Could A Simple Breathing Technique Help You Get To Sleep In Seconds?

Breathing is an automatic process, thankfully - it's doubtful we'd get much done if it wasn't.

But experts claim that actively engaging with the process and adapting it could help us get to sleep in next to no time. Useful for those nights when you just can't drift off, eh?

Dr Andrew Weil, from the University of Arizona, teaches the '4-7-8' technique and describes it as 'a natural tranquilliser for the nervous system' - which actually sounds quite terrifying.

Stuart ­Sandeman, transformational breathing coach and founder of Breathpod, is another advocate of the technique.

According to the Mirror, he said: "Many people breathe in shallow and constricted patterns, limiting the amount of oxygen that's delivered to the cells of the body.

"This can lead to lack of energy, feeling emotionally drained and can trigger stress, anxiety and, some people believe, even depression."

So what exactly does it entail?

First of all, you need to exhale forcefully through your mouth, keeping the tip of your tongue on the fleshy ridge behind your upper teeth. Actually, scratch that, get in bed first, then do the above.

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Next, you need to close your mouth and inhale through your nose for four seconds (that's the four of 4-7-8, in case you hadn't figured). Then you have to hold it for seven seconds, before exhaling through your mouth for you know how long.

After four cycles of this you should be nice and naturally tranquillised. So might be worth a bash if you struggle drifting off. It's probably not advisable though if you're blocked up with a January cold (I just tried it in the office and felt more like I was going to pass out than fall asleep, but come to think of it, I don't actually know the difference).

If that doesn't work for you, then try out this alternative breathing technique used by the US army, which was revealed in a book titled Relax and Win: Championship Performance.

Step One: Relax your facial muscles. That includes your jaw, tongue, and the muscles around your eyes.

Step Two: Quit hunching those shoulders. Drop them as low as possible before relaxing your upper and lower arm on one side, then the other.

Step Three: Breathe out and relax your chest. Then, relax your legs, starting with the thighs and then your lower legs.

Step Four: After ten seconds of deep relaxation, completely clear your mind.

For this final step, the book's author Lloyd Bud Winter suggests focusing on one of these three things to help you hit slumber town.

- Lying in a canoe on a calm lake with nothing but blue sky above you

- Being snuggled up in a black velvet hammock in a pitch-black room

- Saying 'don't think, don't think, don't think' over and over for ten seconds

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I'm sure we can all think of people who should have option three down pat by now.

So put your phone down, get altering your breathing and thinking about not thinking, and you should be gone in no time.

Topics: Science, News, Interesting

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey