Breathing exercises for sleep

Breathing will not knock you out - nothing honest does. What it can do is lower arousal so that sleep, when it is ready, is not blocked by a racing body.

A ten-minute wind-down

1. Slow down first
   In bed or just before, breathe a touch slower than normal for a minute or two - through the nose, small and quiet.
2. Lengthen the exhale
   Shift to roughly 4 seconds in, 6 out for a few minutes. This is the heart of the routine.
3. Optionally: 4-7-8
   If holds feel fine, finish with three or four cycles of 4-7-8 breathing - or stay with the longer exhale. Both work; comfort wins.

Honest expectations

Slow, exhale-heavy breathing reliably lowers physiological arousal, and lower arousal is a good doorway to sleep - but it is one input among many. If you regularly cannot sleep, snore heavily or wake gasping, talk to a clinician; breathing exercises are not a treatment for insomnia or sleep apnea. More in breathing for sleep.