Guide: For falling asleep

Your body finished hours ago, your head did not. You are lying in bed and in the background it keeps running: tomorrow's appointment, that sentence from the teacher, the list. Turning over doesn't help, because the problem isn't your position.

This exercise gives your head something to do and your body a signal. Four seconds in, seven hold, eight out. In the app, For falling asleep guides you through the rounds. Here is the same exercise to read up on, so you can do it in the dark without turning on a screen.

Why it works

The numbers are not arbitrary, but they are not magic either. What matters is the ratio: the exhale is twice as long as the inhale. That ratio tips the nervous system towards calm, because the exhale phase engages the vagus nerve and slows the heart.

The hold in between does two things. It slows the breathing rate further, and it builds up a little carbon dioxide, which settles the urge to breathe rather than rushing it.

And then there is the part that matters more than physiology at night: counting occupies your head. Three different numbers are just demanding enough that the thought carousel has no room left, and simple enough not to wake you up. For many ADHD brains that is exactly where this exercise takes hold.

What it gives you

It switches you from doing-mode to letting go. Four rounds take a good minute. Often you don't notice getting tired. You notice that you stopped thinking ahead.

What it is not: a sleeping pill. It makes falling asleep easier, it doesn't force it. And if you haven't slept for weeks, that is not a case for a breathing exercise but one for a doctor.