One Trick to Fall Asleep in 5 Minutes Every Night

I have never enjoyed going to sleep.

When I was in kindergarten, I had a secret agreement with the teacher. When everyone was called for the nap, I would join the other children, fake my sleep and the teacher would come and wake me up. I’d be playing by myself during the rest of my friends’ nap.

The teacher knew I didn’t want to sleep nor did I need it.

When I was sick, or simply staying home with my mum, she’d also put me to sleep. Once she was out of the room, I’d quietly climb out of my bed and play. If I heard her on the stairs, I’d be back into my bed as fast as lightning.

I don’t think they ever found out.

Growing up, I had trouble falling asleep. My parents wanted me into bed by 22h. I wouldn’t fall asleep before 23h30. Every night, I had 1h30 to entertain myself.

Today, I have less energy than I was a kid and am active as well. I make the most out of my day because I enjoy being tired from working too much.

However, falling asleep is not always easy.

Until I found a way.

How Meditation Helps You Fall Asleep

One day, I was reading about tinnitus and consciousness and stumbled upon different meditating exercises. One of them consisted of bringing back attention to the body and generate consciousness within every limb, starting at the toes, and finishing at the head.

Since I was too lazy to practice it sitting down during real meditation practice, I had decided to do it in my bed.

When I woke up, I realized I had fallen asleep…pretty fast. I tried it again that subsequent night. It worked. And it has been working ever since.

More Tricks to Prepare Yourself to Sleep

However, meditation won’t save every one of your nights. You can also prepare yourself with a couple of habits that will make you gain time and help you recharge during your night.

The first tip is don’t eat before going to sleep (and especially, don’t eat sugar). Your body slows down its metabolism which makes digestion harder.

The second tip is to wear blue light glasses at least two hours before going to bed. This will enable your brain to slowly switch to sleeping mode.

The third tip is don’t do sport right before bedtime. Your body wants to relax, not get excited.

The fourth tip is to go to sleep every night at the same time. It imposes less stress on your circadian rhythm.

The fifth tip is to keep your room at a lower temperature. Your body needs to decrease its temperature to fall asleep, which is why it is so difficult to sleep during heat waves.

The Bottom Line

Sleeping is amazing when you understand why you do it for. A lack of sleep worsens every system and function of your body. Sleeping is as such, the first pillar of health and should be treated seriously.

While you can go without food or water for a pretty long time, you won’t make it past 48 hours without sleep.

Photo by Kaiwen Sun on Unsplash