Everyone wants to know how to sleep faster ; but how can you actually fall asleep faster? Sleep Coach and Sleep Science Academy founder Devin Burke lays out five simple steps to fall asleep more quickly.
Step 1
The first common-sense step is to release and manage your stress, or in other words, Master Your Stress. Stress is an inevitable reality of life and the number one thing that keeps us up at night. It is the number one thing that keeps us sick, and it’s not going away.
It is essential to learn and develop better ways of coping with stress.
Making a daily practice of taking 10 minutes each morning to reflect and meditate is easy and effective.
My favorite tool for meditating is Sam Harris’s app Waking Up.
I can’t stress enough that you have to learn to reduce stress. Release that stress throughout your body.
Step 2
Lowering your body temperature is the next simple step toward better sleep. Our body temperature actually has to drop between two and three degrees Fahrenheit to induce sleep. There are several ways you can accomplish this:
- Lower Your AC Setting
- Open a Window
- Use a Chill Pad
You can also take a hot shower or a hot bath before bed which will lower your body temperature.
When you reduce your body temperature using some of the methods I just shared with you, you’ll be able to fall asleep a lot faster.
Step 3
Another common-sense step is proper lighting.
While getting light first thing in the morning is essential, a dark room provides the best sleep environment.
After work, turn off half the lights in your home and make it dimmer as the sun sets. This routine will enable you to fall asleep faster as this initiates melatonin production (the vampire hormone), which induces sleep, makes us feel tired, and is inhibited by light from computers, phones, and fixtures.
Step 4
Fourth on the list is fasting, and this is a big one.
You should fast for 3 to 4 hours before bed because going to bed with a full stomach will get in the way of falling asleep and getting quality sleep. Creating a 3 to 4-hour fasting routine before bed will allow you to get deeper quality sleep and fall asleep faster.
Step 5
Last but certainly not least is SSS, which stands for Smart Sleep Supplementation. Certain supplements will help you fall asleep more quickly, others can help you stay asleep, and some will do both, depending on your specific sleep issues.