How to fall asleep quickly at night or during the day if you can’t sleep

Insomnia is a very common problem in the modern world. Probably, every person at least once in his life had to toss and turn for hours at night from side to side, but the dream never came. This article provides effective and safe ways to fall asleep quickly.

How to quickly fall asleep at night or in the afternoon and sleep

What most often prevents you from relaxing and falling asleep calmly? Of course, thoughts. How often, lying in bed, we continue to “digest” the events of the past day, problems in the family and at work. You just don't feel like sleeping.
In front of the mind's eye, images constantly pop up, the brain continues to work actively, and there can be no question of a deep, serene sleep.

In such a situation, you can apply one of these methods:

1. Before going to bed, speak on a voice recorder or write down on paper all your thoughts and anxieties. It is necessary to describe today's problems in detail, after which the brain will consider that they have already been resolved, and will cease to “scroll” anxious thoughts in your head.
2. Read formalized text. For example, instructions for some kind of household appliance. The more boring it is, the better. Read it carefully, always out loud. Your chaotic thoughts will streamline and cease to bother you, after which it will turn out to fall asleep quickly and easily.

There are several other methods that contribute to fast falling asleep:

1. Evening leisurely walks in the fresh air.
2. Listening to calm music or “white noise” (splashing waves, rain).
3. Pleasant thoughts or dreams of something good.
4. Relaxing massage.
5. Warm bath.
6. Aromatherapy with lavender essential oil. You can use an aroma lamp, but if you don’t have one, just drop a little odorous liquid on several napkins and lay them out in the bedroom.

In addition, the following rules should be noted:

1. Try to get up and go to bed at the same time.
2. Do not eat at least 2 hours before bedtime.
3. Avoid physical activity in the evenings.
4. Turn off the bright lights, TV and gadgets at least an hour before bedtime.
5. Ventilate the room well.
6. Do not eat in bed, do not view documents and stuff. In other words, to be in it only during sleep and sex.

Tip. If drowsiness is overcome during the day, but you are afraid that you will not be able to fall asleep during daylight hours, try to darken the room as much as possible by sliding the blackout curtains. Or use special glasses for sleeping.

Insomnia Exercises

Learning to fall asleep quickly is not difficult if you perform special exercises before bedtime. They are simple and do not take much time.

Exercises to fall asleep in 5 minutes

This technique is widely used in oriental medicine. Its essence is to quench the action of the sympathetic nervous system (responsible for activity) and activate the parasympathetic (responsible for peace).

To quickly fall asleep day or night, you need to perform the following exercises 7 times each (but not alternately, but first one, then the other):

1. Lie on your back, and then inhale to sit down and pull your knees to your chest, wrapping your arms around them. Hold in this position for a few seconds and exhale back to its original position, arms wide.
2. Close your eyes, fold your palms on your stomach, rounding it when inhaling, and drawing it in when you exhale. You need to breathe slowly and deeply.

Starting to do the second exercise, you will quickly feel that the nap is kind of enveloping you. It is possible that you do not even have time to finish it to the end, and you will be able to fall asleep earlier.

4-7-8 breath for sleep

Another way to fall asleep if you can’t sleep is to breathe “4-7-8”. The practice is called the "Andrew Vale Method", but this is not entirely true. This man, being a doctor of medical sciences from Harvard, simply studied and systematized the technique that was known to Indian yogis many centuries ago. They used it in the process of meditation, which made it possible to achieve complete relaxation.

You need to do the following:

1. Take breaths through your nose for 4 seconds.
2. Then hold your breath for 7 seconds.
3. Slowly exhale air through your mouth for 8 seconds.

How it works? The bottom line is that when we experience stress and anxiety, the amount of adrenaline in the blood increases, and breathing becomes quick and shallow. But if you hold it, the release of this neurotransmitter and heart rate slows down. In other words, the technique acts on the body as a sedative, helping to relax quickly. A good way for those who want to sleep in 1 minute.

Good Sleep Products

The hormone melatonin, which is produced by the pineal gland or pineal gland, is responsible for the frequency of sleep. It is a gland located in the brain.

