Count Down to Sleep Practice

We all struggle at times to fall asleep easily at the end of the day. This breathing exercise may help you relax enough to fall asleep quickly.

Lying on your back in bed, place your arms softly at your sides and allow your legs and feet to fall open naturally. Be aware of every inch of your body touching the bedding. Take several deep breaths while you adjust yourself to a comfortable position. Make sure your shoulders are loose and relaxed. Close your eyes.

Begin by breathing in and out 3 full deep breaths. With each out-breath feel your body gradually sink into the mattress. On the next out-breath release the air through your mouth and count to 9, if this is too hard count to 7 or 5. Next breath in through your nose a full deep in-breath that starts in the belly and works its way up into the chest. Release the out-breath through your mouth until you feel you have emptied all the stale air from your lungs. Breath in through your nose another full deep in-breath. On the next out-breath count to 7 or 5 (count to a number that is 2 less than the previous number). Then breath in through your nose a full deep in-breath and release the out-breath entirely through your mouth. Repeat this process until you reach the count of 1. Make sure all the in-breaths are through the nose and all the out-breaths are through the mouth. After the final out-breath return to your normal breathing and notice how relaxed and calm you feel.

As the count gets lower, the in-breath gets smaller which in turn creates longer out-breaths than in-breaths. Move through this exercise slowly and comfortably. If your body begins to feel stressed at any point, stop the exercise. When you’re ready to try again keep the numbers low, maybe just count to 5 for the first out-breath. Focusing on your breathing in this way puts you in the present moment and relaxes your mind and body. Breathing exercises also help to expand your lung capacity which is an added health benefit.