Hi, Friends!
I haven’t posted in awhile. It has been quite the year, both globally and personally. Maybe I will touch on it in a blog post some day, but today is not that day.
Today I want to talk about sleep. I have a trick that I use almost every single night to fall asleep fast. I wanted to share because, who doesn’t love sleeping? This trick is super simple and will have you sleeping like a baby in no time.
I’ve struggled with sleeping as long as I can remember. I’m not really sure why. I think it was more about the fear of being awake all night rather than the sleep itself that stressed me. I’m not sure if this is something that freaks normal people out, but it sure did me.
The fear of not being able to fall asleep is one of the main reasons I hated sleepovers when I was younger. If only I had learned this one simple tip and I could have been falling asleep fast all over town (ha!).
Anyway, I use this one simple sleeping technique almost every single night to help me fall asleep fast.
Are you ready?
It’s so simple, like so SO simple…
How To Fall Asleep Fast
I sort of pulled this trick from the Headspace app. As I’ve mentioned before, I use Headspace when I am feeling stressed, anxious, or have a lot on my mind. During one of the sessions, the moderator instructed me to focus on the noises around me.
I heard a car drive by, my cat purring at the foot of my bed, my son rolling around asleep in his bed, then I was out. Weird. The next night I skipped the Headspace app and just focused on the noises. I feel asleep SO FAST.
And THAT ladies and gentlemen, is how this super-awesome-fall asleep fast trick was born.
So, here’s how you do it…
Lay in your bed with the lights off. Make sure the TV, sound machine, and/or anything else that makes noise is turned off. You want the room to be as quiet as possible.
Now, what you are going to do is close your eyes and try to identify and count the noises you hear. I live in a relatively quiet area, so I only try to identify 10 sounds. If you live near a major roadway or in a big city, you may want to start with a higher number.
At first you won’t hear anything, which is totally normal. Then slowly you will start to hear little things, like the air conditioner turning on, the ice maker filling up in the kitchen, or your dog snoring in the other room. Focus on finding sounds. I have found that by focusing on the sounds and concentrating on keeping track of how many I have identified forces my mind to stay in the present rather than running a million miles per hour (which is what keeps usually keeps me awake).
Most of the time I fall asleep before I get to 10 noises. However, if I happen to hit 10 then I just keep going. Sometimes I will lose track of the sounds or the number, in which case I will start over.
That’s it guys, that’s the only sleeping tip you will ever need!
Give it a try tonight and let me know in the comments below how it went.
Until next time,
Julie
Don’t forget to check out my Nighttime Routine here!
