Chamomile tea, tart cherry juice, warm milk, a piece of banana — if you have already tried consuming any of these and still you’re not able to get to dreamland as soon as you hop into bed, perhaps it’s time to try an entirely different approach, something that does not require you to put anything in your mouth.
Breathing your way to a restorative sleep is very much possible, and below you will come across certain breathing exercises that you can count on each time your insomnia is acting up.
Experts say that the more your carry out these breathing exercises, the better you become at getting some shut-eye at bedtime without any trouble. So make sure that you perform them every single night whether or not you are having a hard time falling asleep. It is completely up to you to find out which of them suits you the most.
Give all of the following a try and see which one of them never fails to impress each time:
Alternating Nostrils
Using a finger, block one nostril and take a deep breath through the other. Hold air in for a second or two, release your finger and exhale. Block the other nostril with your finger and then inhale through the remaining one. Release and exhale.
Perform a few rounds until you feel that you are calmer mentally and physically, which is a telltale sign that you are finally ready to enjoy some Z’s.
Meditative Breath
We all know that meditating is an excellent remedy for both stress and insomnia. Well, it’s possible to combine meditating and breathing for you to keep sleeplessness at bay effectively.
Inhale while counting to one and exhale while counting to one. On your next inhale and exhale, count to two. Keep on doing this until you reach counting to five while inhaling and exhaling. Keep on inhaling and exhaling for five counts for 5 to 10 minutes until you feel that it’s time to start having some sweet dreams.
Visualization
This particular breathing exercise is very good for insomnia most especially if it’s due to the presence of a lot of anxious thoughts. That’s because it allows you to focus on nothing else but your every breath in a creative manner.
All you have to do is take a deep breath very slowly. As you do so, imagine the air entering your nose and then traveling to your entire body, from your lungs, arms, fingers, legs and toes. As you exhale slowly, picture the air exiting your body.
4-7-8 Breathing
There is a very simple reason why this breathing exercise is called this way: you take a breath for 4 seconds, you keep it in for 7 seconds, and you let it out for 8 seconds.
Inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth each time. Cannot hold your breath in for 7 long seconds? Fret not because at first you may count to 3 to 5 seconds only. As you get better doing the 4-7-8 breathing technique, you will be able to hold in your breath for 7 seconds without any trouble.
Humming Breath
When doing the humming breath, there is no need for you to remember stuff such as where to inhale, where to exhale and how long you should hold your breath in. All you have to remember is to slowly breathe in and out through your nose as you please. Oh, and there’s only one thing to keep in mind: remember to make a humming sound each time you exhale.
It is a good idea to plug your ears with your index fingers in order for you to be able to really feel the relaxing vibration creates each time you hum.
