These 9 Breathing Techniques Will Help You Sleep Better

Breathing Techniques Will Help You Sleep Better

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Do you find it hard to fall asleep? You're not alone! According to the American Sleep Association, insomnia is the most common sleep disorder, with 30% of American adults reporting problems in the short term and 10% experiencing chronic problems falling asleep. When it is difficult to sleep, concentrating on breathing can help. Here are some exercises that will calm your body and your mind so you can fall asleep.

Here is what you should remember before you begin:

When doing breathing exercises, it is always good to keep your eyes closed, which can help avoid distractions. Keep your mind focused on your breathing and think about the healing power of your breathing. While these nine breathing exercises have their own benefits, the benefits may vary slightly. Take a look to see what is the best combination for you and you will sleep deeply in a short time:

1. 4-7-8 breathing technique

How to practice the breathing technique 4-7-8:

1. Allow your lips to separate gently, then exhale completely, making a buzzing sound as you do it.
2. Press your lips together while silently inhaling through your nose for a count of 4 seconds, then hold your breath for a count of 8 and exhale again for 8 full seconds, emitting a whistle.
3. Repeat this breathing technique a total of four times, until you reach 8 repetitions.

Benefits: this ancient yogic technique helps people relax while replenishing oxygen in the body.

2. Bhramari pranayama breathing exercise

Follow these steps to perform the original Bhramari pranayama breathing exercise:

1. Close your eyes and breathe deeply.
2. Cover your ears with your hands and place your index fingers over your eyebrows, resting your fingers on your eyes.
3. Then, gently press the sides of the nose and concentrate on the forehead area.
4. Keep your mouth closed and exhale slowly through your nose. While you are doing it, make the buzzing sound 'Omm'.
5. Repeat the process a total of 5 times.

Benefits: It has been shown that this breathing exercise quickly reduces breathing and heart rate, which tends to be very calming and can prepare your body to sleep.

3. Three-part breathing exercise

Here is what you must do to complete this three-part breathing exercise:

1. Inhale in a prolonged and deep way, then exhale completely while you focus intensely on your body and how it feels.
2. Once you've done this several times, start to slow down the exhalation, making sure it's double the inhalation.

Benefits: it is one of the simplest breaths to perform and help keep the mind calm.

4. Diaphragmatic breathing exercise

To perform diaphragmatic breathing exercises:

1. Lie on your back and bend your knees on a pillow or sit on a chair.
2. Place one flat hand against your chest and keep the other face down, and breathe slowly and deeply through the nose, keeping your hand on your chest motionless, as the hand on your stomach rises and falls with your breath.
3. Now, breathe slowly through the lips of the bag and, finally, you can inhale and exhale without your chest moving.

Benefits: this technique slows down breathing and decreases oxygen needs, as it strengthens the diaphragm.

5. Alternating nasal breathing exercise

Tips to do the alternate alternative nasal or nasal breathing exercise:

1. Sit cross-legged and place your left hand on your knee and your right thumb against your nose.
2. Then exhale completely and close the right nostril.
3. Inhale through the left nostril.
4. Open the right nostril and exhale through it, while closing the left. Continue this rotation for 5 minutes, ending by exhaling through the left nostril.

Benefits: A study conducted in 2013 found that people who tried nasal breathing exercises felt less stressed afterwards.


6. Breathing Buteyko

To practice breathing buteyko to sleep do this:

1. Sit in bed keeping your mouth gently closed, not puckered, and breathe through your nose at a natural rate for about 30 seconds.
2. Gently touch your nose with your thumb and forefinger, and keep your mouth closed too until you feel you can breathe again.
3. Keeping your mouth closed, breathe deeply through the nose.

Benefits: Most people do not know that they are hyperventilating and this exercise will help them re-establish a normal breathing rhythm.

7. Papworth's method

In this breathing exercise, you focus on your diaphragm to breathe more naturally:

1. Sit up straight and breathe deeply and methodically, counting to four with each exhalation (also through the nose).
2. Keep your mind fixed on your abdomen going up and down, listening to your breath to detect sounds coming from your stomach.

Benefits: This breathing exercise is ideal to reduce the habits of yawning and sighing.

8. Kapalbhati breathing exercise

Also known as pursed-lip breathing, kapalbhati involves four steps:

1. Breathe deeply through your nose, then purse your lips as if you were going to blow.
2. Through your pursed lips, exhale three times more slowly than you inhaled.
3. Repeat until you feel calm and sleepy.

Benefits: This breathing exercise relieves difficulty breathing and improves ventilation by removing excess carbon dioxide.

9. Respiratory box

During the breathing of the box, focus attentively on the oxygen that you are introducing and expelling in the following way:

1. Sit with your back straight and breathe, then remove all the air from your lungs as you exhale.
2. Inhale slowly through your nose and count silently to four while filling your lungs with air.
3. Keep your breath counting to four, then exhale slowly through your mouth as you focus on getting all the oxygen out of your lungs.

Benefits: This breathing technique will help you stay focused and relaxed.