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How to Fall Asleep in Two Minutes or Less

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Re: How to Fall Asleep in Two Minutes or Less

#171

Post by joveian »

odammit wrote: post #77
rsyring wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My son has narcolepsy. When they tested him using a day time sleep study, it was his ability to fall asleep quickly, in just a couple minutes, that was the primary indicator of his condition. I believe the doctor said an ability to fall asleep and hit a certain deep stage of sleep in less than eight minutes is what they look for. In movies and such narcolepsy is often portrayed as uncontrollably falling asleep mid-ac…

Oh so it could actually be narcolepsy and I’ve just been an ass making a joke about it for years. I’m not familiar beyond the movie tropes (that I now know are misrepresentations). Are there complications or other serious things that it can lead to? Are people with narcolepsy generally deep sleepers?

People with narcolepsy frequently have trouble staying asleep at night. With narcolepsy, the brain jumps into REM sleep, so it can be very difficult to get enough of the slow wave sleep that is the most vital form of sleep.

It can sometimes get worse over time, but I don't know of major complications other than those directly caused by the sleep trouble and AFAIK treatment is entirely symptom based at this point. Medical treatments for sleep disorders are generally not that good (but in some cases better than nothing).

Ideopathic hypersomnia or other hypersomnias might cause your symptoms also (maybe more likely if you are a deep sleeper). Antihistamine use might also make that easier (even second generation antihistamines affect some people that way and some random medications are also antihistamine). Or it could just be luck as you say that you are able to do that :). Unless there is more than what you mention, it sounds like an entirely good thing at this point and hopefully if so it will stay that way. I've heard some people with that ability call it a superpower and as someone who has trouble getting to sleep it certainly sounds like one to me.

The rare diseases summary of narcolepsy notes:

"However, because narcolepsy often goes unrecognized or misdiagnosed, determining its true frequency in the general population is difficult.

The onset of narcolepsy can occur anytime between early childhood and 50 years of age. Two peak time periods have been identified; one around 15 years of age and another around 36 years of age. Some researchers believe that narcolepsy is under-diagnosed in children. Narcolepsy tends to remain a lifelong condition. Although the nature and severity of symptoms experienced by an affected person may varying over time, the disorder is not progressive."

https://rarediseases.org/rare-diseases/narcolepsy/

Edit: As someone mentions above, sleep apnea can also cause this and can be treated.

Re: How to Fall Asleep in Two Minutes or Less

#172

Post by joveian »

It should be noted that the military and athletics are both areas that tend to select for people with good sleep to start with (since poor sleep has negative impact on the things they look for) and then often overwork people. So the high success rate is not surprising in those conditions. Sleep is not just the result of both physical and mental relaxation, although most people are likely to be able to sleep in that situation. Every self help book on sleep has varitions of this technique and many people find it helpful, but not everyone is able to sleep quickly even with relaxation.

Re: How to Fall Asleep in Two Minutes or Less

#173

Post by ropable »

kqr wrote: post #167
busterarm wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a podcast that's literally just this. Some guy reads nonsensical stories in a monotone. 10 minutes or less, guaranteed, every time.

I need an URI for that.

This is it (I believe): http://www.sleepwithmepodcast.com/

Re: How to Fall Asleep in Two Minutes or Less

#174

Post by bloopernova »

robterrell wrote: post #67
bloopernova wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good luck with your CPAP. When I got mine it was like my brain firing on 8 cylinders instead of 3. Do beware that it can take a couple of weeks of use, during which your body and brain may be a little "bewildered" at getting all this oxygen during sleep! Oh and your insurance (if you live in a country that has it) may require specific amounts of usage in the first month. Be very aware of that, it's easy to be "non-co…

I'm on month 3 of CPAP use and I didn't get the "firing on 8 cylinders instead of 3" effect -- I can't say I've noticed any change (aside from "my spouse is willing to share a room with me" which isn't unsubstantial). How long did it take before this feeling kicked in?

It took me about 5 weeks.

If I lapse on usage, I find myself unable to really feel like I'm working at 100% efficiency. It takes a few weeks of nightly use before I feel good again.

You may not feel a night and day difference. It can be subtle, but things like not needing multiple naps a day can really make a difference to your quality of life.

