2 Simple Techniques to Greatly Improve Your Sleep
The Sierra Nevada in Colombia where my journey into Breathwork started. Photo by the author.
(If you have Medium membership you can also read this article here.)
Around 3 years ago I got into breathwork.
It has changed many things for me and has become a way of life: I learned how to better regulate my nervous system, how to connect with my body on a deeper level, how to be more aware during the day, how to relax effectively and also how to access altered states to tap into healing and inspiration.
One thing we carry with us wherever we go is our breath.
Similarly as our body it can either be something we unconsciously use or it can become a vessel for transformation, a powerful resource to become more conscious, or enhance our physical or mental health.
This is why in this article I want to share a few simple ways through which
(1) you can tap into your nervous system and relax more deeply to fall asleep faster and
(2) I will present you with a simple thing that if implemented can greatly improve overall sleep quality and recovery.
They have greatly benefitted me, and I continue to use them regularly, so I hope they will work for you too.
As we need to sleep every (or almost every) night, sleep is an essential pillar for performance, memory, mood, health, and more, making it one of the most important factors in our overall well-being. So, if you haven’t tried these it may definitely be worth giving it a shot, especially when you’re struggling with snoring or falling asleep.
There are a ton of great tips on what you could do to improve your sleep quality or fall asleep easier:
not eating too late in the evening,
Take care that your body temperature is right and especially not too high when trying to fall asleep,
reducing screentime before bed,
doing enough exercise during the day,
trying autogenic training to help you consciously relax your body,
not drinking coffee in the afternoon (or evening)
using the right mattress and pillow
… and the list goes on and on
But I’m going to focus on two things related to your breath that may be a game changer if implemented properly. I’m also offering you some alternatives if these doesn’t work well for you.
None of the techniques I’ll mention are secrets and many people in and around the breathwork/ conscious breathing scene know and implement these. But as always, practise is the key.
AI-generated photo by Alisaaon Freepik.
Introduction: Your Breath Is a Gateway Into Your Nervous System
Our breath is the connection between the inside and the outside. It’s an essential body function we can exercise full control over while also being able to fully forget about it. Most of the time we don’t consciously perceive or control it and let it flow unconsciously/ automatically.
As the breath reacts to your current state, it can tell us a lot about how we feel in the moment when we pay attention. That is why we breathe shallow and fast when we’re stressed, we hold your breath when we’re frightened, or we let out a sigh of relief when we’re letting go of tension or relaxing.
But this is not a one-way street. The breath not only tells us about the current state, but it also enables us conscious control over our nervous system.
Therefore, we can become more awake through the right breathing patterns, or we can become more tired or relaxed through others. We can also calm stress or anxiety, or enter meditative states more easily.
In short, by consciously controlling our breath and using certain patterns we can access our autonomous nervous system, regulating it up or down and gaining a certain control over how we feel (or sleep).
Technique 1: Falling Asleep Easier Through 4–7–8 Breathing
Many people struggle with occasional thought rumination or insomnia that interfere with their ability to get a good night’s rest. The goal of this technique is to calm your body and mind through simple conscious breathing patterns.
The most potent one may arguably be the 4–7–8 technique Andrew Weil developed and popularized (although it‘s based on a Pranayama technique). It’s even being used commonly by soldiers in different situations to fall asleep or calm themselves in extreme situations.
It helps to counter stress and sends a relaxing signal through your nervous system. Therefore, it is an amazing too that can benefit anyone, especially in times and situations when we feel stressed or anxious during the day.
It’s pretty simple:
(1) Exhale through your mouth, making a whoosh sound,
(2) breath into the count of 4 (count slowly),
(3) hold for a count of 7,
(4) and breathe out deeply through your mouth, making a whoosh sound to a count of eight.
Repeat… breath in (4), hold (7), breath out (8). Continue for a total of 4 to 6 rounds. When you’re experienced you can do more but often it’s better to do a short break and start over. You should be able to notice a difference after the first 4 rounds.
If it seems a little complicated for the first time you can just breathe through your nose (staying with the count) and then exhale through the mouth later.
[Here’s a short demonstration by Dr. Weil on YouTube.
Here’s an article linking to scientific studies on the effects of the 4–7–8 technique]
Try it!
There are also many other techniques that can be similarly beneficial and which you can try as well. There is box-breathing for example, where you breathe in for 4, hold for 4, breathe out for 4, and hold for 4 (with empty lungs this time). You can adapt the length of your box, but it should not be too small. [Here’s a guided video]
Another very easy way to calm your nervous system is to just consciously lengthen your exhale. It may be best to aim at making your exhale twice as long as you inhale to have a simple but effective measure. This may not be as effective as the techniques mentioned above but it’s the easiest thing to do.
