To put it bluntly, sleep is one of the greatest superpowers known to mankind. Unless you have been living under a rock for the last 20 years, you will have seen the magnitude of scientific studies into sleep and how essential it is for our physical and emotional well-being.

Sleep helps us recover from stress and exercise, boosts our immune system, and improves our mood. But so many people, including myself, struggle to fall asleep.

I love sleep just as much as the next person. However, as long as I can remember, falling asleep was always a struggle. Whether it was because I was sitting on my phone for two hours before bed or just being an over-thinker. I have always struggled with falling asleep.

Over the years, I have tried various methods to help me fall asleep quicker. No screens 3 hours before bed. Using a cold fan to help my core temperature reduce quickly. I even spent hundreds of dollars on a new mattress and mattress toppers.

It wasn’t until I came across Dr. Andrew Weil’s 4-7-8 breathwork technique that it all started to click into place. Dr. Weil describes this breathwork technique as a ‘natural tranquillizer for the nervous system’.

Not only is this breathwork technique so easy and simple to perform, but it is also completely FREE. Unlike me spending hundreds of dollars on new fans and mattresses, all you had to do to find the cheapest sleep hack known to mankind was be a @BreathingByEd follower.

The Science Behind The 4-7-8 Technique. If you subscribe to The Breath Letter you will know that within our bodies our heart, lungs and other systems are powered by our autonomic nervous system (ANS). Within our autonomic nervous system, we have two different systems.

The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and parasympathetic nervous system (PNS). The sympathetic system is the system that controls our fight-flight response when we enter stressful situations.

We also have the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) is the system that promotes rest and digestion as well as sending signals of calm throughout our body.

The reason the 4-7-8 breathwork technique works so well is because when we go to bed feeling stressed and our mind’s are racing this means that our sympathetic nervous system is currently the more dominant out of the two systems.

When we carry out the 4-7-8 breathwork technique this activates our parasympathetic nervous system which in turn sends our body into a deep state of relaxation allowing ourselves to fall asleep quicker.

The way this technique activates our parasympathetic nervous system is because following the inhale to the count of 4, we hold our breath to the count of 7. This holding of our breath suppresses the sympathetic section of our nervous system.

Then, the elongated exhale to the count of 8 maximizes the activation of our parasympathetic nervous system making it the dominant section of our nervous system. So simple. Yet so powerful.

So without further ado here is… A Step-By-Step Guide to The 4-7-8 Breathwork Technique As I have mentioned above, this breathwork technique is so easy and simple, yet the benefits for your sleep are intangible.

All you have to do is: 1. Inhale through your nose to a count of four. 2. Hold your breath for a count of seven. 3. Exhale completely in one breath through your mouth to a count of eight. 4. Now inhale again and repeat the cycle three more times for a total of four breaths

You can also try a FREE BreathingByEd 4-7-8 Breathwork session in the video 👇

It is very important to remember that with all the breathwork techniques I outline, at the start this might feel challenging. Don’t be put off by this. Just take it slowly & watch your body become more comfortable as you begin to regularly implement this practice.

PS: If you enjoyed this... I write about: - Breathwork - High Performance - Mindset - Personal Development If you want to take control of your emotions and state of mind, drop me a follow @BreathingByEd.