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A Life Hack For Sleep: The 4-7-8 Breathing Exercise Will Supposedly Put You To Sleep In Just sixty Seconds

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A Life Hack For Sleep: The 4-7-8 Breathing Exercise Will Supposedly Put You To Sleep In Just sixty Seconds

This breathing exercise claims to help you fall asleep in just sixty seconds by simply inhaling and exhaling. Photo courtesy of Shutterstock

Sleep aids such as earplugs, eye masks, sleeping pills, and white noise are all used to help you fall asleep soundly. However, these sleep aids can be costly and oftentimes provide short-term solutions as sleep disorders and sleep deprivation proceed to interfere with a good night’s rest. Dr. Andrew Weil, a Harvard trained medical doctor with a concentrate on holistic health, believes getting the best sleep ever is as ordinary as breathing in and breathing out.

America’s Sleep Problem

In the U.S., forty million people suffer from chronic long-term sleep disorders each year, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, while an extra twenty million people practice occasional sleep problems. Stimulants such as coffee and energy drinks, alarm clocks, and outer lights, interfere with our “circadian rhythm,” also known as our natural sleep/wake cycle, which is why sleep deprivation is becoming more common. Albeit research cannot pinpoint the exact amount of sleep needed by people at different ages, eight or so hours for a healthy adult is a good “rule of thumb,” according to the National Sleep Foundation.

The 21st century’s digital revolution has made it increasingly difficult to get a sufficient amount of sleep, especially with the constant need to be connected 24/7. However, Weil, a fat advocate of holistic breathing practices to combat stress, anxiety, and insomnia, believes this can all be remedied with a ordinary breathing exercise. On his website, he writes: “Breathing strongly influences physiology and thought processes, including moods. By simply focusing your attention on your breathing and without doing anything to switch it, you can budge in the direction of entertainment.”

This same philosophy is used in his well-known “The 4-7-8 Breathing Exercise,” also called “The Calming Breath,” which promotes better sleep. This is based on pranayama, an ancient Indian practice that means “regulation of breath.” The exercise is described by Weil as “a natural tranquilizer for the jumpy system” that eases the assets into a state of calmness and refreshment.

Kevin Meehan, a holistic practitioner and founder of Meehan Formulations in Jackson, Wyo., believes this breathing technology could be effective because it encourages the swift removal of carbon dioxide. Adequate respiration is effective in removing carbon dioxide from our systems. “Doing so equates into a better preservation of the bicarbonate pool; our reservoirs for helping maintain an suitable pH balance,” Meehan told Medical Daily in an email.

How To Do The “4-7-8” Exercise

Weil’s mechanism is shockingly plain, takes hardly any time, and can be done anywhere in five steps. Albeit you can do the exercise in any position, it’s recommended to sit with your back straight while learning the exercise. Weil explains to “place the peak of your tongue against the ridge of tissue just behind your upper front teeth and keep it there through the entire exercise. You will be exhaling through your mouth around your tongue; attempt pursing your lips slightly if this seems awkward.” This is followed by the five-step procedure listed below:

Exhale downright through your mouth, making a whoosh sound.

Close your mouth and inhale calmly through your nose to a mental count of four.

Hold your breath for a count of seven.

Exhale entirely 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.

Weil emphasizes the most significant part of this process is holding your breath for eight seconds. This is because keeping the breath in will permit oxygen to pack your lungs and then circulate via the bod. It is this that produces a loosening effect in the bod.

Does The Sleep Hack Indeed Work?

A life hack, especially a 60-second sleep hack, leads several experts to be skeptical about such a bold claim. Dr. Michelle E. Gordon, founder of Northern Westchester Surgical Associates General, acute and emergency surgery specialist, has attempted Weil’s breathing technology and attests falling asleep in a minute did not work for her. However, she told Medical Daily in an email: “The breath does elicit a sense of entertainment and silent. I train it to my patients as a means of keeping tranquil when having anxiety over surgery or post-operative anxiety. It works.”

Gordon believes the breathing exercise works because it works in the same way as meditation: It helps people quiet the mind and let go of preoccupying thoughts.

The truth behind Weil’s 4-7-8 exercise is it takes practising this twice a day over two months to ideal the technology until you can truly fall asleep in a minute. Once you’ve mastered it, it will become more and more effective and even help you deal with anxiety and stress in your life. Soon, going to bed will be as ordinary as taking a deep breath.

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