The precursor to melatonin is serotonin, which is often called the hormone of wakefulness and good mood. Serotonin is synthesized from tryptophan, its production increases under the influence of sunlight. And in the evening, after dark, under the influence of a special enzyme, it turns into the hormone melatonin. Therefore, for a good sleep, it is important that the daytime wake hormone is produced in normal quantities. To do this, you often need to be in the sun and get enough tryptophan with food, which is important for the synthesis of both hormones.

When a failure occurs in the body, and melatonin is not produced sufficiently, problems with falling asleep occur. In this case, products containing this substance will come to the rescue:

• ripe dark cherries;
• walnuts;
• grapes;
• plums
• cereals (corn, rice, wheat, barley and oats);
• olive oil;
• bananas.

The latter are rich not only in melatonin. They also contain magnesium, which has a beneficial effect on the nervous system. In addition, people with problems falling asleep can also use kiwi.Tryptophan, a precursor to melatonin, is present in these fruits.

These products should be consumed at least 30 minutes (and preferably an hour and a half) before going to bed. The substances that they contain must have time to assimilate.

It is interesting! The concentration of melatonin in blood plasma at night is 30 times higher than during the day. It is produced stepwise, most actively it occurs at about 2 in the morning. And with an increase in illumination, its production decreases.

Folk remedies for insomnia

There are a number of proven folk remedies that help solve sleep problems:

1. Milk and honey. To make a drink you will need to add 1 tbsp. To a glass of warm milk l honey, mix and drink 15 minutes before bedtime. You can put cinnamon or vanilla.
2. A decoction of mint leaves or lemon balm with honey. 1-2 tsp dry herbs need to pour 200 ml of boiling water and boil in a water bath for 3 minutes, then let it brew for one and a half to two hours and add honey to taste. Drink 30-40 minutes before bedtime.
3. "Golden milk" (milk, turmeric, honey). First you need to cook the paste by mixing 50 g of turmeric and 100 ml of water and boiling the composition over low heat for about 15 minutes, until it thickens. Make a healing drink from this mixture by combining 1 tbsp. l with a glass of milk and bringing to a boil over low heat. Then it is necessary to cool to 40-50 ° C and add 1-2 tsp. honey. Take daily, shortly before bedtime. Turmeric paste can be stored in the refrigerator for no more than 30 days from the date of preparation.
4. Lemon, honey and walnuts. Citrus will need to be cut into thin semicircular slices. The peel can not be removed. Then mix with 300 g of kernels of nuts and 300 g of honey. Store in a glass jar in the refrigerator door, take 1-2 tbsp. l before bedtime.
5. A cocktail of 5 tinctures (a mixture of alcohol tinctures of motherwort, peony, valerian, hawthorn and corvalol). The components are taken in equal shares and take 15-30 drops shortly before bedtime one-time in an emergency: when you need to urgently calm down and fall asleep, and other methods do not help. The maximum duration of the course of taking this remedy (for example, with severe stress) is 2 weeks, since Corvalol is addictive. Such a cocktail should not be drunk by people who have low blood pressure.

In addition to the funds listed, in case of sleep problems, decoctions of Ivan-tea, angelica, linden will help. They are sold in pharmacies in the form of dry grass or packaged in filter bags. They should be dosed according to the instructions for use.

Over-the-counter sleeping pills

In pharmacies, you can find many medications that will help with difficulties with falling asleep. Among those that contain melatonin, the following are most popular:

• Melarithm;
• Melatonin Evalar;
• Melaxen;
• Melatonin C3;
• Sonnovan;
• Melarena.

Sedative preparations made on the basis of other active substances include Nightwell, Persen, Phytosedan, Motherwort forte, Novopassit.

Despite the fact that the listed medicines are considered safe and dispensed without a prescription, self-medication is not worth it. The fact is that many of them do not combine with other medicines, and combined use can cause serious harm to your health. This applies, first of all, to preparations of melatonin, as well as to Novopassit, since it contains St. John's wort, which is able to reduce the therapeutic effect of other medicines. It is better to consult a doctor, he will help you choose a tool that is right for you.