Sleeping Problems? Breathing Trick Discovered to Knock You Out in 60 Seconds

By R. Siva Kumar - 07 May '15 08:28AM

So you can't sleep, no matter how many sheep are clambering all over your head. Now what do you do?

You can get up, of course. That is unbeatable.

But if you have to sleep, then study something vastly boring.

If even that does not work, you can try out a simple breathing technique that will help you to fall into a slumber in just 60 seconds.

It's called the 4-7-8 breathing technique, and some even look at it as a 'natural tranquiliser for the nervous system' as it helps to defuse the body's tension, according to dailymail.

So this is what you do:

Exhale through your mouth, whooshing out the air.

Then close your mouth and silently breathe in through the nose, counting four.

Next, hold your breath and count seven.

Then exhale again completely through your mouth, with another whoosh sound for eight seconda in a single breath.

One cycle is over.

Breathe in again, and repeat the cycle three times totally for four breaths.

Does this sound crazy? Try it, it is guaranteed to have no side-effects---except perhaps make people nearby wonder why you like to whoosh all the time.

This lesson was started by Arizona-based Dr Andrew Weill who explains on the YouTube channel: "It is utterly simple, takes almost no time, requires no equipment and can be done anywhere."

"Note that you always inhale quietly through your nose and exhale audibly through your mouth. The tip of your tongue stays in position the whole time," Dr Weil says. "Exhalation takes twice as long as inhalation. The absolute time you spend on each phase is not important; the ratio of 4-7-8 is important."

The interesting exercise is based on the Indian system of pranayama, or 'regulation of breath.'

The Harvard-trained doctor says that 4-7-8 is so strong because it allows oxygen to enter and balloon out your lungs.

This tends to quieten down the parasympathetic nervous system, promoting calmness. During stressful times, the nervous system tends to get over-excited and refuses to sleep.

Dr Weil reasons that 4-7-8 connects you with your body and also distracts you from random thoughts that interfere with sleep.

Dr Weil advocates that you should practice the technique two times a day, for six to eight weeks, until you get so good at it that you automatically fall asleep in 60 seconds.