How To Fall Asleep As Fast As Humanly Possible

Trying to will yourself to sleep as you watch the time getting later and later (and then earlier and earlier) is a special kind of hell. If this happens to you regularly, you’ve likely already tried the tips sleep doctors preach the most often.You’ve eliminated alcohol from your evening routine (well, you try to). You’ve stopped eating dinner at an hour that’s more socially acceptable in Italy than in the States. You resist the urge to check your email or scroll social media one last time before bed. You’ve tried it all.These tips are helpful, but if you want to fall asleep quickly, there’s a whole lot more you can do. Rounded up here are 10 science-backed tips, straight from sleep doctors.How long should it take to fall asleep?No one wants to lie in bed awake for hours, but falling asleep as soon as your head hits the pillow isn’t realistic either. “For most healthy adults, somewhere between 10 and 20 minutes is the normal range of time it takes to fall asleep,” says sleep medicine doctor Saema Tahir, MD. She explains that this is what sleep scientists call sleep onset latency, or the time between turning off the lights and actually crossing into sleep.“A 2023 systematic review and meta-analysis in Sleep Medicine, pooling data from over 4,000 healthy adults, put the average right around 11.7 to 11.8 minutes,” Dr. Tahir says. “So if you're drifting off in that window, your body is doing exactly what it's supposed to do.”If you’re falling asleep faster than 11 minutes, that’s a sign that you’re sleep-deprived, according to Pedram Navab, DO, a neurologist and author of the new book, The Alchemy of Sleep. But if it’s consistently taking you longer than 30 minutes to fall asleep, Dr. Navab says that this is considered onset insomnia and is worth talking to a sleep doctor about. “The occasional restless night is normal; it’s the persistent pattern that matters,” he says.10 tips for falling asleep quicklyWhether it’s for a one-off night where you’re having trouble falling asleep or you’re looking for a consistent solution to try, here are some to consider, recommended by sleep doctors.1. Take a warm shower or bathAs renowned neuroscientist and sleep doctor Matthew Walker, BSc, PhD, previously told GQ, staying cool is important for sleep. That’s why it’s so much easier to fall asleep in a frigid hotel room than a room with no AC in the middle of summer. While it may seem counterintuitive, taking a warm shower or bath before bed is a very effective way to cool down the body. “There's real mechanistic evidence behind this,” Dr. Tahir says. She highlights a 2019 systematic review and meta-analysis in Sleep Medicine Reviews that found that a 10-minute warm bath or shower between 104°F and 109°F taken about one to two hours before bedtime was associated with a meaningfully shorter time to fall asleep and better sleep quality.Read MoreHow Often Should You Shower?Dermatologists share their expert advice on the frequency of bathing, plus a few habits worth stealing for healthier skin.Dr. Tahir explains that a warm bath or shower draws blood to the skin's surface, and once you get out, that surface area radiates heat quickly, accelerating the core temperature drop your body needs to switch into sleep mode.2. Wind-down without your phoneSorry, but you’re not going to find a list of sleep tips without one that warns you to put your phone away before bed. Sanam Hafeez, PsyD, a neuropsychologist and sleep doctor, points out that social media apps are literally designed to keep you awake and using them. “It’s not just about the blue light,” she says.Dr. Hafeez says the brain needs time to transition into sleep mode and recommends allowing at least 20 minutes to wind down. Remember, your goal is to start feeling sleepy, so choose an activity that’s more relaxing than stimulating.3. Sip lemon balm teaIf you want to integrate a beverage into your evening routine that will help prime your brain and body for sleep, Dr. Hafeez says that lemon balm tea is the way to go. “There’s actually more science behind lemon balm helping support sleep than chamomile, which is the tea most people think of for sleep,” she says.As a 2024 scientific review published in Nutrients explains, lemon balm slows down the breakdown of GABA in the brain. GABA is the brain’s main neurotransmitter for relaxation, which is why it’s so effective