How to Fall Asleep Fast | 44 Ways to Fall Asleep Quickly

I had been a restless sleeper for many years until one day when I decided that I had enough. I was tired of having bags take a permanent residence beneath my eyes and the constant throbbing in my head from lack of sleep was getting to me. Determined to fight the demon who kept sleep from me, I discovered these neat tricks to help me fall asleep. I think I finally figured out the demon’s weaknesses.

How to fall asleep fast? The most common way of falling asleep is making an attempt to shut down your brain and relax before you get into bed. When a person is in bed with nothing to distract them, their mind can go wild with theories and the “should haves”, “would haves” and “could haves.” The key is to shut your brain off from those thoughts by relaxing, taking a hot shower or bath with Epsom salts, and planning a to-do list for the day ahead. The to-do list is a great way to create a barrier between you and the past, only allowing you to focus on the future at that moment. Another great way is to set the mood for sleep. Soft music and dim lighting can do wonders to relax the brain and get a person ready for bed. Eating healthy, getting sunlight, and exercising has a big influence on your sleeping patterns as well.

Why can’t I fall asleep? Insomnia has a whole bunch of possible causes and it’s hard to pinpoint just one cause without professional analysis. One of the most common causes is stress. It’s that knot in your stomach or the pounding of your heart in your throat that is keeping you from your sweet slumber. Other causes include depression, medication, poor sleeping habits, anxiety, nightmares, sounds, a poor-quality mattress and pillow, and the inability to shut down from life so the brain can relax and help you sleep. Adopting these healthy and natural tips to your routine should help you immensely and you should see a huge difference as soon as the first day.

1. Lower room temperature

Personally, I cannot fall asleep when my feet are covered. The reason for this is that when we fall asleep, our body temperature changes and while our body’s temperature might go down, the temperature of our feet and hands go up. People’s bodies all work differently and there are other parts of each person they have to keep nice and toasty in order to stay warm. My part is my feet. My feet have to be hot in the winter and out from the covers in the summer. When they’re hot, I’m hot. When the room is too warm, people might have trouble falling asleep as easily as they want to. Decrease the temperature of the room to help you fall asleep more easily.

2. Avoid looking at the time

I’ve always had the tendency to toss and turn in bed, watching as the time ticks by until dawn and I have to get up for the day again. It wasn’t until I did my research that I realized that constantly monitoring the time was part of the problem. Watching the seconds, minutes, and hours go by only increases anxiety and that is exactly what we want to avoid. Hide your clock or keep your phone far away if the impulsive need to check the time is too much.

3. Keep the lights turned off

A person’s body responds to cues in life. Setting a certain cue to let your body know it’s time for bed will instantly tell your body that it’s time to leave behind the worries of the mind and minimize thinking until morning. Train your body to recognize that lights off means sleep. Don’t leave the lights on when you are in bed. Simply keep the lights turned off until you fall asleep. Your body and mind will eventually learn that darkness means sleep.

4. Mood lighting

If you are anything like me and complete darkness freaks you out, why not try a little mood lighting? Switch off the main light in your bedroom and turn on a dim lamp. You can even dim the main lights to achieve the right lighting for bed. Again, it is important to teach your body the cues of going to bed and dimming the lights is the best alternative to switching them off completely. Complete darkness can raise a person’s anxiety so if you are an anxious person, this tip is for you.

5. Yoga

Yoga incorporates meditation, breathing, and poses that can help your well-being and reduce stress. It is even said to improve attention, sharpen concentration, relax the mind, and increase body awareness. Doing a couple of minutes of yoga before bed can help clear your mind and relax your body. Your muscles will also feel fantastic because of the benefits that yoga poses provide which means a more comfortable night in bed. I’ve never been big on yoga myself, but I found that this activity, in particular, works very well. It’s definitely worth a shot.

6. Avoid napping when the sun is out

Napping when the sun is out will teach your body that sleep occurs when the sun is out. This means that you may have a difficult time sleeping when the sun is down and the moon is out. The best thing to do is to avoid napping as much as possible or ensure you are only taking short power naps. Reducing the frequency you nap makes you less tired when you actually have to go to bed and it may get your body into a confusing routine that would take forever to shake off. You want to be as tired as possible when going to bed and you want your body to know that nighttime is the time for proper sleep.

