Fall Asleep: 4 Steps

 Fall Asleep: 4 Steps

We live in a 24-hour society with little regard for rest or its well-known benefits. A solid night’s sleep contributes to greater mental acuity¹ and serves us in almost every aspect of life. A lack of sleep leads to poor work performance, irritability², greater risk of injury, and overall poor health.  

A poll conducted by the National Sleep Foundation revealed that three out of four adults in the U.S. have chronic³ trouble falling asleep, and that one in three suffers from fatigue⁴ due to a lack of sleep that is severe enough to inhibit⁵ their daily activities.

So, what’s keeping us up? Work stress and relationship conflicts can contribute to a restless, preoccupied⁶ mind, but one could also argue that when trying to fall asleep we don’t respect the process; perhaps because we have been doing it so long, we take it for granted. The truth is that falling asleep is not a trait we’re privileged with -- it’s a skill we must develop.

The following four steps have been geared toward developing the fundamental skill of falling asleep. Keep in mind that trying to fall asleep doesn’t begin the moment you climb into bed; plan ahead to accommodate the time you know you will need to fall sleep.

Here are four steps that will help you through the process of trying to fall asleep.

Step 1  Take care of pressing business

First things first: The smallest issues, such as responding to an e-mail, can keep your mind alert enough to prevent you from relaxing. 

Before you try to fall sleep, make certain you have addressed anything -- any issue or pressing business -- that has the potential to nag⁷ at you. In short, if there is anything that might cause you distress⁸ and prevent you from relaxing when you climb into bed, take care of it now. 

If there are issues you simply can not tackle before going to bed, jot⁹ them onto a piece of paper, including any additional thoughts you might have on the subjects. Doing this lets you feel as though you have acknowledged the issues and have taken nominal¹⁰ steps to address them that night -- a reassuring¹¹ belief that can pay off as you try to fall asleep.

Step  2  Hide the alarm clock

We all know what it’s like to lie in bed and, every so often, glance at the clock and do the math: “1:00; I can still get five hours of sleep,” but that optimism soon turns to negotiation¹²: “1:30; four and a half hours. If I skip a shower and don’t stop for coffee, I can still get five hours.” Two big problems accompany this: It is not the kind of mental activity that contributes to relaxation¹³, and by trading away aspects of your morning routine, you severely¹⁴ compromise your entire day. 

In any given 12- to 24-hour period, you need your alarm clock on precisely¹⁵ two occasions: at night when going to bed to set the alarm, and in the morning when that alarm goes off. Between those two occasions, you have no use for the thing, so position it so that you can not see the clock face. Taking such a step will also prevent you from knowing what time it is if you wake up in the middle of the night. While it may be reassuring at times to wake up and learn you still have four or five hours of sleep left, there will be other times when you wake up to less reassuring news.

You will benefit in the long-term from eliminating all the distractions¹⁶ associated with going to bed, including watching television or listening to music. Reliance on these stimulants¹⁷ to fall asleep sets a dangerous precedent¹⁸ for those occasions when you’re not at home and don’t have access to them, as well as those times when you awake in the middle of the night and can’t fall asleep again without them. 

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Step 3 Quiet your mind

Filtering out all the rambling¹⁹ thoughts from your mind when trying to fall asleep may be the most important step in the process. It may also be the most difficult. 

In order to quiet your mind, get ready to fall asleep with the firm conviction that whatever might be bothering you and causing your mind to race will be there tomorrow, and can wait until then to be addressed. If that thought doesn’t bring you peace, you will need to assume a selfish approach and assure yourself that losing sleep over it does nothing to help the situation, it only serves to hurt you. 

Experts recommend avoiding stimulants like caffeine, nicotine²⁰ or alcohol within six hours of going to bed, since they can exacerbate²¹ your restless mind and keep you alert.  They can also mitigate²² the value of the hours you do manage to sleep.

Step 4 Follow a single image to sleep

Pick a soothing²³ image -- something that brings you peace. It needs to have sufficient detail to keep your attention; it’s OK for your mind to be active in this process -- just don’t let it be overactive. Your mind’s focus should be dedicated²⁴ to the colors, shapes and slow, easy movement of this image. Best case scenario²⁵, your mind will succumb²⁶ to the image and it will hypnotize you into sleep.

Everyone’s relaxing image will differ, but ideally it should omit people -- or at least people you know. Thinking about a quiet meadow under an easy breeze is fine, but inserting your ex-girlfriend is only going to stimulate²⁷ a host of other distracting thoughts and emotions.  