for priming the brain for sleep.4. Use lavender essential oilIf you have a diffuser in your bedroom, Dr. Navab recommends firing it up with lavender essential oil. If you don’t have a diffuser, applying a few drops to your wrist or collarbone works too. “Lavender has the best evidence and may promote a sense of calm and reduce pre-sleep anxiety,” he says, though he adds that it’s not a cure for insomnia.Not into lavender? Dr. Navab says that chamomile, bergamot, cedarwood, and sandalwood are all great options too, though lavender is the most science-backed. He adds that the more you use it before bed, the more effective it will be because the brain will recognize it as a signal that it’s time to power down.5. Try white, pink, or brown noiseIf you’re sensitive to environmental noise, Dr. Navab says it can be helpful to sleep with white, brown, or pink noise, which are forms of ambient noise that provide a steady background sound, blocking out other sounds that can be disruptive to sleep.“The best ‘color’ is really whichever feels most soothing to you; the evidence doesn't clearly establish one as universally better,” Dr. Navab says. He explains that white noise sounds brighter, like radio static, while pink noise is softer and more balanced. Brown noise is deeper, more like a waterfall. All these forms of ambient noise, and more, are easily found on apps or sound machines.6. Give yourself a boring mental taskOften, it’s our thoughts that can keep us up, like everything you have to do the next day or a particular situation that’s making you anxious. When this happens, Dr. Hafeez says it’s important to give yourself something else to think about.“You need a mental task that’s going to occupy your attention long enough to interrupt ruminating, but is also a repetitive task that’s boring enough to put the brain to sleep,” she says. Some examples: Counting by twos, naming every item in your kitchen, listing all the fruits you can remember…Think of it as counting sheep 2.0.7. Try “cognitive shuffling”Another way to occupy your mind is cognitive shuffling, something both Dr. Tahir and Dr. Navab recommend. Dr. Navab explains that cognitive shuffling is visualizing a series of random, unrelated objects (like an apple, lantern, and a blue bicycle), without connecting them into a story.“This gently occupies the mind and interrupts repetitive thoughts without making you more alert. It's built on a simple idea: Focused, linear thought keeps the brain in an alert, problem-solving mode, while random, non-emotional, disconnected imagery mimics the fragmented mentation that naturally precedes sleep,” he says.8. Take some deep breathsSimply slowing down your breathing is one of the most effective ways to fall asleep faster, Dr. Hafeez says. All three sleep doctors recommend a breathing exercise called 4-7-8 breathing, which is done by inhaling through the nose for four counts, holding for seven, and exhaling slowly through the mouth for eight. This, Dr. Hafeez explains, activates the parasympathetic nervous system and puts the body in a relaxed state.9. Go on a morning walkSetting yourself up for a night of good sleep doesn’t start in the evening; it starts in the morning. Dr. Hafeez says it’s important to get sunlight in the morning to help regulate circadian rhythm, which is key for keeping your brain and body on the same schedule. Exposing yourself to sunlight in the morning and keeping the lights dim in the evening lets your brain and body know when it’s time to be awake, and when it’s time for sleep.10. Get out of bed if you really can’t sleepIf you’ve been lying in bed for 30 minutes or longer and you’re still wide awake, Dr. Hafeez recommends getting out of bed, going to a different room, and doing a boring activity for 15 minutes, and then going back to bed. That way, your bed will be associated with sleep, not lying awake in frustration. Read a boring book, fold laundry, work a puzzle…whatever you do, just keep the lights dim—and don’t grab your phone.“What’s most important is not making falling asleep a performance. The harder we try to force sleep, the more elusive it becomes,” Dr. Navab says.If it’s been months of struggling to fall asleep, that’s when it’s time to see a sleep doctor so you can pinpoint the root cause and troubleshoot from there. The body knows how to sleep; it’s not something it needs to be taught. We just have to let it.