7. Take a warm shower

A shower can help regulate your body temperature for bed. That means that it will take your body less time to adapt because you’ve already helped it do so. It also helps stimulate and relax your muscles. When a person is tense in bed, it can be hard to find just the right position to fall asleep in. Showers soothe those tense muscles and relax your body. Whenever I get out of the shower at night, I can feel my mind and body calming down because of how relaxed I am. That is when I know it’s time for bed.

8. Wear socks to bed

I can’t even cover my feet with a blanket, never mind wear socks to bed, but I’ve heard multiple people say they’d rather go to bed nude while only wearing socks than going to bed fully clothed without them. Socks help control the heat radiated from your feet and keeps you warm on chilly evenings. It’s also a sort of comfort for many people, almost like a buddy blanket for a child. It can make people feel a lot more comfortable in bed.

9. Exercise

Exercise releases a feel-good hormone and can be a terrific start to your day. The serotonin that exercising releases is proven to help provide a good night’s sleep. The time of day you exercise is important as well because too much exercise can lead to sleeplessness and restlessness. It’s best to exercise early in the morning rather than later during the day or at night. The circulated serotonin in the body during the entire day makes for a wonderful evening of peaceful sleep.

10. Avoid electronics

Shutting your brain down after a long day of work can be much harder than one might think. I like to set my phone aside before I take my nightly shower and switch off all electronics. That way I have time to relax in the shower and I have no distractions to keep me awake when I get back into my room. The blue light that screens emit causes the brain to stay awake and wired. If you insist on being on your phone in bed, I suggest changing your backlight to a warmer color so the blue light doesn’t keep you awake.

11. Eat the right foods

Even thinking about eating healthy is enough to cause many people, including myself, a whole year’s worth of restless sleep. I love veggies, I really do, but I can’t stand fruit. I really struggle with eating fruit so I have to make myself smoothies every day just to get the right vitamins into my system. It can be hard to maintain a balanced diet for a lot of people. Studies have shown that high-fat meals can increase your quality of sleep significantly while high-carb foods tend to make you fall asleep easily, but causes restless sleeping. The choice of which one you prefer is up to you. Would you rather fall asleep faster or have a good, peaceful night of sleep?

12. Read a book

I would personally never use this tip because I have no self-control when it comes to reading. When I pick up a book, I have to finish it as soon as possible. There’s no such thing as reading “only one chapter tonight” because what kind of monster only reads one chapter in an evening? That’s insane! I suppose reading makes some people sleepy and that is why they do it. If you are one of those monsters, try reading a book before bed. But if you are like me, stay away from reading before bed. It will only cause you more sleepless nights than you are already experiencing.

13. Listen to relaxing music

Music relaxes the soul and has the ability to increase the quality of your sleep significantly. I find that listening to soothing music for at least half an hour before going to bed helps me fall asleep much easier. I don’t turn the music off when I go to bed, I like listening to it as I drift off. There are only so many songs on my playlist so it can stop playing music long after I have fallen asleep.

14. Sleep on a lavender scented pillow

I never believed in scents having an influence on sleep until my best friend made me try out a lavender pillow that has allowed for some of the best nights of sleep in my life. Whether you are using essential oil or fresh lavender, it doesn’t matter as long as you can smell the soothing scent. My friend used both essential oils and fresh lavender, opened the seam of a pillow and stuffed the scents between the stuffing on the inside. That way there is no bumpiness and the constant movement of your head on the pillow will release the scent. She then sewed it shut and that is how she turned a normal pillow into a lavender pillow. It’s something simple that can make a big difference.

15. Avoid caffeine

I am addicted to coffee and I am not ashamed of it.

But not being ashamed of it doesn’t help the fact that caffeine–being found in a lot of teas, coffees, and energy drinks–can have a disastrous effect on a person’s sleep schedule. Caffeine is mostly used to boost alertness and get rid of sleepiness to push through work, workouts, or even movie marathons. Try avoiding caffeine at night and drink a cup of green tea instead.

16. Meditate

For years I found it hard to understand why my mother meditated every day, multiple times a day. I couldn’t understand why an intellectual like herself would even consider such a thing. She listens to meditation podcasts and YouTube videos in bed and she has said to fall asleep within five minutes of listening to these guided meditations. I was always jealous of her ability to fall asleep so easily so I figured I had nothing to lose to if I tried it out. I was shocked to find that it actually worked. As amazing and complicated a brain is, it’s easy to trick and manipulate it into sleep. Meditation calms you and clears your mind. It’s a great way to relax before going to bed and it’s even better for when you are in bed and struggling to sleep.

