Physical therapist reveals three easy tricks to help you fall asleep naturally

If you’re having trouble falling asleep, a physical therapist shared some drug-free tricks to get a good night’s sleep.

Dr. Dan, who regularly posts his tips and tricks on TikTok, shared the helpful advice in a new video – adding that you don’t even have to get out of bed to manipulate your body into restful sleep.

The Physiotherapist from New York first suggested trying progressive muscle relaxation.

“You may know it as tensing your muscles as hard as you can until you can finally switch them off and relax,” he said.

He explained the process and told people to start by lying down and squeezing their chest muscles as hard as they could and holding for about two or three seconds.

“Continue working your way down until you’re done with the legs, then contract all your muscles at once,” he instructed.

‘Before you know it, you’ll feel relaxed and ready to sleep.’

The second piece of advice was just general stretching.

“Stretching is a quick and easy way to activate your parasympathetic nervous system, the nervous system that makes you feel relaxed,” he advised.

“Choose four or five of your favorite stretches, hold each for fifteen to twenty seconds, and repeat for two or three sets.”

The PT reminded people to “remember to focus on your breathing” while stretching.

He also said that people should go through the movements in a slow and controlled manner.

‘[So] it gets you to the point where you can fall asleep,” said Dr. Than.

The expert also suggested general stretching, holding each position for 15 to 20 seconds

The third and final trick is for those who have trouble falling asleep because they feel jittery and restless.

“There are a lot of nerves in your legs, and by gliding these nerves you can calm and relax them,” he explained.

“We’ll start with the largest nerve, your sciatic nerve,” he said, lying on his back with one leg extended and holding the other up in an L-shape with his hands.

‘Hold your leg with both hands as you point your toe towards your face and slowly extend your knee until you feel a gentle stretch in the back of your leg.

“Repeat this fifteen times on each side.”

The last stretch he suggested was lying on his stomach and stretching the largest nerve in the front of his leg: the femoral nerve.

“Bend your knee and lift it toward the ceiling,” he said. ‘Repeat this also fifteen times.’

In September, a study suggested that people who have trouble getting some sleep should try a banana milkshake before bed to get some rest.

Researchers found that those who had trouble falling asleep slept faster and longer if they treated themselves to the two foods at the last minute in the evening.

Eating a banana shortened the time it took insomniacs to drift off, from an average of two hours to 36 minutes.

The study, published in the Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition, followed 21 insomniacs as just over half devoured a whole banana and a small cup of milk every night for six weeks, and half tried to fall asleep as usual.