If your SO says you snore, or choke and stop breathing, PAY ATTENTION. Get a sleep study!

Re: How to Fall Asleep in Two Minutes or Less

#175

Post by Ngunyan »

avip wrote: post #148

[EDIT: I'm afraid this only applies to men] Sexual activity also triggers hormonal activities related to sleep. Or, to quote someone: "Sure there may be a certain outcome, but that's not why we do it"

Used to do this as a "sleeping pill". Doesn't work anymore.

Re: How to Fall Asleep in Two Minutes or Less

#176

Post by bsaul »

mirceal wrote: post #69
bsaul wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

After having one course of zen meditation, it seems to me meditation is pretty much the complete opposite of falling asleep. You want to stop thinking about anything, but only to feel perfectly aware of the current time and place. And your mind becomes completely focused and concentrated on.. nothing. In particular, the part in the OP where you "picture yourself being on lake, etc" looks to me as completely anti-medi…

Anecdotal evidence: meditating in the evening helps me fall asleep. Don’t know if it’s the breathing part or clearing my mind but it works really well 90% of the time. The trick is that I do it laying down instead of a more conventional meditation position.

i believe it's pretty easy to fall asleep after step 1 . I suspect the uncomfortable sitting position is made to help you stay awake. In the course i took, people could even ask for someone to hit them on the shoulder with a stick, to help them keep themselves awoken.

Re: How to Fall Asleep in Two Minutes or Less

#177

Post by mratzloff »

moltar wrote: post #51
mratzloff wrote: post #43

I've never been good at taking naps except when exhausted, so I'll have to try this next time. I'm very good at getting a good night's sleep, though. I fall asleep within a minute of my head hitting the pillow. The key for me is to go to bed at a consistent time (plus or minus 30 minutes or so) every night, get 8 hours consistently, limit light exposure before bed, eliminate caffeine entirely, and generally adopt a s…

How do you adopt a stress free attitude?

That's a long answer, but the short version is introspecting about my fears, separating events from my internal narrative about them, having compassion for others as well as myself, framing and contextualing issues that come up, and living in an authentic and vulnerable way. It has been a long journey (still ongoing) that involved reading, therapy, mentorship, and coaching. The Landmark Forum (a paid seminar) also produced great results for me.

Re: How to Fall Asleep in Two Minutes or Less

#178

Post by knuththetruth »

confounded wrote: post #166
knuththetruth wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

BBC's In Our Time podcast is an instant sedative. Roundtable of British academics dryly discussing historical topics. 5 mins and I'm out like a light.

Are you an Englishperson in San Francisco by any chance?

No, sorry. Originally from the East Coast.

Re: How to Fall Asleep in Two Minutes or Less

#179

Post by Nomentatus »

cryptonode wrote: post #42
p0ints wrote: post #18

Regarding falling asleep - I've noticed an interesting phenomenon in myself. Usually it takes me around 30 minutes to fall asleep, during which period I seem to gradually mellow, my internal narrative becomes weaker until I finally fall asleep. During the final stages of that process, I sometimes imagine beautiful and quite complex music or art that I like a lot (unfortunately, I'm nowhere skilled enough to try to cr…

Sounds very similair to Dali's process. Where he would meditate holding a kitchen utensil on top of a pan. And when he would fall asleep it would fall making a sound and wake him up with i inspration for his next painting. http://www.creativitypost.com/authors/profile/33/mmichalko

If you're reclined (on your back) a bamboo chop stick (or light metal tube that's a bit bigger held with the tip a couple of inches above your forehead works. Make sure your thumb (and no fingers) are below the stick so it will fall.

Re: How to Fall Asleep in Two Minutes or Less

#180

Post by Nomentatus »

TuringNYC wrote: post #25
p0ints wrote: post #18

Regarding falling asleep - I've noticed an interesting phenomenon in myself. Usually it takes me around 30 minutes to fall asleep, during which period I seem to gradually mellow, my internal narrative becomes weaker until I finally fall asleep. During the final stages of that process, I sometimes imagine beautiful and quite complex music or art that I like a lot (unfortunately, I'm nowhere skilled enough to try to cr…

For me, this exact state is also an ideal one to truly enjoy great music. The music can become surreal and surround me. I've never used drugs, but this is how I imagine hallucinogens to be...

Hypnagogia
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