A Psychiatrist & Neuroscientist's Favorite Breathing Exercises For Sleep

There is no shortage of sleep-promoting tips out there, from lighting hacks to herbal therapies to relaxing yoga poses. But sometimes the simplest habits are actually the most powerful. It's certainly the case for psychiatrist and neuroscientist Dave Rabin, M.D., Ph.D., co-founder of Apollo Neuro, who swears by breathing techniques for a good night's rest on the mindbodygreen podcast. 

"My favorite technique is relatively simple," Rabin says. "Just breathe the way you breathe when you're sleeping." Think long, slow inhales and exhales: "[Breathe for] five seconds in, hold for a second, [then breathe for] five or six seconds out. Just keep doing that, and try to fill your lungs as deep as you can and empty them as much as you can on every exhale," he explains. 

This simple technique activates your parasympathetic nervous system, which takes you out of a "fight-or-flight" response and into a "rest-and-digest" mindset. "Your body starts to wind down, and you're starting to tell your body, 'Hey, you're safe. You're safe enough to pay attention to this breath. That means you're safe enough to fall asleep,'" says Rabin. 

If you want to level up the practice, start incorporating progressive muscle relaxation: "You basically reach out with your fingers and toes as far as you can, like a reaching stretch while you're lying down in bed," explains Rabin. "Stretch for five seconds as you breathe in and relax; then you breathe out and repeat that cycle going all the way up your body, just drawing your awareness away from your thoughts about earlier that day, things you need to do the next day, or wherever else your mind could go." 

The best time to practice these breathing exercises for sleep is, well, right before bed—but the great thing about these techniques is that they're super versatile. Feel free to incorporate them at any point during your wind-down routine.