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A military technique for falling asleep in two minutes

independent.co.uk

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Re: A military technique for falling asleep in two minutes

#31

Post by glhaynes »

krylon wrote: post #26
dzhiurgis wrote: post #17

If you suffer from alcohol withdrawal (NOT actual delirium, that shit is deadly dangerous) try popping valerian for few nights. Also podcasts work amazingly well, just make aure they are around 10 minutes long.

I have been listening to podcasts while falling asleep for years now, it has worked very well for me. It is just a little annoying to find one with a very consistent volume, so I can set the volume on my laptop to that goldilocks zone where I can understand everything without having to focus too much, while it is still quiet enough to let me sleep.(Astronomycast.com works wonders for me.)

I've had good success with the Sleep With Me podcast for this. https://www.sleepwithmepodcast.com

Re: A military technique for falling asleep in two minutes

#32

Post by kr4 »

ruminasean wrote: post #6

I've tried pretty much everything in the course of my lifelong insomnia, and still my nighttime mind racing is still consistent enough that it's literally my username across all my online apps ("rumination" plus my name). I've had some success with lavender drops right before bed, but I'll give this a shot too, because why not?

I used to have sleepless night once in a while generally due to over-thinking while lying on the bed for years till 2014/15. I experimented with meditation before sleep and since then I haven't had a single sleepless night in all these years. The practice is simple. Turn lights off. Sit (with hips on the pillow) on the same bed you're going to sleep. Sit straight and comfortably (preferably in cross-legged pose), gently close your eyes. Now concentrate on the area Right in the middle of your chest. You can feel bone, muscle or anything else when you focus here. Just continue to concentrate on that physical sensation you're experiencing. Just discard every thought that comes even the thought of how much time has passed. If mind drifts onto some thought, gently bring it back to the area and its sensations. About 8 to 10 minutes of this meditation and you're ready to sleep. Lie down, keep the focus on the same middle of the chest area and don't entertain any thought. They'll still come and if you focus on them, start analyzing/thinking about them, you'll lose the peaceful state just gained with meditation. And you may have to do it again

I generally fall asleep within first few minutes of lying down after this meditation.

The above is my personally tested and daily practiced method. You can also try Yoga Nidra guided meditation audio which has helped people in relaxing the mind before sleep. Go here http://www.swamij.com/Meditations.htm

Re: A military technique for falling asleep in two minutes

#34

Post by toomanybeersies »

killjoywashere wrote: post #2

Military for 24 years, never heard of this, but I learned to take naps in crazy situations: next to a hot landing zone, under an aircraft catapult, in cargo planes, etc. Only common denominators I can think of: exhaustion, a clear conscience, and trust in those around me.

> a clear conscience

That's the real killer for me. I'm not military, but I've managed to somehow get pretty good at sleeping pretty much anywhere. Sleeping on planes or in departure lounges or really anywhere isn't an issue for me, although maybe a steam catapult might keep me up. I think that the hundreds of nights I've slept on couches and backpackers hostels (as well as overnight buses and car trips) have acclimatised me to sleeping in noisy, moving, well lit environments.

I think it's just something that you just get used to. All through South East Asia you'll see people sleeping in the most improbably places, on parked motorbikes, park benches, even in the middle of a busy roundabout in Vietnam. South East Asian people seem to just love sleeping everywhere they can.

But I can only sleep if there aren't things biting at the back of my mind. If something's bothering me (relationships, work, etc.), it doesn't matter how perfect my sleeping environment is, I won't be able to get to sleep for hours. My mind is sleep's worst enemy.

Re: A military technique for falling asleep in two minutes

#35

Post by [deleted] »

watertom wrote: post #28
nkozyra wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're open to some other experiments, I've had success with ashwagandha and CBD.

You need to look at the terpene profile of the CBD, the wrong terpene profile can actually energize you. Also CBD in small doses can be energizing as well.

[deleted]

Re: A military technique for falling asleep in two minutes

#39

Post by 1auralynn »

panorama wrote: post #13

I can actually vouch for this, but I discovered it independently for myself. I realized that the nights I couldn't fall asleep were nights my brain kept racing and thinking about different things. Kind of like a wikipedia rabbit hole where my mind keeps racing onto the next tangential thought. So I found a foolproof solution: Relax all my facial muscles and imagine an empty, black (literally #000) void in my mind's e…

I've actually found that forced "tangential" thinking makes me fall asleep really fast. Basically, free association but you have to move onto the next thing instantly (eg. Think of a feather and then it's like a comb and maybe the comb is green then green grass, etc). I just seamlessly transition into dreaming. The key is not dwelling but moving on right away so you don't get stuck on things like "where are my car keys" or whatever.

Re: A military technique for falling asleep in two minutes

#40

Post by ChuckMcM »

Reading calculus proofs always did it for me :-) But more seriously this is very nearly a meditation technique (except when meditating you don't try to actually go to sleep). But start at one end of your body and try to tense the muscles there then relax them (you won't be able to feel they are relaxed if you haven't tensed them first, if they are already tense you will feel them relax, but it is the transition from tense to relaxed that you feel) then move up the body to the other end until you've relaxed every muscle you feel you have voluntary control over, keep you eyes closed and if images come move them away or imagine a black curtain coming down to cover them, "listen" for your voice saying something of two syllables (doesn't really matter what it is) over and over (forces internal dialog to stop).

In my experience if you do this and you can sleep (like your not full of caffeine or something) you will.

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