Click to Skip Ad
Closing in...

Video: Simple Lifehack Helps You Fall Asleep in 60 Seconds

Updated Jul 1st, 2015 8:17AM EDT
Sleep Lifehack 4 7 8 Breathing Exercise
Image: The Simpsons

If you buy through a BGR link, we may earn an affiliate commission, helping support our expert product labs.

Having trouble sleeping? Like you, there are many people whose lives are affected by various sleeping disorders. Falling asleep quickly might be one of the issues you have to deal with, but luckily, there might be a fix for it that was discovered by a Harvard doctor.

DON’T MISS: How Beats Fools You Into Thinking Its Headphones Are High-End And Luxurious

Dr. Andrew Weil has a breathing exercise that, if mastered, will put you to sleep in 60 seconds or so.

“Breathing strongly influences physiology and thought processes, including moods. By simply focusing your attention on your breathing and without doing anything to change it, you can move in the direction of relaxation,” he wrote on his website.

This lifehack is called “The 4-7-8 Breathing Exercise” or “The Relaxing Breath,” and here’s how it works:

  • Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound.
  • Close your mouth and inhale quietly through your nose to a mental count of four.
  • Hold your breath for a count of seven.
  • Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound to a count of eight.
  • This is one breath. Now inhale again and repeat the cycle three more times for a total of four breaths.

The real kicker is that you have to practice it twice a day for some 60 days to perfect it, until you can truly use it to fall asleep in about a minute.

Chris Smith Senior Writer

Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.