Many people struggle to fall asleep quickly. The effects of stress, caffeine, and anxiety can make it difficult to fall asleep—even if you’re exhausted. Plus, if you’re struggling to sleep, it’s likely that you’re not getting enough sleep, which is essential for maintaining good physical and mental health.
Also called the CIA sleep trick, the military sleep method claims it can help you fall asleep in under two minutes through deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, and visualization.
This method was first mentioned in the 1981 book “Relax and Win: Championship Performance” as a method soldiers used to fall asleep quickly in stressful and noisy situations. Even if you’re a civilian, the military sleep method may help you fall asleep if you’re dealing with stress or loud environments.
There are no studies specifically on the effectiveness of the military sleep method. However, research shows that deep breathing can help people fall asleep faster by calming the nervous system and slowing their heart rate. Deep breathing can also help trigger melatonin production—a hormone that helps you fall asleep.
In addition, relaxing each of your muscles from the top to the bottom of your body can help reduce anxious and depressive thoughts that can make it difficult to fall asleep. Studies also show that visualizing calming images can promote relaxation, reduce stress from restless thoughts, and help people fall asleep faster.
To try the military method:
- Close your eyes and start taking slow, deep breaths.
- As you breathe, focus on relaxing the muscles in your face. Start with your forehead and then move down to your eyes, cheeks, mouth, tongue, and jaw.
- Start relaxing the individual muscles in your neck, shoulders, arms, hands, and fingers. You can relax one arm at a time.
- Continue to relax your body in sections, such as your chest, abdomen, pelvis, legs, feet, and toes. Again, try to focus on one leg at a time as you move down to your toes.
- Clear your mind and try to visualize yourself in a calm scene—like a meadow, forest, or beach.
The 4-7-8 breathing method uses deep, rhythmic breathing to enter a state of relaxation. This method is similar to pranayama, which is a type of breath regulation used in yoga practices. Some people claim the 4-7-8 breathing method can help you fall asleep in about one minute by relaxing your body and mind before sleep.
Research is limited on whether 4-7-8 breathing can help you fall asleep faster. Still, the method has relaxing effects that appear to reduce anxiety and promote sleep.
A small 2022 study found that 4-7-8 breathing helped participants reduce heart rate and blood pressure. In theory, these two effects may help promote relaxation for sleep. Research also shows that, in general, deep breathing techniques can help reduce anxiety and stress levels.
To try the 4-7-8 breathing method:
- Completely exhale the air out of your lungs through your mouth.
- Close your mouth, and inhale slowly through your nose for four counts.
- Hold your breath in for seven counts.
- Exhale through your mouth for eight counts.
- Repeat the breathing cycle four times.
Progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) involves contracting and releasing muscle groups in a progressive pattern. The technique can be completed from the top of your head to your feet (“top-down”) or from your feet to your head (“bottom-up”). PMR may be a good sleep method for you if mental or physical tension makes you feel restless at bedtime.
Studies have shown that PMR reduces pre-sleep anxiety and helps people fall asleep faster. Researchers suggest PMR helps you become aware of any tension your muscles are carrying. This new awareness may help you learn to let go and relax. Studies show that PMR from the top down can help reduce anxious and depressive thoughts, which can make sleep difficult.
To try PMR:
- Starting with your head, tense the muscles in your forehead for about five seconds. Then, release for 15-30 seconds.
- Complete the same tense-and-release sequence with your eyes, cheeks, mouth, tongue, and jaw muscles.
- Repeat tensing and releasing the muscle groups in your neck, shoulders, arms, hands, and fingers.
- Keep tensing and releasing muscles of the chest, abdomen, pelvis, legs, feet, and toes.
- You can also start PMR from your toes and work your way up.
Visualization involves picturing yourself in a peaceful environment, like a beach or forest, to help calm your senses and mind. You can also visualize a goal, like feeling relaxed and falling asleep. This relaxation technique may help you reduce restless or anxious thoughts that keep you awake.
Research has shown that visualizing calming images can help promote feelings of relaxation, reduce stress associated with restless thoughts, and aid in falling asleep faster. Other studies find that visualization helps lower flight-or-fight responses that increase anxiety, which can keep you awake.
