5 unusual techniques to help you fall asleep

Trouble sleeping? If you’re tired of counting sheep, these unusual techniques might be your first-class ticket to the land of nod. 

It’s awful not being able to sleep. And for most of us, having one restless night isn’t a huge deal – you can usually catch up the next night. But ongoing sleepless nights can be a problem, causing things like increased stress, lack of alertness, and trouble remembering.

Back in the day, some believed rubbing your gums with earwax (from a dog!) would send you directly to the land of nod. Ew. Others swore eating the guts of a sea slug or massaging their feet with the fat of a dormouse would do the trick. (Please, don’t try these at home.)

Thankfully, modern techniques aren’t quite so stomach-turning. If you struggle with sleeplessness, try these unusual methods for getting forty winks. 

Sounds counterproductive, right? Hear us out. If you can’t fall asleep, tense up instead. Starting with your feet, take a deep inhalation and squeeze your toes, one by one, then relax them. 

Move on to your calves, thighs, butt, all the way up your body, inhaling with each muscle contraction, and squeeze for between 10 and 20 seconds each time (don’t forget a nice, deep exhalation when you relax!). 

As you move through each muscle group, your breathing should become more steady, and you’ll feel calm and ready for sleep. Progressive muscle relaxation is also believed to alleviate headaches, pain, and digestive issues.  

Humans sleep better in a cooler environment; a drop in your core temperature signals to your body that it’s time to start winding down (the optimal sleeping temperature is around 18°C). 

If you can’t sleep, try sticking one leg out from under the covers. The soles of our feet help regulate our body’s temperature and can provide a more restful sleep. The sleeping-cool thing also explains why flipping the pillow to the cold side also feels so dreamy. 

Yogis have been practicing Chandra Bhedana Pranayama, aka Moon Breathing, aka breathing through one nostril, for centuries. It’s believed to help slow down busy minds, relax the body, and promote a restful sleep. 

To do it, get comfortable, and try to release any tension you might be holding in your face. Place the index and middle finger of your right hand on your third eye (that point between your eyebrows but a smidge higher), then block your right nostril with your thumb. Take a deep inhalation through your left nostril, hold the breath while you block your left nostril with your ring finger, remove your thumb from your right nostril, and exhale from the right. Then inhale from the right, block with your thumb, hold, unblock your left, exhale. Keep doing this for a few minutes, just focusing on your breath, and you’ll be chilled enough to sleep in no time. 

The light from our phones, laptops, TVs and tablets can wreak havoc on the quality of our sleep. But wearing orange-tinted glasses, which block the blue light from our devices that may keep us awake, for an hour before bed has been shown to improve the quality and length of our sleep.  

While most people opt for a chamomile or lavender tea to help them relax at night, banana peel tea is said to have similar sleepy effects, due to the peel’s high concentration of magnesium and potassium, which are natural muscle relaxants. To make it, pop the peel of half a banana (organic is best and a clean peel is essential) into a small saucepan, cover with water, and boil for about ten minutes. Discard the peel, add a few sleep-inducing spices like turmeric, cinnamon or nutmeg, pour into your fave mug, and enjoy! 

Copyright © 2020 AIA Australia Limited (ABN 79 004 837 861 AFSL 230043). This is general information only, without taking into account factors like the objectives, financial situation, needs or personal circumstances of any individual and is not intended to be financial, legal, tax, medical, nutritional, health, fitness or other advice.

Staff writers come from a range of backgrounds including health, wellbeing, music, tech, culture and the arts. They spend their time researching the latest data and trends in the health market to deliver up-to-date information, helping everyday Australians live healthier lives. This is general information only and is not intended as medical, health, nutritional or other advice. You should obtain professional advice from a medical or health practitioner in relation to your own personal circumstances. The information in this article is general information only and is not intended as medical, health, nutritional or other advice. You should obtain professional advice from a medical or health practitioner in relation to your own personal circumstances