17. Count

I once heard someone say that you can’t count down from a hundred without falling asleep. In desperation and complete exhaustion, I figured I might as well give it a shot. As fate would have it, it worked and I was forced to tell the person I was laughing at not a month ago that it was all true. Sooner or later counting backward didn’t work anymore and so I started counting sheep. I imagined cartoon sheep jumping over a fence, one after the other. Sometimes it’s good to try new things that you once thought was silly or untrue.

18. Try journaling

Journaling redirects your mind. Focusing on the positive aspects of your day or week can reduce the stress and anxiety which makes sleep hard to come by. Journaling will help you sleep longer and better. Research dictates that journaling is one of the best pre-bedtime activities for a good night’s rest without requiring any medication or professional help. Journaling also allows you to write your memories down so, whenever you don’t feel like journaling or you want something to read, you can always go back to that and read about good memories. There might even be things that you’ve forgotten about over time.

19. Adjust your sleeping position

One of your problems may be that you are not sleeping in the correct position. Sleeping on your stomach can cause neck and back pain due to your neck and spine not being in a neutral position. Lying in certain positions can cause numbness and tingling as you are putting pressure on certain nerves. This can cause you to not fall asleep as easily as you should be able to. Try adjusting your sleeping position so you are perfectly comfortable and there are no pressure points being pressed down that can affect sleep.

20. Try to stay awake

When you tell a child not to do something, what do they do? They do exactly what you told them not to do. Your brain can work in a similar way. When you are lying in bed and you can’t get to sleep, ignore what your brain is telling you and resist sleep instead. Try to stay awake as long as you can. Sooner or later your brain will get tired of fighting and you will fall asleep. I do this when I’ve had a particularly busy and exciting day and nothing else I usually do calms me down. It’s my last resort.

21. Melatonin

I had never previously heard about melatonin until I went out of my way to do the research. Melatonin is a hormone that regulates the sleep-wake cycle. You can enhance your melatonin levels by taking supplements. It is the most commonly used short-term cure for sleeplessness. The problem with this tactic is that your brain may become reliant on the supplements and won’t release the melatonin regularly enough as it becomes used to getting the supplement every night. This is only a short-term solution and should not be used as a permanent one.

22. Sleep on a comfortable bed

Have you ever wondered why you sleep so much better in an expensive hotel room? The answer is the quality of the beds. A good quality, comfortable bed can make a huge difference when it comes to falling asleep and the general quality of your sleep as well. Studies show that a person should at least upgrade their bed or mattress every 6-8 years to avoid back and neck pain. Good quality sheets, pillows, and blankets also have a large impact so keep that in mind the next time you are standing at the checkout with sale items in your hand. Those pillows are on sale for a reason.

23. Milk

Milk contains tryptophan which is an amino acid that helps the body produce serotonin, which in turn produces melatonin for a deeper and better sleep. So, the answer to the century-old question; yes, milk does help you fall asleep faster. I’ve always thought that this was an old folk tale, but when I tested it out, I was shocked to find that it really does work. It also helps that milk is versatile (you can add things to it and find variations of it) and it is a big pre-bed treat to me and I’m sure many other people too.

24. Your bed is a place to sleep

Your bedroom is a place to sleep, not to work. Avoid taking your work to bed as much as possible. Your brain associates specific things with each other. When sleep doesn’t seem to come easily, it is probably because your brain is associating your bedroom with the effort and concentration you put into work. If your room doubles as an office space, don’t take your work to your bed and leave it at your desk. Don’t give your brain any ammunition to use against you. When your brain thinks about work, it is awake and ready to get things done, not go to sleep like it’s supposed to.

25. The blinking trick

Blinking your eyes rapidly for an extended amount of time can help you fall asleep more easily. Why? when you blink rapidly – faster and more frequently than you usually do, the muscles that help you blink get tired. It’s like walking around for a long time; eventually, your legs will get tired. Once your muscles are tired, you will fall asleep easier. This way you basically trick your brain into thinking that you are tired.

26. Align your body

It is important to keep your body aligned at all times when you are lying down to sleep. Pillows can help with this. They are not just there for your head – they can be put under your stomach and pelvic area if you insist on sleeping on your stomach and will align your spine and neck. For those sleeping on your back, a pillow beneath your legs will support the natural curvature of your spine. Sleeping on your side can cause stress on your spine because there is no support at your waist. To prevent this, you can place a small pillow at your waist to support the natural curvature of your spine. You can also use a pillow between your legs for extra support. Remember that your head should always be aligned with your spine.

