An Expert’s Simple Breathing Exercise To Get You To Sleep Fast—
We’ve all been there: You dutifully drank your magnesium-packed sleepy mocktail, put away your phone early and got to bed on time. It seemed like you were on track, but you woke up in the middle of the night, staring at the ceiling until your alarm went off.
What gives?!
Ifyoufindyourselfwideawakeatthenight,youdon’thavetogiveupandletanxietytakeover.Withasleeppsychologist-approvedbreathingtrick,youcanstillsalvageplentyofhoursofsleepandwakeupfeelingrefreshedratherthandrowsy.
Sleeptipoftheday:AsimplebreathingexercisetofallasleepquicklyJustafewdeepbreathssettoaspecificrhythmcanbeenoughtorelaxyou,sleepspecialistandpsychologistDr.MichaelBreussaidonTODAY.
“Ifyouwakeupinthemiddleofthenightthinkingthroughhowtogetcalmandrelaxed,(thisisa)veryeasythingtodo,”Breussaid.
Herecommendsusingthe4-7-8breathingexercise:
Startbyinhalingforacountoffour.Thenholdyourbreathforacountofseven.Finally,exhaleforacountofeight.Thisexercisehelpsloweryourheartrate,heexplained,makingyoufee