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Can’t Sleep? This Doctor’s Trick Will Have You Pass Out in Seconds

Catch some well deserved ZZZs with this trick.

May 7, 2015

If you’re plagued by repeated sleepless nights and counting sheep above your bed simply isn’t doing the trick, we may just have found your answer to finally getting a restful night. One man, Dr. Andrew Weil, has found a breathing trick to have you passed out within seconds.

Dr. Weil advises using what he calls, “The 4-7-8 Breathing Exercise” which was inspired by yoga and its breathing practices. In a YouTube video, Dr. Weil explains that “The 4-7-8 Breathing Exercise is utterly simple, takes almost no time, requires no equipment and can be done anywhere”.

Here are Dr. Weil’s written instructions:

1) Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound.

2) Close your mouth and inhale quietly through your nose to a mental count of four.

3) Hold your breath for a count of seven.

4) Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound to a count of eight.

5) This is one breath. Now inhale again and repeat the cycle three more times for a total of four breaths.

The breathing practice is meant to slow down the heart rate and calm the mind. Dr. Weil suggests focusing on keeping the ratio correct and inhaling/exhaling deeply each time in order for it to work at its best abilities.

For such a simple exercise, it seems almost too good to be true, right? However, if you’ve ever taken a yoga class, you’ll know how relaxing focusing on your breathing can be (especially during shavasana). So, don’t knock it ’till you try it, folks!

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