How to fall into a deep sleep in a matter of seconds according to neuroscience

If you've ever laid in bed, counting down the hours until your alarm is set to go off for work in the morning, you're certainly not alone.

While everyone experiences trouble sleeping every now and then, around one third of adults are believed to have sleep problems at least once a week, which can have a huge knock-on effect on daily life.

If you've ever struggled with insomnia, you probably feel like you've tried all the tricks, from limiting screen time to supplements, but apparently there's one hack which works every time.

Scientist Kyle Cox, who shares content to social media with he aim of 'rewiring trauma through neuroscience,' shared the method, which he says sleep clinics are now using in place of sleeping pills.

Taking to Instagram, the health expert claims you can trigger deep sleep, simply by putting something cold on your forehead.

Obviously, it sounds too good to be true, but when you listen to the science, it actually makes a lot of sense.

"Researchers discovered your forehead temperature controls whether your brain stays alert or shuts down," Kyle, explained, posting from his handle @kyleinspires1. "When your frontal lobe cools by even 1 degree, it automatically triggers sleep chemistry."

He went on to explain how this method has been tested on people with insomnia, which saw them given cooling caps that only touched their foreheads, prompting most of them to fall asleep significantly quicker than when taking sleeping pills.

The study was presented at the American Academy of Sleep Medicine’s sleep conference back in 2011 and saw a 75 percent success rate.

"The cold slows down all that mental chatter, because your prefrontal cortex literally can't run hot when it's being cooled," Kyle explained

"A cold wash cloth works or even a bag of frozen peas wrapped in a thin towel, put it on your forehead when you get into bed, leave it until it warms up and your racing thoughts slow down immediately, the temperature change tells your brain it's nighttime, even if your mind is spinning."

Meanwhile, people in the comments had their own suggestions, with one pointing out you could use a cooling eye mask just a few inches further up on your face.

Another noted just how pleasing the science would be for Nordic mothers, who famously wrap their little ones up in their prams and leave them to nap outdoors in the freezing cold as a normal part of their culture.

It's definitely worth giving this one a go next time you're struggling to catch some Zs.