Going for a ‘walk’ through someone else’s house could be the secret to falling asleep faster

If counting sheep isn’t doing the trick, a viral sleep trick might be just what you need to finally get some shut-eye.

Meditation guru Emily Kessler has taken the internet by storm with her “home tour sleep hack,” a visualization technique designed to quiet your racing thoughts and help you drift off to dreamland.

“If you’re having trouble sleeping at night, I’m going to share with you a really weird and wacky sleep hack that seems like a no-brainer, but has helped me and literally everyone else I’ve told ,” Kessler said. an August TikTok that has since gone viral, racking up over 2 million views.

How it works

Once you’re inside, 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 smoothed it out, it’s time to visualize. Kessler suggests imagining a home you’re familiar with—but not your own. For example, she often uses her grandmother’s house.

“Imagine yourself walking slowly through the house, noticing all the details around the outside, walking 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’s something about it that distracts your mind, your mind busy enough to let you fall asleep,” Kessler said. “I literally never got to go upstairs to her house.”

Ratings: Mixed but promising

Kessler’s TikTok has sparked more than 2,100 comments, with users sharing mixed results.

For many people, the hack worked wonders. “I’ve been stressed out and falling asleep has been so hard,” commented one user. “I 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!!!!! It works every time.”

Other TikTok users put their technique into motion, visualizing different places or activities they know well, such as cooking a favorite recipe, grocery shopping or even remembering a movie scene by scene.

But not everyone had the same fate. “I can’t focus on the house. My thoughts are so loud it hurts,” one person posted.

Others with aphantasia – a condition where people cannot form mental images – expressed frustration with the hack. For them, Kessler suggested trying other relaxation techniques, such as the “alpha bridge” viral breathing exercise.

The science behind hacking

Still skeptical? The good news is that science backs up Kessler’s method.

A 2002 study from the University of Oxford found that visualization techniques actually help people fall asleep faster.

The researchers asked 41 insomniacs to try different distraction techniques, and those who imagined calming and immersive imagery—like a peaceful environment—came away faster than those who tried other methods.

Notably, the study found that the classic sleep aid of counting sheep was not as effective as we have been led to believe.

“Counting sheep is too mundane to keep worries at bay,” 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 “home tour sleep hack” can 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 relax and allows for an easier transition to sleep.”