How to Fall Asleep In Under 5 Minutes or Less

“My eyelids are heavy but my thoughts are heavier”.

Living in a city like Mumbai, I am sure many of you may agree with this quote. In today’s post, I will be sharing some tips on how you can relax your mind and tune yourself to your body needs. In short, I will be telling you how to fall asleep in under 5 minutes or less.

It’s not unusual to have more than one sleepless night in a row where trivial thoughts are inevitable. If you are at the start of your career, you might have second thoughts about almost everything that you do. These second thoughts end up being our inner conscience telling us our version of right from wrong. Even if you are much ahead and settled in your career, you may witness other thoughtforms. For example, as you get older, you begin to think not only about yourselves but also of everyone else who matters to you. You think of their well being, happiness, sadness and so on…

Its only natural for us Humans to be blessed to process more thoughts every time, unlike most living beings. These thoughts that I speak of are one of the main reasons why most us are what we are. We cannot be something that we haven’t thought of. We cannot do something that we haven’t thought of. Neither can we exist without our thoughts. Our human minds have evolved to process information non-stop from the time we hear, sense, smell, feel, adapt, etc to anything and everything. With all these processes and our hectic city life, our brain fails to function naturally. Our brains get habituated to being ok with not doing the right thing at the right time.

Most of us struggle with simple routines which can be falling asleep faster and staying asleep. All this happens because the Human mind is always thirsty for more. Thirsty to achieve more, thirsty to find more, thirsty to just be “More” in all aspects of our lives.  Turns out no human can ever be fully satisfied.  This thirst puts us in a battle with our own selves to get a peaceful nights rest. Let’s not be ashamed to acknowledge that we all go through this at some point. Rather than deeming ourselves as intelligent/overhappy/unhappy/sick/depressed, let’s just tune ourselves with our mind.

Since I go through this sleepless phase on a regular basis, I realized that listening to my body was what I needed to do. In order to stay productive through the day, We need to have a good nights sleep. Below I have put together the tips that help me during this sleepless phase. You may have heard about most of them all the time. But have you ever tried them? If no, then what are you waiting for?

 1.   Meditate Daily in the evenings

I know this may sound boring. Taking out 5 minutes of your day to meditate can not only calm your mind but also make you productive. It’s not necessary to be in a quiet place to meditate. All you have to do is close your eyes and start feeling aware of the surrounding. You can do this while you travel on a bus or at your work desk in an office. Try to stay alert and hear the sounds around you. Try not to open your eyes and stay focused. This helps to connect with your higher self. It gets you in sync with how your brain reacts to your surrounding. This will help you to slow down any stressful thoughts and help you fall asleep better at night. You can alternatively watch videos on Youtube.

2. Say NO to caffeine/alcohol post 5 pm

Sitting at your office desk, you might be tempted to sip off caffeine to get productive. But do you realize how much harm this habit can do? Caffeine is meant to boost energy. We don’t need that kind of energy post 5 pm. If you work in normal shifts, you would be aware of how your body tries to slow down to retire for sleep by 5 pm. If you are trying to boost your body, you are basically trying to mess up your bodily processes to do something unatural. Just say No to caffeine.

3. Cook your own dinner

It’s best to cook your own small meal at night .This way you are putting your body to work to help you drain off some energy. This will help you fall asleep faster in no time.

4. Reduce calorie intake at nights

Eating foods rich in calories can stop you from falling asleep. This is due to the fuctions of digesting these foods.Avoid sugary foods at all costs. Try going natural with your foods and have salads instead.

5. Take a warm shower before bed

Warm showers help to reduce fatigue and calm the mind. It helps to relax your sore muscles. If you are someone who only takes cold showers, then I would suggest you skip this step. Cold showers can hinder your need to sleep and awaken your senses. This is exactly the opposite of what you will be looking for.

6. Drink Warm liquids before bed

Drinking warm milk before bed with a little turmeric helps a zillion times. But if you are not a big fan of milk or are calorie conscious, you could try some warm water instead.

7. Switch on dim lights at night 

At nights it is best to get yourself some good dim lights. This sets your brain in the right mood and helps you fall asleep faster. Ditch the tube lights post 8 pm.

8. Stay away from all electronic devices one hour prior to bed

The light rays of electronic devices can affect your sleeping pattern. Just say goodbye and get it over with as soon as you can. You will see the difference in no time.

9.  Do a 2-minute DIY massage

I am not telling you to do an intensive face or body massages or call on people to do it for you. All I need you to do is to find pleasure points on your body/face/head and gently massage it. This is solely your responsibility to find out what your body finds relaxing.

10. Count your numbers

While at your bed, if you are still twisting and turning on it, start counting your numbers. Make sure you concentrate only on numbers. If you begin to get thoughts about anything else ,start recounting your numbers from the beginning. This way will eventually get bored and fall asleep.

11. Don’t change your sleep timing very often

Once your mind gets habituated to a particular sleeping time, make sure you follow it. This helps you regulate your bodily processes. I know the hectic lifestyle will keep you from doing so, but setting aside some rules for yourself won’t hurt.

12. Read a book 

Even if you are not a fan of reading, get yourself to read something. By this, I don’t mean you switch up your laptops/PCs and start reading stuff online. I genuinely mean you invest in some books. Even a newspaper will do in this case. Eventually, your body will signal you to go to sleep.

13. Try Sleep inducing sprays. 

Sleep-inducing sprays are so common and cheap. Purchasing one can last you a long time. Spray it all over your bed focusing on the area where you will lay your head.  You can also make one yourself by following some DIY Youtube videos online.

14. Try Aromatherapy

Invest in some good aromatherapy kits that can help relax your mind.  You can use aroma oils, incense sticks etc according to your needs. If you are on a budget then invest in some essential oils. I personally love using Lavender oil. I put some oil drops in a small glass bowl filled with water and keep it at my bedside table. This helps me relax throughout my sleep.

That’s all for the tips that I personally use to fall asleep faster. If you want to share any of your ideas, then do comment down below. Have a wonderful day ahead 🙂