Each time you feel like you can’t sleep, you scroll through a list of articles full of sleep tips and tricks. When all that reading wakes you up more than puts you to sleep, you text ‘You up?’ to your best friends at 5 am. You’re jealous of your S.O’s ability to fall asleep as soon as their head hits the pillow, and you’re even looking at your cat as she snores happily. Where can you find the hack to sleeping better? How can you improve your sleep?
Now you pick up the phone, and you turn to Reddit. You think you’ll reach the end of your search there. You open the app to type ‘Things to do if I can’t sleep,’ but as you do, you get sucked down into the colorful rabbit hole of memes, funny videos, opinionated rants, etc. forgetting why you opened the app in the first place.
We’ve all been there and we empathize with you, which is why we’ve searched through all of Reddit for some of the best tips for when you can’t sleep. If nothing, it will definitely help you calm down and think of a better solution for your recurring problem.
u/Beemoneemo suggests the 4- 7- 8 breathing technique as a relaxing tip to improve your sleep.
Breathe in through your nose for 4 seconds. Hold your breath for seven seconds and exhale through your mouth for 8 seconds. It slows down your heart rate and relaxes you. And over time, continues to help you sleep better.
u/gwilkes0585 talks about some fun things that work for them – including a body scan and telling yourself a bedtime story to improve your sleep!
Start a bedtime routine
This can improve your sleep by tricking your brain into recognizing its sleep time soon. For instance, it could be as simple as changing into your sleep clothes, brushing your teeth, then reading a chapter in a book.
Tell yourself a story
Of all the sleep tips and tricks in the world, this is our favorite. Your story could be a made-up story, that you continue a little each night, a what-if version of some small event in your life (nothing major or that carries a lot of emotion). Or even a “rewrite” of a favorite movie or series. Don’t stress about if it’s a good or bad story, and if you hit a point where you get stuck, just free-associate ideas until you keep going or fall asleep.
Relax your muscles
Try relaxing your muscles methodically with a “body scan” technique. If you’ve done yoga, it’s basically like savasana. Start at your toes and feel if there is any tension, then try to relax it. Move up your whole body that way. Think about small muscles or unusual tension, like your shoulders holding your chest up instead of letting your body relax onto the bed or even your tongue being pressed to the roof of your mouth. You could probably look up some savasana videos where the instructor helps target common areas of tension.
u/old_gold_mountain suggests a way to bore your brain when you can’t sleep
Pick a letter of the alphabet. Count to 8. Think of a word that starts with your letter. Count to 8 again. Think of a different word with the same letter. Bore your brain to sleep.
u/doyley27 suggests a simple meditative sleep tip
Of all the sleep tips and tricks on this page, this one’s probably the simplest. The Reddit user says, “I empty my mind and imagine a small black circle. With each breath I take, the circle slowly becomes bigger. Helps me relax and fall asleep.”
u/4rtiphi5hal talks sense for when you can’t sleep
Well first don’t lie in bed if you can’t sleep, get up and out of your bed to do other work. Have a strict sleep schedule, eg no matter how late you slept you must wake up at 6 30. Have a routine before going to bed like drinking water, brushing teeth, etc. After a while, your body will be tuned to naturally fall asleep and wake up at that time. But you have to be strict with yourself if you want results.
u/Nidowott’s sleep tip is a comforting warm bath before bed time
Try a super long hot bath. I had 10 days of going to bed at 3 / waking up at 7 and the one thing that got me relaxed and super tired was sitting in a hot bath for 30 mins before bed. Such a weird feeling, but it feels so good.
u/iambavus tells it how it is to the ‘I can’t sleep’ tribe
The trick about sleep isn’t falling asleep; it’s about how you approach it. It’s a whole day thing because sleeping is how we repair us. You shouldn’t just lay down and expect to be asleep. It’s a mind game, and important to know how your body works and operates.
Our takeaway is that there is no quick way out when you can’t sleep. Our bodies crave regularity and routine – but everyone works differently. So make a routine and inculcate these 5 simple habits to fall asleep faster every day!
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