5 Things to Do When You Can’t Sleep

We’ve all had to face those nights when we can’t sleep. You may be very tired, but you just can’t fall asleep.

Maybe you’re worried about an important meeting the next day, you’re upset that your crush didn’t respond, or you’re embarrassed that you remembered an awkward situation you went through a decade ago.

Whatever the reason for not being able to sleep, spending long minutes and hours waiting for the alarm to go off doesn’t help.

If you’ve already taken a hot shower, left the room dark, eliminated the noise and still can’t sleep, take a look at these 5 tips we’ve separated to help you fall asleep fast.

1. Focus on relaxing images, not lambs

A 2010 study from the University of Oxford found that, contrary to popular belief, counting sheep has no effect on inducing sleep. But all is not lost, as there is a better solution.

According to the researchers, thinking of relaxing images, of serene places like a beach or a landscape full of mountains, is much more effective in helping us to calm the brain and fall asleep. On average, study participants who used this technique fell asleep 20 minutes earlier than those who counted sheep or did nothing. It seems worth it.

2. If you need to tell something, start backwards

If you feel like you simply need to involve numbers to get to sleep, the tip is to do it backwards and think in sequences rather than straight sequences. This means that instead of starting from the number 1 and counting indefinitely until you go to sleep, you can, for example, start from 1,000 towards 1, counting from 3 to 3 or just speaking the odd numbers.

This trick works as a distraction for the brain, capturing our attention without being difficult and frustrating, while counting sheep is too easy for our minds.

3. Use the 4-7-8 breathing technique

There are some variations of this technique, but the principle is the same: you must inhale, hold the air and exhale, controlling for how many seconds each action must be practiced. In this case, the trick is to inhale for four seconds, hold the air for seven and exhale for eight, over and over again.

Another technique is to inhale for three seconds and exhale for six, so you can choose the one you feel most comfortable with. The purpose of these patterns is to slow your breathing and get your mind to focus on this process instead of worrying about the boss or the bills.

4. Use active imagination

Active imagination is a sleep-inducing technique that is reminiscent of active meditation. It involves getting into a comfortable position, relaxing your whole body, breathing slowly, and focusing on a situation, object, or place that makes you feel at ease.

The success of this technique depends on the experience being extremely individual, which means that there is no point in imagining a random beach. For active imagination to work, you must focus on situations that are genuinely exciting, relaxing, and positive for you, like your childhood bedroom or the smell of your grandmother’s house at snack time.

5. Practice Thought Interruption

You’re in your bed, ready for bed, with freshly laundered sheets and fluffy pajamas. But instead of falling asleep, you’re thinking about all the things that could go wrong at your boss meeting tomorrow, or some nonsense you said 5 years ago to an ex-boyfriend.

In this case, it can be difficult to focus on a relaxing image, but there is another technique you can use. When these thoughts take over your mind, you should think of a loud STOP!, in capital letters, like a giant traffic sign. This will help your brain to deflect those anxious thoughts. If they come back, repeat the technique.

Having a bad night’s sleep is normal, although it is unpleasant. However, if difficulty falling asleep is a recurring problem in your life, be sure to consult a doctor to investigate the reasons.