There really is nothing worse than struggling to fall asleep at night, with many of us guilty of constantly clock watching and getting frustrated when we can’t drift off.
Whether you’re counting sheep, or trying to make yourself drowsy with a hot cup of cocoa, some things just don’t always work.
This can, of course, result in some serious morning grouchiness the next day, which nobody ever wants.
In a video uploaded by Business Insider, Dr. Michael Breus talks about some helpful ways to make yourself fall asleep faster, and one of them involves numbers.
Breus advises that those who are struggling to drop off should count backwards from 300 in groups of three.
This is because in his words, “it's mathematically so complicated, you can't think of anything else”.
He describes the counting activity as “so doggone boring” that you’ll be “out like a light” in no time, which is definitely ideal.
This is an alternative approach to the classic ‘counting sheep’ but is much more complicated, as you’re counting in multiples of three (300, 297, 294).
Interestingly, counting sheep may not be the answer anyway, as a study conducted by researchers at Oxford University in 2002 revealed.
It showed that people with insomnia who counted sheep actually took longer to drift off than those who didn’t.
The study also showed that those who thought of idyllic places whilst trying to sleep, like a beach in the south of France for example, fell asleep much quicker.
Quite clearly, counting backwards from 300 in groups of three is not an easy thing to do, so hopefully it’s a great way of distracting your brain from any worries.
Generally, a rhythm of counting is said to put you in a ‘sleepy state’, which is exactly what you need when you’re trying to catch some z’s.
So maybe the trick to a good night's kip is to count backwards from 300 in groups of three, whilst imagining yourself somewhere hot and sunny? Sounds pretty easy.
