January 12, 2015

Ready, Set, Sleep!



I may stand corrected.  Which would make me and a lot of clients happy.  And sleepy.  As a cognitive behavioral psychologist (CBT) I typically teach a 6-4-8 breathing exercise as a stress relief technique and as a sleep aid,.  This involves a 6-second inhale, 4-second hold, and 8-second exhale (or 8-4-10, depending on the individual's starting point).

But in this post  by Alina Gonzalez entitled, How I Learned To Fall Asleep In Under 1 Minute, she advocates using Dr. Andrew Weil's breathing technique which she calls the "4-7-8 Trick."  You can go to Dr. Weil's website to see him demonstrate, here.

So I plan to take the 4-7-8 versus 6-4-8 breathing challenge.  And I invite readers to do the same. Leave me a comment and let me know which breathing exercise calmed, relaxed, and helped you get to sleep the most quickly.

Ready, Set, Sleep!


And a big shout out to my sister for 
bringing my attention to the article Under 1 Minute blog post. 

--Sandy Andrews, Ph.D.
Cognitive Behavioral Psychologist 
Austin, Texas

Grief Resources in Austin and Beyond

When you need more than your loved ones can provide, there is help.            Resources for Grief and Support Groups     Compassionate Frie...