On an average night, 30 to 40 million Americans have difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or wake earlier than they would like and cannot get back to sleep.

Being no stranger to nights of subpar sleep, I've coached my athletes through the morning's first session with only a few hours of shuteye countless times.

With zero adverse effects on my ability to get my coaching points across.

Training is a different matter, though.

No way I'm getting in a great session at the gym running on fumes.

That's why I use earplugs, melatonin pills, curtains that block light, the whole shebang to guarantee top performance next day.

And here's something I've started doing lately that has worked very well for falling asleep fast and sleeping tight through the night...

First, complete your sleep routine as usual.

Brush teeth, get busy with your chica, read some fiction, write in your journal, whatever.

Then...

Block out all distractions.

Stop the music.

Turn off your phone.

Kill the lights.

Lie down on the floor with your feet propped up either on your bed or against a wall.

(Your legs will form a "V" in this position)

Close your eyes.

Breathe in through your nose.

Push the air all the way down into your belly.

Not just front to back, but side to side as well.

(Called diaphragm breathing)

Exhale through mouth.

That's one rep.

Bang out 20 of these while focusing on nothing but your breathing.

Do this right and you'll feel sleepy in no time.

I'm usually yawning by breath #7.

And ready to hit the sheets after 20 inhale/exhales.

Try this tonight before bed.

It's only gonna take 2 minutes.

Then get back to me on how it worked.

Sleep tight.

Yunus Barisik

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