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The long exhale

This 1:2 breathing practice is especially helpful if anxiety is causing sleep problems.

What to do:

Try this before bedtime or in the night if you’re having insomnia. Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor, hip-width apart. Place a palm on your abdomen and take a few relaxed breaths, feeling the abdomen expand on the inhalation and contract on the exhalation. Mentally count the length of each inhalation and exhalation for several breaths.

Make the breaths equal length, gradually increasing the length of exhalation by 1 to 2 seconds by gently contracting the abdomen. As your breathing becomes smoother and more relaxed, continue to gradually increase the exhalation by 1 to 2 seconds once every few breaths. Make sure you experience no strain as the exhalation increases and keep going until your exhalation is up to twice the length of the inhalation, but not beyond. For example, if your inhalation is comfortably 4 seconds, do not increase the length of your exhalation to more than 8 seconds.