Our Guide To Fall Asleep Fast

All you want to do at night is easily fall asleep so that you can be rested for the day to come. As many people have found out though, falling asleep can be hard to do. If you’re tired of being sleep-deprived during the day then you will want to check out these proven sleep tips and tricks to fall asleep fast.

Below are 20 different ways to improve your daily and nightly routine for better sleep. These methods are great to make sure your sleep schedule and sleep cycle stay consistent. We also have a few sleep techniques for immediate results as well. These sleep methods focus on falling asleep in 10, 60 and 120 seconds. Keep reading to find your perfect solution to fall asleep fast every night.

20 Ways to Fall Asleep Fast: 

Below are 20 different things you can add to your sleep routine to ensure you fall asleep faster. All of which are safe, healthy and great for not only sleeping, but a rested and well fueled day as well. You can try a one or two or even several to find your best sleeping routine. Most of which won’t cost you anything, other than time you may have wasted trying to fall asleep anyway.

1. Use Music

If you listening to melodic music it can help you fall asleep faster. Calm music can help your body feel relaxed. When your mind isn’t as active you fall asleep better because your body registers that it’s time to sleep. Avoid music that hypes you or makes you want to feel like dancing.

You may also want to avoid songs that have a lot of vocal or heavy instruments. There are tons of cd’s composed specifically for helping you fall asleep at night. Many of the popular music streaming sites will even have playlist tailored with songs that help you fall asleep.

Keep noise out and stay comfortable with the BEST noise cancelling headphones by Bose at Amazon.com. 

2. Take A Hot Bath

One of my favorite bedtimes rituals is to take a hot bath before bed. A hot bath can help soothe your aching muscles and give you some time to relax by yourself. This is also one of the few times that most people aren’t able to use their phone allowing them to only concentrate on themselves.

Many sleepers also admit that it is easier to sleep when they feel clean and refreshed. This can also work with people who take a shower, just give yourself time to zone out instead of focusing on getting in and then right back out.

3. Balance Your Schedule

Your body has a biological clock that tells it when it’s time to be asleep or awake. If your sleep schedule is all over the place then it’s more than likely going to be difficult to fall asleep when you need to. While it may seem like a drag to go to bed early, getting a full 8 hours sleep is essential.

Setting a set-time to start settling down every single night will help your body know when it’s time to start taking it easy. Try setting an alarm on your phone so that you won’t end up staying up too late.

4. Keep It Cool

Have you ever noticed that it’s much harder to sleep in the summer than in the winter? If you have ever thought that it was too hot to sleep then your on to something. People sleep better when it’s cold rather than when it’s hot. If you want to go to bed easily then set your thermostat below 70 degrees.

Your home should be cool enough that you are able to comfortably sleep under your blanket without sweating. If you share a home with others then get a fan for your room and keep the door closed to better control the temperature.

5. Calming Scents

A huge new trend with many cosmetic companies is calming creams that have herbs mixed in to help you relax. Out of these creams, there are bedtime lotions that you can apply to help you fall asleep faster. These lotions are made with lavender and chamomile to help you breathe easy. If you lay down and inhale this calming scent then it can help you drift on to dreamland.

We recommend these types of lotions from brands like Lush who use real herbs. The higher the concentration of herbal essence in the lotion, the more potent the calming effect will be.

Smell great and fall asleep fast with Sleepy Body Lotion by Lush now at Amazon.com.

6. Read A Book

One of the worst things you can do before going to bed is watching an action-packed TV show or movie. These will rile up your brain keeping you awake for longer. This is why many people can’t just fall asleep when they go to lay down after finishing up a show.

Instead of using the TV for entertainment pick up a book. Reading doesn’t have the same effects on your body that other types of media do. Many people who choose to read before bed fall asleep faster than someone who just turned off the TV or Computer.

7. Set Your Phone To Night Mode

If you’re going to be using your phone up until you go to bed, you’re going to have some problems sleeping. The blue light that comes from most LED screens actually stops your body from trying to produce melatonin. This is because your body translates the light coming off of your phone to it still being daylight outside.

To prevent this set your phone to go into night mode 2 hours before your bedtime every night. This way your phone will use warm lights to illuminate your screen.

8. Make Your Bed

As crazy as it may sound your surrounding can have a huge effect on how well you can rest. A messy bed can cause additional stress or frustration when trying to cover up or get comfortable at night. It can be even worse if you feel like your bed sheets may be due for a wash.

If possible make your bed every single morning so that you can rest in a neat environment. Also, try to wash your bedding at least once a week if possible to keep your blankets and sheets feeling fresh.

9. Drink Only Water

You’ve probably hear a million times that drinking a cup of coffee can help you wake up in the mornings. Well, anything with caffeine can actually help you wake up. This is because caffeine is a stimulate that makes your brain run faster. If you drink caffeine before bed then you will have to wait for it affects to wear off before you can rest.

