Beat Insomnia: 5+ Ways to Fall Asleep Fast

Photo by Kate Stone Matheson on Unsplash

Insomnia is a widespread problem. In Western countries, nearly 50% of people report having occasional insomnia. In the U.S., about 22% of people sleep poorly almost every night. That’s not insignificant, considering insomnia can have a range of unpleasant consequences—both psychological and physical. Chronic insomnia can not only disrupt hormonal balance but also increase the risk of dementia and cancer, among other lovely things. Knowing how to fall asleep fast, therefore, has many benefits.

Causes of Insomnia

The causes are numerous—ranging from stress and emotional issues to health conditions, bad habits, and unhealthy (noisy or overly bright) environments. For some, insomnia results from hereditary factors, and age often plays a role too—while young people may be overstimulated by late-night activities, older people experience hormonal changes. “Night owls,” naturally, struggle to fall asleep at night but still have to get up early for work. Morning types, on the other hand, fall asleep more easily in the evening but may have trouble getting back to sleep if they wake up in the early morning hours.

Many people don’t realize it’s quite normal not to sleep through the night in one stretch, but instead to sleep in two phases, with an hour or two of wakefulness in between. That’s normal for about a third of people, as historical records show. You shouldn’t worry about this—so long as you get enough total hours of sleep and feel rested. What matters is that during the wakeful period you don’t do anything stimulating—like scrolling social media or using electronics.

A common problem is that during such wakeful periods, people are flooded with thoughts about obligations, worries, or unpleasant memories. Many try to fall back asleep as quickly as possible and get frustrated when they can’t. Those thoughts trigger stress hormones—and often more insomnia.

STRATEGIES FOR FALLING ASLEEP fast

Since I’m also one of those “biphasic” sleepers—and a morning type—I sometimes need a few tricks to fall asleep again. Here are the strategies that have worked best for me so far:

1. Alphabetic Recall

Let’s call this one the “alphabetic recall”. It sounds odd, but it often puts me to sleep within 5–10 minutes. Here’s how it works:
Choose a category—say, car models, athletes, movies, types of wild mushrooms—anything. Then, for each letter of the alphabet, try to recall as many items in that category as you can that begin with that letter. When you run out of ideas, move to the next letter.

For me, this works best when I recall words in German or Italian language. I usually fall asleep before I even need to move to the next letter—and as a bonus, I refresh my language skills!

Why does this work so well?
Several reasons: it redirects thoughts away from stimulating or stressful topics toward something neutral—even boring—which calms the nervous system.
Instead of focusing on how to fall asleep (which adds stress), the brain gets a mild task—repetitive and monotonous. It’s like “counting sheep,” but better, because it keeps the mind from wandering. Over time, anything you do repeatedly before sleep becomes a mental cue for rest, making the method even more effective.

2. Reading

Ideally something relaxing. (Avoid flickering screens.) Like the previous method, reading redirects attention and occupies the mind gently. Over time, reading itself can become subconsciously associated with falling asleep—though that can be inconvenient if you want to read during the day!

3. Meditation

While it carries the risk of wandering thoughts—and may be less effective if you’re highly stressed—some form of meditation or positive visualization can work beautifully and support emotional health.
Try, for example, self-love meditation (focusing on your inner child) for a soothing continuation of sleep. Imagine anything that feels good: pleasant memories, a beach vacation, future events you’re looking forward to.
You can also use guided visualizations, such as my own: Heal Childhood Programming for Empowerment and Self-love here.

4. White Noise

Some people benefit from repetitive but quiet sounds—known as white noise. Once, I accidentally poured the wrong detergent into my dishwasher’s rinse compartment and couldn’t remove it. To flush it out, I had to run short wash cycles all day and night. My brain somehow woke me up 4–5 times during the night to restart the dishwasher—and each time, I thought I’d have trouble falling back asleep. But the opposite happened: the rhythmic hum of the dishwasher put me back to sleep within ten minutes!
After that, I recorded the sound and sometimes played it deliberately when I needed help sleeping.

Other popular types of “white noise” include the sounds of rain, ocean waves, rustling leaves, or gentle music. Deep, rolling tones—sometimes called “brown noise”—tend to work best. You can easily find such sounds online (e.g. on YouTube).
Some people can’t fall asleep without certain familiar background sounds, even if they’re not pleasant—like traffic noise or a TV playing quietly.

5. Physical Relaxation and Breathing Techniques

I don’t use these much lately since the previous methods work better for me, but they’re still worth mentioning. You can relax your body part by part, tense and release muscles, or count breaths.
Many relaxation techniques are described in my article How to Relax and Reduce Stress.

Recently, a method has circulated online that supposedly helps U.S. soldiers fall asleep even on the battlefield: the 4-7-8 breathing technique—inhale for 4 counts, hold for 7, exhale for 8. Personally, I find it difficult and irritating, so not really helpful with falling asleep, but it costs nothing to try. Different things work for different people.

In general, relaxation alone was rarely enough for me. It doesn’t occupy the brain enough, so thoughts easily drift. Especially during stressful times, it helps to give the brain something more structured to do, like in the earlier methods.

6. Movement

This isn’t advice for when you wake up in the middle of the night, but for daytime. If you’re not physically active enough, your body may simply not get tired enough for good sleep.
I never sleep better than after a full day of hiking—or in spring, during peak gardening season. You don’t need to exercise right before bed if you’ve been active during the day. But if your body is tired enough, you might not even need special techniques to fall asleep. Sadly, mental fatigue alone doesn’t seem to do the trick.

Additional tips often mentioned elsewhere (but good to have all in one place):

• Sleep in as dark a room as possible. Any light can disrupt melatonin production—the hormone that regulates sleep.
• Avoid electronic devices before bed—their blue light also interferes with melatonin.
• Lower the room temperature. Although we’re often used to constant indoor temperatures, gradual cooling at night is a natural signal to the body that it’s time for sleep.
• Avoid drinking anything a few hours before bed (so you’re not awakened by a full bladder). Also avoid late meals and stimulants like caffeine.
• Establish an evening routine. Repeating the same activities before bed helps your body “get the message” that it’s time to sleep. Besides brushing your teeth and putting on pajamas, this can include a warm shower, relaxing music, or meditation.

I hope you’ll sleep well from now on! 🌙

Related articles:

How to Relax and Reduce Stress

11 Tips To Change Toxic Habits

Panic Attacks, Phobia And Anxiety: How To Deal With Them

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