27. Write a to-do list before bed

To-do lists are great for putting the day behind you and focusing on the next. We also have the tendency to run through a mental to-do list while we are in bed and that can keep us awake for a very long time. Writing it all down in detail will reassure you that everything is planned out and that you have nothing to worry about. There is nothing you have to try to remember because everything is written down. This can cause stress-free sleep and provide a much quicker route to falling asleep.

28. Imagine things in detail while you are in bed

Imagining a fantasy in detail can be very stimulating for your brain and is a great way for you to wind down from the day. This is to distract your brain from everything else going on in your life and thus, you can believe that no worries exist until morning. This is by far more efficient than counting sheep in my opinion. Using my imagination to take me to another world is far more entertaining and stimulating for the brain. I fall asleep much faster using this method instead of counting. It can be anything from an ideal vacation or thinking about an important place with extreme detail. I personally like to think about mountains and forests where I can hear the birds chirping and water from a river flowing into the sea. A place where I can smell the rain on the soil and feel the sunlight through the canopy of leaves on my face.

29. Sleep podcasts

Sleep podcasts are made specifically for that; sleeping. if you are used to noise around you, it might be a good idea to put on a podcast instead. That way you are avoiding the blue light of the television or cell phone screen but your brain is still being stimulated and distracted from worries and stress. it’s just like falling asleep in front of the television. Some podcasts even offer guided meditation to fall asleep easier or calming music in the background to help you relax fully. It’s definitely something new and refreshing to try out.

30. ASMR videos

ASMR videos have gone viral over the past year or two and some of us are eternally grateful for it. The acts in ASMR content are relatively simple and relaxing and can range from brushing hair to poking at slime with a finger. There are also some videos where the ASMR is focused on voices alone, talking about relaxing things – the things you want to hear before you fall asleep. These sounds tend to ease a person into a mega relaxed state and thus causes sleep to come more easily. Listening to crunchy leaves being stepped on is one of my favorite things to listen to while falling asleep.

31. Ease up on the liquor

Alcohol affects certain chemicals in our bodies and, although you’ll be able to fall asleep faster, there is the problem that you’ll wake up intermittently during the night. Falling asleep fast is not worth it if you are waking up multiple times at night, causing broken sleep. Alcohol can make sleep apnea worse if you have it, or even be the cause of it in some cases. in some cases, it doesn’t affect your sleep pattern at all, but rather makes you more tired the next day as your quality of sleep would have been affected by the alcohol.

32. Replay your day in your head

If, in any case, you find that a to-do list does not do it for you, try replaying your day in your head. think about every single positive detail. Think about the smells and sounds. Think about the colors and people. Some people don’t have the sort of imagination that allows them to think up an imaginary scenario so sometimes it’s a better idea to relive something you have been through recently. It doesn’t require any imagination, just your memory. Try to remember as much as you possibly can.

33. Open a window

Fresh air is great for clearing your head and improving your breathing. It can make a room feel a lot larger and it gets rid of the anxiety of being trapped between four walls. The ventilation in the room causes you to sleep more soundly. This is because carbon dioxide levels are reduced.

34. Aromatherapy

As much as I love my lavender pillow, I sometimes toss it aside because the smell can get a little intense at certain times. That is why I like using essential oils in a diffuser more often. Aromatherapy helps relieve stress and promotes relaxation. Don’t overdo it, though. When you leave your diffuser on 24/7, it can cause headaches. Yes, it’s all-natural, but too much of a good thing can be bad. Leaving the diffuser to work through the night is fine, but turn it off as soon as you are awake and leave it off during the day. Lavender, of course, is a popular first choice, but other popular choices include lemon, yuzu, ylang ylang, jasmine, and bergamot. You can experiment to find the scent that works best for you.

35. Take a look at your medication

A lot of medications can cause sleeplessness. If you absolutely do not know what is causing your insomnia, the answer might be right under your nose. All you have to do is take a look at the side effects of the medication that you are taking. It might be a good idea to reconsider the medication and replace them with others that won’t cause insomnia. Talk to a doctor about recommendations if you find that medication is the culprit.