Caffeine blocks the creation of melatonin in your body essentially telling your nervous system to keep on going instead of slowing down for the night. By drinking water, you can hydrate yourself without adding anything extra to your body.

10. No Eating Before Bed

As tempting as having a midnight snack maybe, if you want to go to sleep in the next few hours then don’t do it. Many snacks out there contain sugar which is a stimulant much like caffeine this can make your brain more energized blocking or neutralizing the melatonin your body is supposed to create every night.

Eating a huge meal is also a bad idea as it will give you more energy signaling to your body that it needs to stay awake. If you don’t feel like your full before bed drink a glass of plain water to help fill your stomach.

11. Start To Meditate

Another great way to clear your mind at night is by learning to meditate. By learning to meditate you can start a routine where you clear your mind every night before bed. This can help you take a step back and eliminate the worries of the day that would normally keep you up at night.

To get started meditating try downloading an app that gently walks you through the process until you can naturally go into a meditative mindset on your own. This is a great time to put on some calming music to help you completely zone out.

12. Listen To The Sounds Of Nature

Another great way to fall asleep using noise is by listening to a sound machine with natural sounds. Natural sounds can help put your body in a state of relaxation before bed. Many people will even play cricket sounds to simulate a summer night in order to sleep. Likewise, many people will have a mini-waterfall in their room to listen to the sound of running water as they fall asleep.

Just like calming music, there are tons of CDs and playlists out there to that contain natural songs to help you rest at night. Many of these tracks are even timed so that they will go off after you have fallen asleep.

Find the perfect nature sounds with the this affordable sound machine at Amazon.com.

13. Use Melatonin Supplements

If you just can’t seem to get to sleep most nights then a sleep supplement may be perfect for you. Melatonin is the natural hormone that your body produces to help you fall asleep at night. By taking a supplement contacting melatonin you can induce the sleep process at just about any time.

This can be a great help for someone who has just started a new job or has developed insomnia. Many doctors even recommend melatonin to patients with moderate sleep issues. Melatonin can be found in many drugs store with the vitamins or in tons of over the counter sleeping medication.

If you think Melatonin might be the way to go check out our Guide to Using Melatonin.

14. If You’re Sick, Take Medicine

When you have a cold then you probably have trouble falling asleep at night. Whether this be because you can’t stop coughing or drainage makes you feel like you can’t breathe sleeping while sick is horrible. If your sick never skip taking medicine before bed.

Medicine can clear your airways making it so you can sleep peacefully at night without going into a coughing fit while resting. If possible try to get night time medications that also contain melatonin to help you fall asleep faster.

15. Use Essential Oils

Aromatherapy has been all the rage in recent years. People love collecting and selling oils that promise to have health benefits. Honestly, though, these oils do have effects on your body especially if you use a calming oil. Many oils targeted at helping you sleep use lavender or chamomile essence which has been proven to cause a calming reaction in your body.

You can purchase aromatherapy oils in several different forms including bath oil that makes your nightly soak even more relaxing. If you don’t like bath then you can purchase an oil diffuser to release the scent throughout your room.

Find your perfect blend of essential oils in our guide for the Best Essential Oils for Sleep.

16. Make Bath Time “Me Time”

Bath culture is huge in the sleep community and for some just taking a nice warm bath isn’t quite enough to do the trick. In this case, you can add bubbles to your bath or try reading a book as you relax. If you feel relaxed when taking a bath, but still have trouble resting add in reading a book or use a bath bomb.

By giving yourself a little extra pampering you can remove the worries of the day with ease. Make sure that you have time to sort out your thoughts every night. Going to bed with a running mind will keep you up worse than caffeine at times.

17. Deep Breathing Exercise

Let’s talk about one of the simplest methods people use to fall asleep. This one doesn’t require you to buy anything or change the settings on your phone, it’s just simple. When you go to bed at night do deep breathing exercises while laying down. This will help release the tension that is trapped in your body and get your thoughts under control.

Breathing can also help calm your body down so that you can get settled easier. If you have trouble concentrating on this exercise then start counting your breaths. If you don’t want to count bigger numbers then count to ten and then start over.

18. Get A Body Pillow

Nothing is more important when falling asleep then your overall comfort. If you find yourself having problems finding the perfect spot to sleep then you may want to consider getting a body pillow. By getting a pillow to lay your legs on top of or help you sleep on your stomach you are making your bed a more comfortable place.

There are tons of different pillows out there to choose from of various lengths and widths. Some body pillows are even made out of memory foam. While buying a good quality body pillow is a little expensive it can last you for years and make sleeping a breeze.

Learn more and shop for one of our favorite memory foam body pillows by Tempur-Pedic at Amazon.com.

19. Burn Excess Energy

This is one of the easiest tips for making sure you can fall asleep at night. If you sit around doing nothing all day then your body won’t use up the energy that it has created. Make sure to stay active during the day or have a workout time to wear yourself down for the night.

