For years, Massimo Alpian struggled with how to go to sleep fast and get through the night without waking up. Something as minimal as the small tap of a shade on the window from a breeze would make him flustered, keeping him awake for 3 or more hours before drifting into a sleep that felt anything but restful.<\/p>\n
\u201cI often felt helpless, like I was on a never ending spiral,\u201d Alpian tells GQ. \u201cThe lack of sleep led to greater anxiety which led to higher levels of stress. It felt like a cycle that would never end that grew bigger than me or anything I could do to stop it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alpian had enough, and his sleep deprivation<\/a> led him to speak with multiple physicians and ultimately change some things about his bedroom environment. With a white noise machine and blackout shutters, and he created an entirely different experience. Long gone were the days of taking hours to finally get to rest. \u201cIt took a lot of patience, education, patience, as well as self-reflection, but I found my way,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Few things are more important to your overall health and well-being than good sleep<\/a>. Which makes sense, considering the average human spends roughly one-third of their life horizontal. But good sleep is interpretive. For maximum sleep benefits<\/a>, some believe it\u2019s getting the CDC\u2019s recommended sleep amount<\/a> of 7 to 9 hours per night. But really, it\u2019s much more than that. The jumping off point for a solid night of shuteye? How fast it takes for you to crash.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the biggest myths is that a healthy sleeper will fall asleep quickly,\u201d says Dr. Rebecca Robbins<\/a>, assistant professor of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School and an associate scientist in the Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders<\/a> at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. \u201cIn a perfect world, we’d have a miracle drug or something that could kind of knock us out into healthy, natural sleep and wake up and feel refreshed, but the truth is it does actually take time.\u201d<\/p>\n Even a well-rested person can take 15 or 20 minutes to fall asleep, says Dr. Robbins. More than that, and it may be time to analyze what other behaviors or factors could be impacting your shut-eye. If you\u2019re constantly fighting with yourself over getting\u2014and staying\u2014asleep, then we\u2019ve got 11 tips perfect for you:<\/p>\n 1. Make a Pre-Bedtime Ritual<\/p>\n