A recent survey showed that 27 percent of those participating can’t go straight to sleep at night. As many as 68 percent, or 164 million people, of those in the United States, say they have trouble sleeping regularly, amounting to at least one night a week.
Breathing
Recent studies and books focus on how we breathe. The consensus is how we breathe affects many things in our bodies, from blood pressure to hormones to reducing anxiety. All of this can affect how deeply you sleep.
A doctor once said that we think we have to go to the bathroom because we wake up in the night, but the reality is we wake up because we aren’t getting enough air.
The proper way to breathe is through the nose but many people sleep breathing through the mouth. This is the recurring problem that causes snoring and other nighttime issues.
Breathing through the right nostril causes an increase in blood pressure and cortisol levels, among other things. Breathing through the left nostrils induces relaxation, reduces anxiety, lowers blood pressure, and cools the body.
Exhaling relaxes the body too because it pushes blood back out around the body. You need to take deep breaths to get to relaxation faster.
Going to Sleep
The idea is to self-soothe with nice, long, deep breaths. You can do this by focusing on your inhaling and exhaling. One method is to make sure you do both slowly, counting eight seconds on both inhales and exhales.
Focusing solely on breathing as you are lying in bed will help settle your mind too.
You can use simple breathing techniques to calm both your body and mind so that you go to sleep faster and sleep longer. Practicing deep, relaxed breathing is good for your body and can help other overall health issues too.