If you sit at a desk all day or it’s harder for you to exercise then look up some workouts you can do while sitting down. This can make a huge difference when you get ready for bed at the end of the day.

20. Stay Out Of The Bed

This tip deals with a little bit of psychology.  In order to fall asleep better, you should stay off of your bed when you’re not resting. If you only use your bed for sleeping then laying down in it will signal to your body when it’s time to begin resting.

Likewise, you shouldn’t sit in the dark when it’s not time for bed because this tripper your brain to begin making melatonin. Sitting in the dark all day will strain this natural connection making it harder to sleep when you actually need to turn the lights off.

Fall Asleep in 10, 60 or 120 Seconds:

The above 20 sleeping techniques are great to implement in your daily routine. But maybe you are looking for an immediate solution that will help you fall asleep fast… like really fast. If you want to try to get to sleep in less than 2 minutes check out some of the best sleep methods to fall asleep in 10, 60 or 120 seconds. These sleep techniques are tried and true and may be the answer to help you get the rest you need.

How to Fall Asleep in 10 Seconds:

Falling asleep within just 10 seconds of falling asleep may seem completely impossible, but if your willing to work towards this goal you can obtain it. The method in which you will learn to do this with was created by the Navy to help soldiers get to sleep quick no matter what they were going through.

This method puts a high priority on relaxing your body to fall asleep quickly. By using this method every single night you will eventually be able to fall asleep in just 10 seconds.

To begin this method you will need to relax your whole body. Make sure to let down your shoulders and rest your face to begin. Try to clear your mind so that you’re not thinking of anything for 10 seconds.

If this doesn’t work pick a phrase and keep thinking it over and over until you eventually drift off to sleep. If this method doesn’t work for you trying adding in breathing to the mix to help relax. Remember that this method takes practice and the first time you use it you may not get the extremely quick results you want.

How to Fall Asleep in 60 Seconds:

Falling asleep in 60 seconds is a reasonable goal for most people. The methods used to do this involve a combination of some of the tips listed above with some muscle relaxing exercises mixed in. The first method you can use to drift off to sleep in just a minute is progressive muscle relaxation.

This method involves tightening and then releasing your muscles in order to get out any pint up tension in your body. Start this process with your face muscles and then move down your body. Be sure to focus in on the feeling of tensing and releasing your muscles to successfully fall asleep.

The next method involves a specific breathing pattern. Like mentioned taking deep breaths helps release tension from your body. However, how you breathe can also help relax your mind. By focusing on a breathing pattern you not only allow your mind to concentrate on nothing but your breath. But also the influx of oxygen will help too.

The count for this breathing pattern is a 4-7-8. Starting by inhaling for 4 seconds, holding the breath for 7 seconds. And finally releasing the breath for a period of 8 seconds. The first few times you try it may take longer than 60 seconds to fall asleep. However, I can say from personal experience it won’t take more than a few minutes to drift off. I find this technique particularly helpful if I wake up in the middle of the night and want to get back to sleep.

How to Fall Asleep in 120 Seconds:

Just 2 minutes may not seem like that long of a period of time, but it’s just enough to easily fall asleep in. Like the time periods listed above, there are a few different methods to get yourself to dreamland in around 120 seconds. This first of these methods is by imagining a calming place.

Envision an environment where you would be the most comfortable and keep adding to it. You should let your mind explore this environment and naturally come up with ideas on its own as you envision your happy place for longer and longer. Eventually, you should drift off to sleep naturally.

Another strange sounding method for falling asleep in under two minutes is by telling yourself not to fall asleep. This keeps you from focusing in on going to sleep which can cause anxiety. For this method, you should keep your eyes closed or at least avoid checking the time which can cause even more anxiety. Just simply focus in on the words I’m not tired until you naturally drift off to dreamland.

Getting to Sleep Faster:

Now that we have listed out the methods above to fall asleep there are some things you may want to think about. For starters, is there anything that you can pinpoint being the cause for you not falling asleep immediately? If the answer is yes, than you will want to choose the method that best addresses the root cause of your sleeping issues. One of the big reasons is overthinking which may mean that breathing exercises may be the perfect fit for your life. If you’re OCD then fixing up your bed before getting in it will probably make your life much easier.

Also, if you have medical issues going to sleep then melatonin is a great place to start. A melatonin supplement can help balance out your body helping you fall asleep naturally. Severe sleeping issues, like waking nightmares or a bad sleep-wake cycle may not find solutions with melatonin. It is always best to consult your doctor. If you just have moderate sleep issues though then one of these methods above should help get you back to sawing logs perfectly fine.

Our Sleep Guide is always here to help you with all your sleep needs. If you have questions or want to share how you fall asleep fast, Contact Us. We’d be delighted to hear from you!