Improve the quality of your sleep by breathing better air

Better air filters. Better breathing. Better sleep.

One of the most amazing and life changing benefits of subscribing to TRU’s air filter delivery service and receiving your custom MERV 13 premium grade air filters every 30, 60, or 90 days is that it’s your (and your family’s) constant reminder about the importance of breath, breathing the best air possible and, most importantly, forming health habits for so that you can live your best life.

Today, we are going to focus on improving the quality of your sleep with some healthy breathing habits. Have you ever been lying in bed with thoughts racing through your mind until you run out of sheep to count? Well, breathing exercises for sleep can help send you into dreamland.

The 4-7-8 sleep breath technique

According to Dr. Andrew Weil, one of the most effective techniques for getting to sleep is the 4-7-8 sleep breath technique. In order for this technique to work well, you need to adhere to this ratio when it comes to inhalation, holding the breath, and exhalation.

Don’t worry if you can’t last for 4, 7, or 8— you can work your way up to this. Just make sure you are still working in the same ratio (i.e. 2, 3.5, 4):

1. Make sure you are lying down in bed wearing comfortable clothes. Practice good sleep hygiene by maintaining your bedroom for sleep and personal activities, not work!
2. Place the tip of your tongue on the soft tissue that sits right behind your upper front teeth. Make sure that your tongue stays there during the entire exercise.
3. Exhale all the breath from your body through your mouth and make a whooshing sound as you do this. You are now at the starting point of the breathing cycle.
4. Inhale through your nose counting to 4.
5. Hold the breath for a count of 7.
6. Exhale slowly through your mouth to a count of 8, making sure that you make the whooshing sound again.
7. Repeat the breathing cycle three times.

Do this exercise at bedtime and once in the morning. In no time, you should be experiencing more restful sleep.

Breathing like a buzzing bee

The Sanskrit word “brahmari” for “bee” brings us a unique breathing technique that can also help with sleep. The technique is quite simple: inhale through your nose, then exhale through your nose while making a humming sound with your throat. You can enhance the effect by plugging your ears.

This can help you focus on your breath and relax but also has the added benefit of helping to block out external noise and “noisy” internal thoughts that might keep you up.

So, next time you receive your TRU filtered air subscription, we’d like you to open the box (and if you have a family open it with them, too) and use this subscription reminder as a time to practice these simple tips! Make every breath count!