Fall Asleep in One Minute, Guaranteed

If you're someone who can fall asleep within five minutes every night, congratulations, you don't need this tip, and everyone hates you.   For most of the rest of us, check out something called the "4-7-8" exercise.  Supposedly it can help you fall asleep in under a minute.

Best-selling author Dr. Andrew Weil, who received his M.D. from Harvard University is a huge advocate of the benefits of holistic breathing practices in combating stress and anxiety. On his website, Dr. Weil writes:  “Since breathing is something we can control and regulate, it is a useful tool for achieving a relaxed and clear state of mind.”

According to Dr. Andrew Weil, here are the five steps you have to do to fall asleep in 1 minute.

1.  Press the tip of your tongue behind your top front teeth, and keep it there the entire time……. a yoga breathing trick.

2.  Exhale through your mouth, and make a whooshing sound while you do it.

3.  Close your mouth and breathe in slowly through your nose for four seconds.

4.  Hold your breath for seven seconds.

5.  Slowly exhale through your mouth for eight seconds, and make the whooshing sound again.

Then repeat the whole thing three more times.  So basically, you breathe in through your nose for four seconds . . . hold your breath for seven . . . and breathe out through your mouth for eight seconds.  That's why it's called the "4-7-8" exercise.

Breathing in for four seconds helps you take in more oxygen . . . holding your breath gives it a little more time to absorb into your bloodstream . . . and breathing out slowly for eight seconds slows your heart rate down.

Here's a video on the "4-7-8" exercise.