The 4-7-8 method
There are few things as frustrating as being unable to fall asleep, especially if you have a big day ahead and need your rest. Recently, Doctor Jo, a licensed physical therapist, demonstrated a simple breathing exercise that she recommends to clients. She claimed it can help you drift off quickly, rather than spending hours in bed, staring at the ceiling or counting sheep.
She calls it the ‘4-7-8’ technique, and it consists of inhaling for 4 seconds, holding that breath for 7 seconds, and then exhaling for 8 seconds.
“When you’re breathing in, you’re just going to breathe in gently and normally through your nose. Then you’re going to hold that 7 seconds,” she explains. “When you breathe out, you’re going to purse your lips and kind of make like a whooshing sound as you breathe out. So, it’s a pretty forceful breath for those 8 seconds, and sometimes you might not make it 8 seconds. However, the more you do, you’ll eventually be able to get there.”
Yes, it’s as simple as it sounds. First, get settled into a comfy position on your bed. Then, simply inhale through your nose for four seconds, hold your breath for seven seconds, and then exhale through your mouth for eight more seconds. Repeat until you fall asleep.
Based on meditation
Harvard-educated medical doctor Andrew Weil adopted this same exercise from a centuries-long Indian yogi meditation practice.
“It’s the single best method that I’ve found for dealing with getting back to sleep if you wake up in the middle of the night,” he said.
The yogis use this method to achieve a state of complete relaxation, counteracting stress and anxiety. Deliberately slowing down your breathing forces the rhythm of your heart to slow down, too. Thus, making the rest of your body relax. In other words, it’s a natural sedative—for your body AND mind.
“Starting out doing it, you’ll probably only want to do 2 to 4 repetitions, but eventually you’ll work your way up to maybe 8,” she says. “When you’re doing this at first, it might be hard to get that pattern down, but eventually it really does help you fall asleep quicker.
Jo advises lying down on your back while doing this exercise, even if you usually sleep on your side, in order to get its full benefits. It takes some practice the first few times. Basically, keep working at it and make sure you’re safe and comfortable doing it.
“So, it’s the regularity of doing this over a period of weeks, months, years that produces the changes that you want.”
Once you start sticking to it, you can quit counting sheep for good.
Article by Brooke Nelson
Photo credit: lenetstan/shutterstock
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