While the stress of the semester continues, the simple act of sleeping can be something of an impossibility. But, fear not! The next time you’re wide-eyed in bed and the clock strikes two in the morning, these helpful tips will aid you in your quest to the realm of slumber.
The 4-7-8 Breathing Technique
This easy process is one that is great for winding-down after a long day and can relieve tremendous amounts of stress with little effort and only a minute of your time. As shown on smallfootprintfamily.com, this method can be accomplished in four straight-forward steps:
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Breathe in through your nose for four seconds.
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Hold your breath for seven seconds (or less if you need to).
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Release your breath deeply for eight seconds.
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Without a break, repeat this process 3-4 times.
Its simplistic nature may seem too good to be true, but there’s plenty of science behind proper breathing. This technique allows for oxygen to flow throughout your bloodstream and relaxes your muscles, and counter-acts the characteristic shallow breathing that happens when you’re tensed and stress. It’s a great way to quiet your mind and calm your body if you’re struggling to unwind as the night goes on.
Rainymood.com
This terrific website is something that can be incredibly useful for someone who enjoys ambient sounds. There’s no steps to follow, nor counting to pay attention to. Simply type in the website, and the sound of calming rain and distant thunder will soothe your mind to sleep.
The science behind ambient sounds has a deep and rich history, and the instinctual association between rain and safety are well-documented. The sound of rain brings to mind relaxing thoughts, and just as a baby can find comfort in the slight hum of a car ride, so too do we find comfort in the pitter-patter of rain as we’re trying to sleep.
Read a Book
If you still find yourself to be restless, reading a book can be an incredibly relaxing way to pass time. Not only will reading help you relax, but it will also take your mind off of any thoughts that may be crowding up your mind. But, reading likely won’t work in isolation. It is important to make sure that you shut off your TV, laptop, and cell-phone because the light that is emitted by their screens can disrupt the Melatonin that naturally circulates our sleep-cycles. This can even cause sleep disorder and will cause you to stay awake much longer than usual.
On the other hand, books do not disrupt Melatonin and causes the eyes to grow tired. As soon as you feel yourself growing weary of the words in your unabridged edition of Walt Whitman’s poems (because what else would you be reading?), place the book by your side and sleep soundly.
Follow Your Thoughts
Before you throw your arms up in the air in hopelessness, and resign to just pull an all-nighter, try this final effort to finding a restful night.
This little-known technique (for it’s not an official technique at all), is something that may seem contrary to advice columns and online-forums alike, but if all else fails, it may prove to be an effective way to finally put an end to a sleepless night.
While the refrain of “quiet your mind” is one that is riddled on insomnia threads throughout the internet, someone who truly struggles with sleeping knows that this is something easier said than done. Instead, I suggest something entirely the opposite: Follow Your Thoughts. For many of us, a pillow can be a marathon-starter for our minds to start racing through a million different ideas and feelings, but rather than try to suppress the insuppressible, try to follow your thoughts down their many twists and turns. The act of fighting your restless mind is always a losing battle, and rather than try to revolt against it, this idea embraces the natural curious and active nature of the mind and finds a way to cope with it. This will allow you to get lost in your imagination as you close your eyes, and if the technique proves effective, sleep will be in your near future.
Hopefully one of these techniques can help you get over the tireless night, but don’t forget about the Melatonin! Reading this article won’t help your sleep cycle, so go and get to it!