The drug-free chemically inducing way to fall asleep in 30 minutes
Getting a good night’s sleep might be easier than you think with a simple trick able to turn your body clock off.
There’s a way to fall asleep within 30 minutes without the need of pills or potions – and the trick is all to do with temperature.
Scientific studies have proven that human bodies can begin their shutdown for sleep by either warming up or cooling down.
A Harvard study found participants fell asleep faster taking an average 6.2 minutes when their body temperature was at its lowest (about 36.5C). When they were warmer (37-37.5C) it took about 20 minutes to fall asleep.
As the evening approaches, the human body begins to decrease its temperature naturally, leaving some people wanting to warm up as they go to bed while for others they feel the need to cool down.
Scientist Tara Youngblood took this further by developing a product which will do just that – either cool or warm you as you go to sleep.
She was suffering depression and insomnia after the tragedy of losing a child. So, desperate for some better sleep, she began researching the science behind it.
This led her to create Chili Technology and invent cooling and heating pads that sit on a bed, underneath your covers, allowing people to regulate their temperatures before sleeping.
She explained changes in body temperature can act as a sleep switch.
“When you think of your life today, your temperature remains consistent for most of the day. But outside where humans evolved, that temperature would drop of an evening. Throughout evolution, humans got used to that temperature drop before sleep but in modern life this does not happen,” she said.
“For me I prefer being warm, but my husband Todd needs somewhere cold. It doesn’t matter what the change is, but when you flip that switch you can fall asleep within 30 minutes.”
After the pair fought over the temperature of the bedroom for months, they developed the technology which allows them both to sleep soundly.
Their products, the Ooler or Cube sleep system, have been sold across the globe for more than a decade.
They work through water-based cooling or heating, which has a higher thermal conductivity than air, allowing for more efficient cooling or heating.
The water is circulated throughout a pad which has small tubes carrying the water. The temperature of the water is regulated by the Ooler or Cube sleep systems.
Australia’s Health Direct recommends adults should aim for around eight hours of sleep each night.
It says sleep is important “to help keep the immune system strong and the heart and blood vessels healthy”.
“It allows for growth and healing, and helps control appetite and weight. Sleep promotes attention, memory and learning,” the Health Direct website says.
It goes on to say poor sleep can impact concentration and mood, as well as being linked to a range of conditions such as heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes.