How to Fall Asleep Fast by Trying Less
The short answer
To fall asleep faster, stop trying to fall asleep. Lie still, let each out-breath run a little longer than the in-breath, and rest your attention on one dull, physical thing, like your weight sinking into the mattress. Effort keeps you alert. If you are still awake after about twenty minutes, get up briefly and come back when sleepy.
How to do it
- Lie on your back or your side, whichever you would fall asleep in anyway.
- Notice the places that touch the bed: heels, calves, back, the back of your head. Let each one sink a little more.
- Breathe in softly, then let the breath out slowly, a bit longer than the breath in. About ten rounds.
- Stop counting. Keep your attention on the weight of your body. When a thought pulls you off, come back to the weight without scolding yourself.
Why trying harder keeps you up
You can’t make sleep happen. It arrives once you stop doing. Trying to fall asleep is effort, and effort is a waking state. The harder you push, the more alert the body gets. So the practice above lowers effort. It doesn’t add technique for its own sake. Two plain habits help it along: turn the clock away, and if you are still wide awake after about twenty minutes, get up, sit somewhere dim, and come back when your eyelids get heavy.
What about the military method and ten-second tricks?
The so-called military method has you relax your face, drop your shoulders, loosen the body from the top down, then hold a calm picture in mind. It works for many people for the same reason the practice above does. It relaxes the body and gives the mind something quiet to hold. No method can promise sleep in ten seconds. If one helps you, keep it. If it turns into a test you keep failing, let it go.
When your mind won’t switch off
Racing thoughts at night are usually unfinished business, and that is the territory of Bare Mind. If one conversation keeps playing on repeat, read how to stop rehearsing conversations. If you fall asleep fine but wake in the small hours, see why I wake at 3am.
The full sequence is in the book
This page gives you one practice for the moment you lie down. Bare Sleep has the full sequence: five night practices, one for each moment of the night from before bed to the morning after, and a seven-night starter that builds them up one at a time. The long out-breath comes from Bare Breath, and the opening of its first chapter is free.
Safety. If you feel dizzy or lightheaded, stop and breathe normally. Don’t force the air out and don’t hold your breath. If you have a breathing or heart condition, or you are pregnant, ask your doctor first. This is a practice, not medical advice. If poor sleep lasts more than a few weeks, or you snore loudly and wake up tired, talk to a doctor.
Questions people ask
How can I fall asleep in 10 minutes?
There is no guaranteed method, but your odds go up when you lower effort: a dark, cool room, a few minutes of slower out-breaths, and attention resting on the body instead of on your thoughts. Don’t check the time.
Does breathing help you fall asleep?
Slow breathing with a longer exhale helps many people feel calmer in bed. Keep it gentle and stop counting once you feel drowsy, so the exercise doesn’t become one more task. See long exhale breathing.
Should I get out of bed if I can't sleep?
Sleep specialists often suggest it. If you have been awake for around twenty minutes and feel alert or frustrated, get up, do something dull in dim light, and go back when sleepy. Over time the bed becomes a place for sleeping, not for struggling.
How do I fall asleep when I'm not tired?
Don’t force it. Wind down with dim light and something calm, and go to bed when you feel sleepy rather than at a fixed time. Getting up at the same time every morning helps you feel tired at the right hour.
Does 4-7-8 breathing help you sleep?
Some people find it useful. Its long exhale is calming, while the long hold doesn’t suit everyone. A plain long exhale without the hold works the same way and is easier to keep up in bed.
Read the free chapter
The opening of chapter one of Bare Breath is free. Enter your email on the free-chapter page and it opens right there.
Read the free chapter Bare Sleep on Kindle
Prefer paper? Bare Sleep in paperback. More about the book on its page.