A Counterintuitive Trick to Help You Fall Asleep Fast

"We've all been there: unable to sleep because we are tossing and turning in bed. We can't get to sleep because we are constantly checking the time and get more and more worried. However, it seems clinicians are finding a effective approach to falling asleep faster.

We are placing our autonomic nervous system into a state of fight, flight, or freeze when we start to feel this pressure to sleep. In fact, when your body is on high alert, falling asleep becomes really challenging. Strangely, the reverse of what happens when we tell ourselves to fall asleep—anxiety—is what results. Clinicians frequently employ a technique called paradoxical intention to aid patients in falling asleep.

Paradoxical intention helps patients in falling asleep. Individuals who had problems falling asleep were advised by clinicians to try to stay up for as long as possible. They came to the conclusion that individuals with sleep onset insomnia had significant levels of performance anxiety and could fall asleep by removing the pressure to do so.

Therefore, to fall asleep faster, I learned that it can be helpful to try to do the opposite!

1) It is helpful to tell oneself not to fall asleep.

2) Remind yourself you must be as tired as possible the next day.

3) Remind yourself that you can’t shut your eyes."

Read the full article on Psychology Today

✨Reflection: Have you ever noticed that it is harder to fall asleep when you most want to? Share your experience!

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