, dig through your garage for a tube, or head to Target (because now you have an excuse to go) to get one, and bubble your insomnia away!
5. Give Acupressure a Whirl
Unlike acupuncture, which uses needles, all you need for acupressure is a pressure point and a finger. This method stems from Chinese medicine and uses the theory that your body is filled with a flowing energy network. Bastyr University gives these 4 pressure locations to induce sleepiness:
- Press on the small depression between the brown for a minute
- Press on the depression between the first and second toe for a few minutes until a dull ache is felt
- Press on the distance located 1/3 of your foot back from your toes for a few minutes
- Massage the ears for a minute
These tips are backed by science, although some of them may work better than others for you and your lifestyle. I know I’ll certainly be implementing these methods the next time insomnia hits me hard!
Source used: “15 Science-Backed Ways To Fall Asleep Faster.” HuffPost, HuffPost, 29 Sept. 2016, www.huffpost.com/entry/15-ways-to-fall-asleep-faster_n_55dde3e7e4b04ae497054470.
