How many hours have you spent staring at the ceiling instead of closing your eyes and going to sleep? How many sets of counting sheep have you done to get the rest that you need?

If you usually struggle with going to sleep, you might consider popping some sleeping pills to get some precious shuteye.

However, you don’t have to turn to these drastic measures just yet if you have not tried this new technique to falling asleep in as fast as osne minute.

You can always try the 4-7-8 breathing technique, which starts off like this:

• Point the tip of your tongue to the tissue covering the back of your upper front teeth.
• Inhale through your nose for 4 seconds.
• Hold your breath for 7 seconds.
• Exhale through your mouth for 8 seconds, complete with a “whoosh” sound.
• Do the steps above three more times.

You should focus more on holding your breath for all of those eight seconds until you have fully released your breath. By keeping your breath in, you will maximize the amount of oxygen entering your lungs and allowing it to circulate throughout your body. This in turn encourages your body to relax.

This breathing technique will help calm your heart rate down and trick your brain to release chemicals that will help you sleep. It is also called “The Relaxing Breath,” as developed by Dr. Andrew Weil, M.D., a Harvard-trained medical doctor who promotes holistic health and believes that getting a good night’s sleep is possible with simply exhaling and inhaling.

The technique is inspired by the pranayama, an ancient Indian practice that is translated as “regulation of breath.” According to Weil, this trick helps the nervous system, and the body as a whole, to calm down and relax.

Click on to watch the video on how the 4-7-8 breathing technique is done.