Many people worldwide struggle with falling asleep. They may do the right things such as improving their sleep hygiene by staying away from caffeine after 2 pm or keeping their screens off two hours before going to bed, and so on. However, many people even though keep their sleep hygiene up to par still struggle to fall asleep quickly as they toss and turn. That is because of having racing thoughts, and if there is anything, in particular, causing them stress, they will think about it even in the best sleeping conditions.
However, there is good news for those who struggle to fall asleep even in the best setting for sleeping – and that is by falling a simple US Army trick that can help get people to sleep within 120 seconds.
What Is The Military Method To Help You Sleep?
The method was noted in the book, Relax and Win: Championship Performance, by Lloyd Winter that spoke about this military sleep trick. What happened was that the US Navy Pre-Flight School ended up setting a routine to help pilots fall asleep in less than two minutes. The trick took them six weeks to master the trick as it does take time to get used to if you do not fall asleep quickly. However, it ended up working even after drinking coffee or alcohol. The way it works is that you relax your face which includes your mouth muscles.
Then you will drop your shoulders so you can release any stress and tension, and allow your hands to hang at the side of your body. Begin exhaling to relax your chest, and then relax your legs, then your thighs, and finally your calves. Then the important part of this trick is to shut your mind off with your thoughts and relax it, and you can do this by imagining a scene that is relaxing such as a flower garden or a beach, or anything else that you find to be relaxing.
If that fails, you can always tell yourself over again to not think. Once you master that, you will be asleep within ten seconds. Once again, it will take time to master this. However, with practice, you will be able to master this quickly once you do. It will be more of a challenge for those who have naturally active minds which is the reason that they toss and turn at night.
It also does not help for those who have a history of insomnia to not get sleep because they worry about not sleeping. The more you worry about not sleeping, the worse quality of sleep you will get, and the longer you will toss and turn. Therefore, those who struggle with insomnia due to mental chatter that happens late at night will work extra hard to master this trick. However, once they do, this could be a solution to their problems.
If you find yourself struggling with this method, you will want to work also more on the foundations such as muscle relaxation and breathing. All you can do is keep practicing, even if you have anxiety or ADHD which can make the method more challenging.
It is also important to keep your sleep hygiene clean even if you use this method because you will have an easier time mastering the method with good sleep hygiene. That means you will want to stop drinking coffee or caffeinated beverages in the early afternoon and keep away from alcohol right before bed. Keep yourself away from screens two hours before you go to bed, and also sleep in pitch dark settings. That will help you win this tactic quicker!