1 acuity   

n.敏锐，（疾病的）剧烈

参考例句：

• We work on improving visual acuity.我们致力于提高视觉的敏锐度。
• The nurse may also measure visual acuity.护士还可以检查视敏度。

2 irritability   

n.易怒

参考例句：

• It was the almost furtive restlessness and irritability that had possessed him. 那是一种一直纠缠着他的隐秘的不安和烦恼。
• All organisms have irritability while alive. 所有生物体活着时都有应激性。

3 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

4 fatigue   

n.疲劳，劳累

参考例句：

• The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
• I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。

5 inhibit   

vt.阻止，妨碍，抑制

参考例句：

• Don't let ego and greed inhibit clear thinking and hard work.不要让自我和贪婪妨碍清晰的思维和刻苦的工作。
• They passed a law to inhibit people from parking in the street.他们通过一项法令以阻止人们在街上停车。

6 preoccupied   

adj.全神贯注的，入神的；被抢先占有的；心事重重的v.占据（某人）思想，使对…全神贯注，使专心于( preoccupy的过去式)

参考例句：

• He was too preoccupied with his own thoughts to notice anything wrong. 他只顾想着心事，没注意到有什么不对。
• The question of going to the Mount Tai preoccupied his mind. 去游泰山的问题盘踞在他心头。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 nag   

v.(对…)不停地唠叨；n.爱唠叨的人

参考例句：

• Nobody likes to work with a nag.谁也不愿与好唠叨的人一起共事。
• Don't nag me like an old woman.别像个老太婆似的唠唠叨叨烦我。

8 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

9 jot   

n.少量；vi.草草记下；vt.匆匆写下

参考例句：

• I'll jot down their address before I forget it.我得赶快把他们的地址写下来，免得忘了。
• There is not a jot of evidence to say it does them any good.没有丝毫的证据显示这对他们有任何好处。

10 nominal   

adj.名义上的；(金额、租金)微不足道的

参考例句：

• The king was only the nominal head of the state. 国王只是这个国家名义上的元首。
• The charge of the box lunch was nominal.午餐盒饭收费很少。

11 reassuring   

a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的，使人放心的

参考例句：

• He gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. 他轻拍了一下她的肩膀让她放心。
• With a reassuring pat on her arm, he left. 他鼓励地拍了拍她的手臂就离开了。

12 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

13 relaxation   

n.松弛，放松；休息；消遣；娱乐

参考例句：

• The minister has consistently opposed any relaxation in the law.部长一向反对法律上的任何放宽。
• She listens to classical music for relaxation.她听古典音乐放松。

14 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

15 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

16 distractions   

n.使人分心的事[人]( distraction的名词复数 )；娱乐，消遣；心烦意乱；精神错乱

参考例句：

• I find it hard to work at home because there are too many distractions. 我发觉在家里工作很难，因为使人分心的事太多。
• There are too many distractions here to work properly. 这里叫人分心的事太多，使人无法好好工作。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 stimulants   

n.兴奋剂( stimulant的名词复数 )；含兴奋剂的饮料；刺激物；激励物

参考例句：

• Coffee and tea are mild stimulants. 咖啡和茶是轻度兴奋剂。
• At lower concentrations they may even be stimulants of cell division. 在浓度较低时，它们甚至能促进细胞分裂。 来自辞典例句

18 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

19 rambling   

adj.[建]凌乱的，杂乱的

参考例句：

• We spent the summer rambling in Ireland. 我们花了一个夏天漫游爱尔兰。
• It was easy to get lost in the rambling house. 在布局凌乱的大房子里容易迷路。

20 nicotine   

n.(化)尼古丁，烟碱

参考例句：

• Many smokers who are chemically addicted to nicotine cannot cut down easily.许多有尼古丁瘾的抽烟人不容易把烟戒掉。
• Many smokers who are chemically addicted to nicotine cannot cut down easily.许多有尼古丁瘾的抽烟人不容易把烟戒掉。

21 exacerbate   

v.恶化，增剧，激怒，使加剧

参考例句：

• WMO says a warming climate can exacerbate air pollution.世界气象组织说，气候变暖可能会加剧空气污染。
• In fact efforts will merely exacerbate the current problem.实际上努力只会加剧当前的问题。

22 mitigate   

vt.（使）减轻，（使）缓和

参考例句：

• The government is trying to mitigate the effects of inflation.政府正试图缓和通货膨胀的影响。
• Governments should endeavour to mitigate distress.政府应努力缓解贫困问题。

23 soothing   

adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的

参考例句：

• Put on some nice soothing music.播放一些柔和舒缓的音乐。
• His casual, relaxed manner was very soothing.他随意而放松的举动让人很快便平静下来。

24 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

25 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

26 succumb   

v.屈服，屈从；死

参考例句：

• They will never succumb to the enemies.他们决不向敌人屈服。
• Will business leaders succumb to these ideas?商业领袖们会被这些观点折服吗？

27 stimulate   

vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋

参考例句：

• Your encouragement will stimulate me to further efforts.你的鼓励会激发我进一步努力。
• Success will stimulate the people for fresh efforts.成功能鼓舞人们去作新的努力。