The simple mental game that can help you fall asleep in 'under five minutes'

Couple sleeping in bed, hotel room in daylight, jet lagged from traveling
-Credit: (Image: Getty Images)


Many people in the world struggle to sleep, for multiple different reasons – it could be down to stress at work, or in the home, family life or even excitement for the next day.

While it’s common to have a bad night’s sleep, it can be extremely impactful on people's lives if it happens often.

If your sleeping pattern if impacting your wellbeing, it is best to do something about it. Now one expert and therapist has revealed how you can get to sleep within five minutes each night.

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Taking to TikTok, the woman shared a trick which is extremely usual for anyone struggling to sleep at night, or with ADHD, reports Surrey Live.

The account @betwixt.app, which has over 75,000 followers, asked how long on average it takes for people to fall asleep.

She added: "Is it under five minutes, between five and 10 minutes or between 10 and 30 minutes? Or are we talking 30 minutes plus? I spent most of my life in the final category, in fact, falling asleep in 30 minutes would have counted as a victory.

"Now much to the disgust of my partner and even though I have an ADHD brain that literally doesn't shut up, I'm in the under five minutes category and let me tell you, it is so good. Here's how I do it."

She always starts by switching off her bedroom lights, and closing her eyes, then begins to play a silent game in her head. The way it works is the game occupies your mind with a task, but it does not stress you enough to keep you awake to finish it, but enough to lock you in.

The woman explains that locking in is the most important part as this stops the brain from going off on a tangent.

To begin, you start by choosing a category – from fruits and vegetables to movies and celebrities. Then you start by going through the letters of the alphabet, matching them to the category.

Such as A for Alan Rickman B for Brad Pitt C for Colin Firth and so on.

The video explained: "I find the best way to do it is to think of the letter on the in breath and then to think of your answer on the out breath."

This game should help you to slow down your breathing, and the health expert claims to have played it every single night for years, and it has never let her down.

The video has over 200,000 likes and thousands of comments on TikTok with one user writing: “It worked.” Whilst another added: "My friend told me this is amazing!"

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On average a healthy adult should have seven to nine hours sleep, but this can be impacted by health and age.

If you think you might have insomnia, it is best to speak with your GP, who will be able to help you develop methods to get a better sleep routine.

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