If counting sheep isn’t doing the trick, a viral sleep hack could be just what you need to finally get some shut-eye.
Meditation guru Emily Kessler has taken the internet by storm with her “house tour sleep hack,” a visualization technique designed to calm your racing thoughts and help you drift off into dreamland.
“If you have trouble sleeping at night I’m about to share with you a really strange and weird hack for sleeping that sounds like it makes no sense but it’s helped me and literally everyone else I’ve told it to,” Kessler said in an August TikTok that has since gone viral, amassing over 2 million views.
How it works
Once you’re tucked in, Kessler recommends starting with a few slow, deep breaths.
Research shows that deep breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which calms your body, and helps produce melatonin, the hormone that helps you fall asleep.
Once you’ve mellowed out, it’s time to visualize. Kessler suggests imagining a house you’re familiar with — but not your own. For example, she often uses her grandmother’s house.
“Visualize yourself slowly walking up to the house, noticing all the details about the outside, going up to the door, opening the door, and walking in,” Kessler explained.
From there, she recommends moving slowly from room to room, taking in as many details as you can — the furniture, the artwork, the layout.
“There is something about this that distracts your thinking, busy mind enough to let you fall asleep,” Kessler said. “I’ve literally never made it upstairs at her house.”
Reviews: Mixed but promising
Kessler’s TikTok has sparked more than 2,100 comments, with users sharing mixed results.
For many, the hack worked wonders. “I’ve been stressed and falling asleep has been so tough,” one user commented. “Tried this last night and the last thing I remember is grandma’s kitchen.”
Another user echoed similar success: “I thought I was the only one who did this!!!!! Works every time.”
Other TikTok users put their own spin on the technique, visualizing different places or activities they know well, like cooking a favorite recipe, grocery shopping, or even recalling a movie scene-by-scene.
But not everyone had the same luck. “I can’t concentrate on the house. My thoughts are so loud that it hurts,” one person posted.
Others with aphantasia — a condition where people can’t form mental images — expressed frustration with the hack. For them, Kessler suggested trying other relaxation techniques instead, such as the viral “alpha bridge” breathing exercise.
The science behind the hack
Still skeptical? The good news is that science backs up Kessler’s method.
A 2002 study by the University of Oxford found that visualization techniques really do help people fall asleep faster.
Researchers asked 41 insomniacs to try various distraction techniques, and those who imagined calming, immersive imagery — like a serene setting — drifted off faster than those who tried other methods.
Notably, the study found that the classic sleep aid of counting sheep wasn’t as effective as we’ve been led to believe.
“Counting sheep is just too mundane to keep worries away,” Allison Harvey, a cognitive psychologist and lead author of the study, told The Guardian.
For the more than 50 million Americans who have sleep disorders, the “house tour sleep hack” could be a game-changer.
“It definitely has the potential to help a lot of people,” sleep expert Rex Isap told Popsugar. “This combination of mental distraction, personal connection, and progressive visualization helps the mind to unwind and allows for an easier transition into sleep.”