It’s not unusual to sometimes have difficulty falling asleep. Our day-to-day hustle can be extremely demanding and eventually takes a toll on our ability to easily relax and drift off to dreamland. Fortunately, there are ways to help address this and make it easier to fall asleep. Jumia Travel, the leading online travel agency, shares 5 ways to trick yourself into falling asleep.

Consciously Try To Stay Awake

This is called the sleep paradox. Challenging yourself to consciously remain awake can actually make you fall asleep because your mind will rebel against your attempt to remain awake. This is why when we desperately want to remain awake when doing thinks like studying, we end up sleeping off. To achieve this sleep paradox, lie awake and repeat to yourself, ‘I will not sleep’ (you can do this in your mind). The brain doesn’t process negatives well, so it interprets it as an instruction to sleep and your eyes muscles will tire quickly until you eventually doze off. If you’re doubtful, just give it a shot.

Use Your Imagination

This is a lot like visualization meditation. Imagine yourself in a situation where you feel content and at rest. As you explore this happy place, you’ll eventually feel relaxed and doze off before you realize it.

Hum

Humming helps to generate a sense of calm, so to help you fall asleep faster, you can decide to hum. Sit or lie in a comfortable position, then close your eyes, drop your shoulders, relax your jaw and keep your mouth gently closed. Breathe in through your nose as deeply and comfortably as you can, ensuring your abdomen, not your chest, rises. Then breathe gently out of your mouth with your lips gently together so you can hum lightly. Hum and try to focus on the gentle vibrations as you gently drift off.

Squeeze and Relax

This is a progressive relaxation technique that helps to relax all your muscles and make it easier for you to fall asleep. Lie on your back, comfortably take a deep, slow breath in through your nose and, at the same time, squeeze your toes tightly like you’re trying to curl them under your foot, then release and relax. Then, on another slow breath, curl your foot up towards your knee, then release. Breathe again and while you do, contract your calf muscles, then your thighs, buttocks, belly, chest, arms, and so on, squeezing and releasing the muscle until you’ve moved all the way up your body. After this, you should feel more relaxed and ready for sleep.

Try to Keep Cool

People tend to doze of easily and sleep better when the room temperature is cool. This is mainly because this coolness mimics what your body does naturally when you sleep. Your body’s core temperature drops when you sleep, so a cool room temperature mimics that and makes it easier for you to fall asleep.

– Damilola Ojo, PR Associate, Jumia Travel