8 Natural Ways to Fall Asleep Faster Tonight
Falling asleep naturally is possible. These tips may help you improve your sleep hygiene and fall asleep faster tonight.
7 min readOngoing stress and a disorganized environment may lead you to have a hard time falling asleep quickly.
You may find it challenging to shut off the mental noise of a busy day or the emotional distress of a troubled relationship. Environmental signals, like a room that’s too hot or cold, can also make it tough for you to fall asleep as soon as you hit the bed.
Optimal sleep hygiene and these additional tips may help you get some quality snooze time faster.
Consider spending time in the bath
You may associate a warm bath with relaxation. And, when it comes to sleep, baths may have other potential benefits. A soak in the tub before you hit the pillow can help you fall asleep faster than if you go straight to bed.
During sleep, the body’s core temperature goes down. Lower body temperature is a sleep signal for your brain. A warm bath may speed up this cooling process and may help your brain switch to rest mode, helping you fall asleep quickly.
A 2019 systematic review and meta-analysis Opens in a new window of studies found a warm bath 1 to 2 hours before bed can reduce sleep onset latency (SOL) — the time it takes for you to fall asleep — by 10 minutes or more.
Look into a white noise machine
A white noise or broadband machine emits a sound across all audible frequencies at the same time. Some people think it sounds like static.
White noise may help you sleep better and faster by masking other noises or helping brainwaves switch to rest mode. The exact impact on the sleep cycle isn’t clear, though.
Evidence suggests a white noise machine helps with sleep quality. A small 2021 study Opens in a new window involving 10 participants showed the device helped them fall asleep in a noisy environment. An earlier study from 2017 Opens in a new window involving 18 participants showed broadband sound reduced sleep onset latency by 38%.
Think about changing your exercise routine
Research has widely explored how exercise affects sleep — and it turns out physical activity can get you to sleep faster.
A 2019 systematic review Opens in a new window of 11 studies found that the most consistent benefit of exercise was the reduction in the time someone falls asleep.
A 2021 study Opens in a new window of a moderate exercise training program on inactive adults found several positive effects of exercise on sleep quality. Researchers noted no difference between people who exercised in the morning and those who did in the evening.
In sum, introducing physical activity into your day may help you fall asleep faster at night.
Try to limit screen time
Those electronics you may have to come to rely upon — smartphones, laptops, tablets, televisions, gaming screens — emit blue light. Blue light interferes Opens in a new window with circadian rhythms, possibly making it harder for you to fall asleep quickly.
Research on the connection between blue light and sleep is mixed. However, a 2022 systematic review Opens in a new window found that blue light may negatively impact sleep quality and duration. Of eight studies in the review, three found blue light increased the time it takes for someone to fall asleep.
Consider switching off your screens an hour or two before bedtime. If that’s too challenging, try using your device’s brightness settings to adjust the amount of blue light it emits. Another option is to find quality blue light blocking glasses.
See if you can make journaling a habit
Spending some time putting pen to paper may help you to fall asleep faster. There’s even evidence that a specific kind of writing habit — making a to-do list — may be particularly effective.
In a 2018 study Opens in a new window, those who wrote a to-do list fell asleep faster than those who wrote about activities they’d already completed. The more specific the to-do list, the quicker participants fell asleep.
So, consider taking 5 minutes before bed to write about what you need to get done — and then leave the list to review in the morning. Another option may be to use journal prompts to explore personal and professional goals or projects.
Try meditation if stress is a challenge
Stress can make it harder to fall asleep quickly and tougher to stay asleep. Some people Opens in a new window may be especially vulnerable to sleep disruption due to stress, leading to significant problems in getting quality rest.
Meditation in various forms may help combat stress and make it easier for you to fall asleep naturally. A 2018 study Opens in a new window found a mindfulness body scan helped decrease sleep onset latency in adolescents.
Other forms of meditation might help as well. A 2021 study Opens in a new window found participants in a 4-day meditation retreat had better quality sleep immediately following the experience and at a 40-day follow-up.
Progressive muscle relaxation and meditative movement like yoga or tai chi may also reduce your average time to fall asleep.
If you want to start with the body scan method, consider these steps:
- Lay down in a comfortable position.
- Close your eyes.
- Focus on one part of your body at a time, starting with your toes.
- As you focus on each part, notice how it feels and if you need to release tension.
- Gradually work your way up to your head.
Try a worry schedule
If worries are keeping you up at night, scheduled worry time may be a technique that helps.
Scheduled worry is used in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). The idea is to set aside time to worry during the day and then allow your mind to release those thoughts.
To start with scheduled worry time, consider following Opens in a new window these steps:
- Set aside 15-30 minutes once a day to worry. Aim for a morning or early afternoon time slot so it doesn’t interfere with sleep.
- Write down your worries. Don’t try to solve any of the problems, just let the worries come out.
- If you start to worry outside of the scheduled worry time, remind yourself you will have time again to worry and don’t need to do so right away.
- At the end of one week, reflect on the worries you wrote down. Reflect on any patterns you notice.
Consider deep breathing as you try to fall asleep
Breathing is something you do every day — but done in specific ways, it can also be an invaluable tool to fall asleep fast.
Deep breathing may help you bring on relaxation, clear your mind, and get set for a night of rest.
You can incorporate deep breathing into your sleep routine in different ways. You might want to start with a simple method that focuses on slow, even breaths:
- Lie down on your back.
- Place one hand on your stomach.
- Breathe in slowly.
- Hold your breath for a second when you feel your stomach rise.
- Exhale slowly.
- Repeat.
When to seek help
If you often have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, you may want to speak with a medical professional specializing in wake-sleep cycles.
Before your appointment, consider keeping a sleep diary that lists the time it takes you to fall asleep. Note any questions you have for your health professional, including whether you might want to consider natural sleep remedies, therapy, or if medication is necessary.
Let’s recap
Falling asleep faster often means longer and better rest. Consider combatting stress at bedtime through deep breathing, meditation, and scheduled worry time. White noise, a warm bath, writing, regular exercise, and limiting electronics may all help you get good sleep at night.
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