36. 4-7-8 exercise

This is a breathing exercise that will help you reduce stress and relax you from the inside out. To use this technique, do the following: breathe out completely until your lungs are empty, then take a deep breath through your nose for four seconds. Hold that breath for seven seconds before forcing the breath out of your mouth for eight seconds. The technique calls for four such breaths. I’ve noticed that it calms a racing heartbeat incredibly efficiently.

37. Only go to bed when you are tired

For babies, it is easy to fall asleep. Babies don’t fight sleep the way we do as adults. As adults, we feel like we need to fight to stay awake because there is still so much to do. The key is to give into it and let your body get sleepy when it’s time for bed. But don’t force yourself to go to bed if you are not sleepy, though. When you are tired you are more prone to falling asleep easily. The tricky part is knowing when you are really tired and when you are forcing yourself to be tired. There’s a thin line between the two. Don’t force yourself to be tired and go to bed. Rather, do something so you don’t have to worry about doing it in the morning until you really feel like you are tired and are ready for your nighttime routine.

38. Epsom salt bath

If you are not much of a shower person or you’ve found that showers don’t really relax you as much as you want to, try a warm bath with Epsom salts.

39. Banana tea

Bananas are a natural muscle relaxant as they carry potassium and magnesium. Bananas are also great because they contain carbohydrates which will help you become sleepy. It’s the perfect thing to pair with a high-fat die – one to make you sleepy and one to keep you asleep. But how does one make a tea from bananas? It’s a really simple task. Bring water to a boil and cut off both ends of the banana with the peel still intact. you want to boil the banana in the water for at least ten minutes before using a colander to separate the tea from the banana. This tea is delicious on its own, but if you want you can add a little bit of honey and/or cinnamon. For best results, I recommend drinking it 30 minutes to an hour before bed.

40. White noise

Personally, I hate white noise. Mostly because I can’t stand consistent sounds that stay the same the entire time. This even includes fans. I’d rather be hot than have a fan around me. But there are people who believe that white noise machines are the next best thing after sex and Game of Thrones. it’s definitely worth investing in if you are having trouble sleeping in a silent environment.

41. Stretch

Stretching helps relieve muscle tension and this can reduce the stress in your body. Stretching is great for preventing cramps that might occur in your sleep that could possibly wake you up. Remember that this isn’t a workout, this is only light stretching. Doing a full workout before bed can have the opposite effect on your body and the whole point of stretching is that you want to relax your body as much as possible.

42. Get some sunlight

Sunlight is very important for the human body to function correctly. Sunlight helps regulate our sleep patterns. If we never see sunlight, how will our bodies know it’s nighttime and time to go to bed? It helps alert the body in the morning that it is time to wake up and begin the day, and when it is gone, it lets our bodies know that it is time to go to sleep. Don’t you think that in today’s day and age our biggest problem is that we don’t get enough sunlight anymore? Maybe that’s part of the reason why so many people have trouble sleeping. We spend most of our time indoors and that can have a big effect on our general wellbeing. Exposing yourself to the sun a little more than you already do might just do the trick to get you to fall asleep faster.

43. Vent on paper

Sometimes, no matter what we do, we still have racing thoughts that just won’t leave us alone. Sometimes it’s stressful thoughts about what could happen and other times we create a bunch of hypotheticals about things that would never become reality. I’ve always had an overactive imagination and whenever my mountains become too small to contain it, I start writing instead. Writing provides a bit of a release and allows the thoughts in my head to die down a little. When you are still stressing about something, write it down in detail. No one will read what you are writing so it doesn’t even have to be intelligible. You are basically tricking your brain into thinking you’ve handled it and that things are going to be okay.

44. Form a bedtime ritual

I’ve told you about cues for your brain to know that it is time for bed. A bedtime ritual is something of the sort. Once you start, your mind will start preparing itself to shut down as well. My ritual is this: I wash my face and take a warm shower before getting into my pajamas. After that, I like to take my journal and write down the events of the day on one side of the paper and then do my to-do list on the opposite side while my lavender diffuser is working. Then, I put on whatever I feel like listening to and imagine myself in the mountains. I usually fall asleep in no time.

It takes a human being 72 hours without sleep to be rendered clinically insane. Remember that sleeping is what keeps the body going. You cannot function without sleep. Make sure you see a trained professional if your troubles with sleep continue.

These tips worked for me and hopefully, they will work for you too! What do you think? Am I on to something?