Although sleep is critical to maintaining the quality of our lives, approximately one-third of adults fail to strive for good quality sleep on a regular basis. Trying to fall asleep can be a nice challenge when we are overwhelmed with thoughts of work, bills and responsibilities. Impacts on the body are usually unfortunate. In addition to stress, there is often anxiety, muscle fatigue or decreased cognitive functions of the brain.

However, there is an effective breathing effect for falling asleep faster. It is called Method 4-7-8. It trains the brain to be able to relax and thus fall asleep faster.

How to do it The
technique was developed by a Harvard expert Dr. Andrew Weil, who studied the effects of breathing and meditation on stress relief and is based on yoga.

Follow these steps:

1. Sit on a chair, straighten your back. Close your mouth and lean the tip of your tongue lightly against the upper floor, behind the upper row of teeth.
2. Inhale through your nose first, counting to 4. Try to breathe deeply.
3. Then hold your breath, counting to 7. During this time, you allow oxygen to be best absorbed in the lungs and distributed through the blood throughout the body.
4. Then slowly exhale through your mouth during counting to 8.

This completes your breathing exercises. Relax and repeat it three more times. You should do this twice a day, so a total of 8 times a day. If you feel uncomfortable, stop exercising and breathe more mildly next time. It's not a race.

You can also do this exercise in bed before bed, which will help you calm down and fall asleep faster.

Here is the exercise shown in the video, where it is demonstrated and explained by Dr. Weil:

This breathing exercise works on a simple principle. It completely relaxes your body, slows your heart rhythm and increases the level of oxygen in your blood system, while your mind is focused on something simple and soothing.

Dr. Weil does this in the morning when he wakes up and in the evening before going to bed. You can do this more often, but never more than 4 repetitions in a row. After about 4-6 weeks, when you get used to the exercise, use it to calm down even in normal daily operation, if something throws you or annoys you. After this time, many things in your body will change, you will function better mentally and medically.

Dr. Weil lists the health benefits: You can drive away the urge to smoke or eat sweets. Before you grab your drug, try to breathe like this first and the urge will pass. Your digestion will improve, your high blood pressure will decrease, your heart rate will slow down. For some people, this will solve the problem of chronically cold hands, which will begin to bleed properly. This is all due to you dampening your "fight or flight" response to stress and exhaling in peace instead.

Try it and you will be pleasantly surprised.

Translation by Google

prepared by Alushka.org in 2020
https://www.theladders.com/career-advice/this-4-7-8-breathing-hack-could-help-you-fall-asleep-in-60-seconds-or-less

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