Have you ever been so anxious about something that it affected your ability to function and as a result insomnia set in? It happened to me a while ago, when I was supposed to go to a job interview in a couple of days and I really wanted to do well.
After obsessing about it for days and spending three sleepless nights – which left me completely exhausted and a bit depressed – I did some searching on the internet and stumbled upon a YouTube video by Harvard medical doctor Andrew Weil about a new sleeping ‘technique’ called the 4-7-8 method.
This technique basically consists of three simple steps that you’ll need to follow precisely if you want to get the desired effect.
Naturally, I was a bit skeptical at first, but then desperation took over and I decided to give it a try. The results were phenomenal and exceeded all my expectations, I can tell you that.
So, how does this amazing technique work?
As mentioned above, this ‘sleeping exercise’ is made up of three simple steps that go as follows:
- Inhale slowly through the nose for about 4 seconds.
- Hold your breath for 7 seconds.
- Exhale slowly through your mouth for about 8 seconds.
Simple as it is, the exercise does work and if you are suffering from an anxiety-induced insomnia, give it a shot.
Stress and anxiety are known to elevate the amount of adrenaline in the blood, which in turn leads to faster and lighter breathing.
The ’4-7-8′ method basically acts as a sedative in the sense that it slows down the breathing rate and the rapid heartbeat, allowing the body to relax.
But it’s not just the body that relaxes during the exercise. The mind also unwinds, and the feelings of anxiety simply go away.
Dr. Andrew Weil, who compares the effects of the exercise to that of an anesthetic, says the technique is perfectly harmless and has been known and practiced for centuries.
According to him, Indian yogi have been using the method in their meditations for hundreds of years in order to achieve a state of total relaxation.
When to use it
Judging by my own experience, this exercise will literally change your life, even if it works half as good as it did in my case! It will relieve you from stress, it will drive away all feelings of anxiety and negativity and it will dramatically improve the quality of your sleep.
You can use it if you are having trouble sleeping, you can use it if you wake up in the middle of the night concerned about something, and you can also use it if you are feeling nervous and anxious ahead of some important event, just as I did before my job interview.
So, if you are not one of those blessed with the enviable ability to fall asleep just as soon as they hit the sack, be sure to give it a go. It’s harmless, its free and it works too.
It helped me deal with my anxiety and as a result, I got a couple of nights of good sleep and landed a great job. Take a page from my book and give it a go.
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A professional writer with over a decade of incessant writing skills. Her topics of interest and expertise range from health, nutrition and psychology.