Additionally, for extra spice, you can do all of this while using Ujai Breathing, also called ocean breath because it has the soothing sounds of waves. It feels very similar to snoring through your nose. To do it you tuck your tongue at the tip of your throat just behind your teeth and breathe through the nose to make a soothing snoring sound. It may take a bit of practice but helps you relax too and give more awareness to your breath.
Again, there are great secrets I’m revealing here, but I know of many people who technically know about all these possibilities but don’t use them. Eventually only applied knowledge has value in that context, so this could even just be a reminder to return to consciously using your breath in different ways.
Alternative Technique: Count Down and Relax
There is a simple alternative you can use instead or in addition to what I already described. This exercise helps to occupy your mind while also leading to deep relaxation.
It’s super simple:
Slowly count down from 100 to the pace of your breath.
On every inhale you count (100, 99,…), and on every exhale you send a signal of relaxation to your body.
It goes like this: Slowly breathe in (100), slowly breathe out (consciously try to relax), breathe in (99), breathe out (relax).
The relaxation can be either directed at your whole body or any specific part in which you feel tension. Continue, even if you already feel super relaxed or don’t feel anything happening. It is more about consciously sending out this signal of relaxation and you can always let go a little more.
Photo by Jamestheohl on Freepik.
Technique 2: Mouth Taping to Improve Sleep Quality
There’s a simple secret that changes a lot about how our body reacts to our breathing.
Are we breathing through our nose or our mouth?
Simple thing, a big impact. And there’s lots of science to back it up but I won’t go into too much detail. I’ll only mention the basics and link the rest.
Our nose is able to heat, filter, and moisturize the incoming air so our lungs can process it much more efficiently. Even though we are taking less air in than when using our mouth, the oxygen uptake is around 10 to 20 percent better. Apart from that, we take to breathe more deeply and rather into our belly, also massaging our intestines and sending a (you guessed it) relaxing signal to our nervous system and reducing our blood pressure.
When we breathe through our mouth, our throat dries out, we are in danger of snoring (or having sleep apnea) when our tongue flips to the side/back and starts obstructing our airways. Our lungs are getting dry and unfiltered air while we tend to breathe more into the chest when using our mouths, sending a stress signal to our nervous system.
To give you an impression of how bad it gets: A study surveying other published empirical work pointed out that continuous mouth breathing is associated with “negative changes in the bone structure and overall facial appearance, dental problems, trauma to the soft tissues in the airways, enlarged tonsils and adenoids, speech problems, and a higher prevalence of ADHD” .
And in fact, that’s not all of it. James Nestor describes this and more with fascinating data and stories at the beginning of his book, Breath. It’s definitely a recommendation.
Additionally, once the nose is obstructed it only gets worse. More bacteria accumulate leading to more obstruction. But when we actively use our nose, in a way we train it to become more resilient and open up more easily.
[Here’s more info on the topic.]
By chance, I found a “chin strap” alternative to tape that does effectively the same job of keeping your mouth closed during sleep (link).
Lunamaria on Freepik.
So, about mouth taping.
Let’s be honest, taping your mouth may seem weird at first.
Especially if you’re not sleeping on your own, your partner may be bamboozled about what you’re doing. On the other hand, this may honestly be the simplest and easiest way to considerably improve your sleep and regeneration, thus increasing your energy and concentration during the day.
It takes no effort, time, or cost, but it may take a moment until you get used to it. For me personally, it was no issue at all and most people I know who are also doing breathwork have implemented this long ago.
For some though, there’s considerable resistance and that’s ok too. Not everything is for everyone.
For example, a friend of mine can’t keep the tape on her mouth, whatever she tries. Other friends said their noses are obstructed so badly that they would quite literally be in danger of suffocating. So, maybe go ahead and try it for a few nights to see how you feel about it.
If it irritates you more than it helps then it may not be worth it. For most, it should not be much of an issue.
The obvious question then is: What tape and how should it be applied?
There are many different ways to do this and none of them is superior necessarily. It all depends on you.
To me, a small amount of not-too-strong tape is sufficient and feels comfortable. You could go with a big strip of duct tape over your whole mouth and this would surely do the job, but it wouldn’t be comfortable to wear or remove. And anyone seeing you might think you’re either into BDSM or just got kidnapped. Luckily, much less will do as well.
A small piece of crepe tape or some type of paper packaging tape may be sufficient. There are many types of light tape you can buy for home appliances or handicraft shops and now there is even tape online for this specifically, taping your mouth at night (link).
Regarding the shape. Just try what works for you.
Be creative and see what feels good, it’s no rocket science really. Maybe a small square will do, maybe a strip, maybe you cut it into the shape of the Eifel Tower, go and have some fun.
I’d be curious to hear if this helped and made sense to you.
I hope I could offer you some inspiration and maybe help you to sleep a little more a little better.
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