Suffering from insomnia can be debilitating, leading to nights spent awake and days filled with exhaustion. Falling asleep at night can be frustrating. If you spend a long time trying to drift off to sleep every night, you might be wondering what the secret is to fall asleep quickly.
Luckily, there is a wide range of behaviours that can help someone fall asleep quickly, from making a habit of proper sleep hygiene to practicing meditation or other relaxation techniques. However, if you've tried everything but medical intervention, it may be time to consult your doctor. Read on to learn more.
Practice good sleep hygiene
According to the National Institutes for Health, practicing good "sleep hygiene" can improve your sleep. This term simply refers to habits that are beneficial to sleep. Below are some of the cornerstones of sleep hygiene.
Limit caffeine
Avoid drinking coffee and caffeinated tea for four to six hours before going to bed. Herbal teas, especially chamomile tea and sleepy time blends, can help the sleep deprived enter a relaxed state, which is required to fall asleep.
Avoid heavy meals before bed
Feeling full or bloated isn't a recipe for easily drifting off to sleep. Try to eat your main evening meal at least three to four hours before bed. If this isn't feasible, stick to a light meal and avoid spicy foods.
Don't smoke close to bedtime
Ideally, you shouldn't smoke at all, but if you are a smoker, don't smoke too close to bedtime. Nicotine is both a stimulant and a sedative, but the initial kick you get from smoking a cigarette can keep you up at night.
Make your bedroom suited to sleep
Your bedroom should be conducive to sleep. Make sure it is not too hot or cold and that it's completely dark. You might need to use blackout curtains if you live somewhere with street lights outside your window. A mattress should be comfortable and supportive, and the pillows should elevate your head in a comfy position. Old, lumpy pillows that give you a crick in your neck won't do you any favours when trying to fall asleep.
Only use the bed for sleeping
You're more likely to fall asleep quickly if your brain associates bed with sleep. As such, try to use your bed only for sleeping — never for eating, watching TV or hanging out. This can be tricky if you live in a shared house with limited communal space but in this case, try to use another space in the bedroom for leisure, even if it's just a small nook containing a desk or a couch.
Additional tips for falling asleep fast
Use relaxation techniques
Meditation and other relaxation techniques can be useful in falling asleep quickly, especially if your thoughts are what keep you up at night. If you already know the basics of meditation or know some useful relaxation techniques, great. If not, there are plenty of free meditation apps for both iPhones and Androids, many with specific guided meditations for sleep.
Exercise but not too close to bedtime
Getting enough exercise can help sleep, but exercise too close to bedtime releases endorphins, which can keep you from quickly falling asleep. Exercise is not only tiring from the physical exertion involved, but it also causes the brain to release serotonin, which plays a part in a healthy sleep-wake cycle. Any time of exercise can help you sleep, whether it be brisk walking, running, strength training or team sports.
Get up if you can't sleep
Spending hours lying in bed when unable to sleep is often counterproductive. The more you try and fail to sleep, the more you increase your anxiety around falling asleep and the less likely you are to succeed. Instead, decide on a set amount of time — say 30 to 60 minutes — and if you haven't managed to fall asleep by then, get up and do something relaxing, like reading a book, listening to a podcast, or drinking a hot, non-caffeinated beverage.
Limit screen time before bed
Using electronic devices, such as smartphones, tablets and laptops before bed is terrible for your sleep. If you tend to get into bed and scroll through your phone for 20 minutes before attempting to sleep, this is a habit that should be immediately broken. It's best to sleep with the phone in a separate room, in fact. If the phone is used as an alarm, buy an alarm clock. Ideally, avoid using any devices that emit blue light for a couple of hours before bed. If you must use these devices, switch on the blue light filter if it has one, or use some blue light blocking glasses.
Play white noise or relaxing sounds
Some people find that white noise or relaxing sounds, like rainfall or whale songs, help them fall asleep faster. These types of sounds can be particularly helpful if street noise or other ambient sounds in your environment keep you up. To avoid using a phone to play white noise, which isn't ideal when trying to limit bedtime device use, we'd recommend a white noise machine or sound machine. We particularly like the Hatch Restore Sound Machine, which can play a range of white noise and other relaxing sounds, as well as function as a relaxing reading light and a sunrise alarm clock.
Consult a doctor
You might prefer to sort out your sleep issues yourself but sometimes this isn't possible. If you've tried a wide range of natural techniques and healthy habits to help fall asleep but are still suffering from insomnia, it's probably time to consult the family doctor. Occasionally, there can be an underlying medical issue causing problems with your sleep, which is worth looking into. Otherwise, some short-term prescription medication might help reset your sleep cycle.
Lauren Corona is a writer for BestReviews. BestReviews is a product review company with a singular mission: to help simplify your purchasing decisions and save you time and money.
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