41–50 of 238 posts
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.
> exhaustion This is key. Aboard a ship I was able to nap "on command" no matter the time of day or my surroundings. No mental tricks necessary.
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…
Not foolproof though; sometimes your thoughts break through and stop the process. So you start again...
From then on, I have just let go. I let my mind wander wherever it wants to go. And without fail, sleep always catches up within 10-15 minutes.
Of course, it helps if you are tired from the days work and haven't had a very heavy dinner.
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.
> exhaustion This is key. Aboard a ship I was able to nap "on command" no matter the time of day or my surroundings. No mental tricks necessary.
Step 2 is to get permission to fall asleep.
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 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…
> Here’s how to do it:
1. Relax the muscles in your face, including tongue, jaw and the muscles around the eyes
2. Drop your shoulders as far down as they’ll go, followed by your upper and lower arm, one side at a time
3. Breathe out, relaxing your chest followed by your legs, starting from the thighs and working down
4. You should then spend 10 seconds trying to clear your mind before thinking about one of the three following images:
* You’re lying in a canoe on a calm lake with nothing but a clear blue sky above you
* You’re lying in a black velvet hammock in a pitch-black room
* You say “don’t think, don’t think, don’t think” to yourself over and over for about 10 seconds.
> The technique is said to work for 96 per cent of people after six weeks of practice.