To try visualization:
- As you lie down to sleep, imagine yourself resting in a tranquil scene, such as a beach.
- Think about the feeling of your body sinking into a beach chair, the sand warming your toes, and a breeze keeping you comfortable under the heat of the sun.
- Picture the clear, blue water and the crashing waves rolling onto the beach. Imagine you can hear the soft rumble of the waves.
- As you visualize the sensations of relaxing on the beach, relax your muscles and breathe slowly to match the cadence of the waves.
A form of traditional Chinese medicine, acupressure uses pressure points to promote relaxation. Traditional Chinese medicine practitioners believe the body has energy, called qi (pronounced “chi”), that flows from different points to regulate bodily functions, including the sleep-wake cycle.
Pressing on these points may help promote relaxation by unblocking qi that isn’t flowing. Acupressure may also help people who have pain and inflammation fall asleep.
Research on acupressure for sleep is limited. However, studies show that the practice can stimulate the nervous system in a way that helps decrease pain and promote relaxation. Two separate studies—one including college students and the other pregnant people with insomnia—found acupressure helped increase melatonin levels and improved sleep quality.
Another large-scale review found that acupressure helped adults staying in hospitals fall asleep faster and improve their total sleep time.
To try acupressure:
- Use your thumb or finger to press or massage different acupressure points for 30 seconds each.
- Some pressure points include:
- KD1: About one-third down the sole of the foot
- DP6: Inside of the lower leg, a few inches above the ankle bone
- PC6: Center of the arm, a few inches below the wrist
- HT7: Area beneath the pinky finger where the wrist and hand meet
- An Mian: The spot a few inches behind the earlobe, where the head and neck connect
- Yin Tang: The space between the eyebrows
Creating a sleep routine helps your body self-regulate to get a good night’s sleep. Going to bed at the same time every night and waking up at the same time in the morning helps form a bedtime habit, training your brain for sleep.
Other daily habits you can start to improve your sleep hygiene include:
- Give yourself time to wind down: Avoid exercising at least three hours before bed and consider limiting evening activities that make it difficult to prepare for sleep.
- Sleep in the dark with blackout blinds or curtains: Darkness signals to your brain it’s time to create more melatonin, a natural sleep-inducing hormone.
- Keep your room quiet: Try using white noise machines, playing soft music, or running a fan to drown out loud noises that distract you from sleep.
- Turn down the room temperature: Sleeping in a cool room helps stimulate melatonin production, which can help you fall and stay asleep.
- Avoid scrolling before bed: Stop using your phone or other blue light-emitting devices at least 30 minutes before bed. Blue light makes your brain think it’s daytime, keeping you awake.
- Avoid caffeine and alcohol before bed: Drinking caffeinated beverages or alcohol four to six hours before bedtime can stimulate your nervous system and keep you awake.
Having trouble falling asleep can make it challenging to get the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep each night. Too little sleep can eventually lead to sleep deprivation. If lack of sleep starts making it difficult to work or do regular day-to-day activities, talk to your doctor. You may have an underlying health condition or sleep disorder that needs treatment.
Other signs and symptoms that warrant a visit to your doctor’s office include:
- Trouble falling asleep for more than a month
- Difficulty staying asleep
- Daytime drowsiness that makes it difficult to function
- Feeling tired after sleeping well
- Snoring or gasping for breath while sleeping
- Tingling sensations in your legs or arms
- Trouble moving when you wake up
Untreated sleep deprivation can lead to excessive daytime sleepiness, depressive mood, anxiety, poor memory, and difficulty concentrating. These side effects can make it difficult to keep up with daily life and put you at more risk of dangerous workplace safety issues and car accidents.
Sleep loss can also weaken your immune system and increase your risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and kidney disease.
If you have trouble falling asleep, there are techniques to help reduce stress, anxiety, and physical tension that make it challenging to sleep. Most methods for falling asleep quickly include some variation of deep breathing, muscle relaxation, or visualization.
Improving your pre-bedtime routine and creating a tranquil sleep atmosphere may also help you fall asleep faster. If you still have trouble falling asleep after about a month, see your doctor.
