3 ways to fall asleep faster, backed by decades of research

"The 4-7-8 method Here's how it works. First, place the tip of your tongue against your two upper front teeth, and keep it there. (The goal is to inhale and exhale around your tongue.) Then: Breathe in through your nose while you count to four. Hold your breath while you count to seven. Purse your lips and exhale-you should make a "whooshing" sound-while you count to eight. Repeat up to four times."

"While inhaling and exhaling deeply-and worse yet, holding your breath in between-sounds like it will make you less sleepy, that pattern activates your parasympathetic nervous system and helps switch your body to rest mode. That's especially important if you feel stressed, since anxiety shifts your sympathetic nervous system (think fight or flight) into overdrive. Kick-starting your parasympathetic nervous system helps counteract that effect."

Performing at your best requires getting enough sleep. Difficulty falling asleep can undermine performance. The 4-7-8 breathing method uses tongue placement behind the upper front teeth and a breathing cycle of inhale for four counts, hold for seven, and exhale with pursed lips for eight counts, repeating up to four times. Exhaling should produce a whooshing sound. Deep inhalation and breath holding may seem alerting, but the 4-7-8 pattern activates the parasympathetic nervous system, shifting the body into rest mode and counteracting stress-driven sympathetic overactivation associated with anxiety.

Read at Fast Company