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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

#51

Post by linker3000 »

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…

It only works for me if I think of Vanta Black!

Must try this though - my wife is often asleep in a minute or so while I take tens of minutes. I wonder how much using mobile devices in bed at night has affected sleep patterns.

Re: A military technique for falling asleep in two minutes

#52

Post by russellbeattie »

taneq wrote: post #46
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 just count backwards from 1000. I figured the repetitive chanting bit of counting is what puts you to sleep so starting at a higher number gets you immediately to the repetitive chanty bit, and doing it backwards adds just enough mental overhead that my brain has to mostly shut up all its other chatter (although recently I've noticed that I can just count backwards while also thinking about all the other stuff...)

I just count upwards normally, so it's not a lot of mental work and I can let my mind wander. I also imagine myself hitting the snooze button on my alarm. Nothing makes me fall asleep faster than needing to be awake.

Re: A military technique for falling asleep in two minutes

#53

Post by pkaye »

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…

Yup something like this works for me too. I close my eyes and imagine a dark void of nothing. If my mine wanders off I refocus on the dark void again. If my mind is still too active, I have a boring book at hand that I read for a few minutes to clear my mind and get me tired. Then I try again.

Re: A military technique for falling asleep in two minutes

#55

Post by rapnie »

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…

> and revert back to my black space. As long as I kept fighting the temptation for my mind to wander

I do the same, but sometimes - when your mind is racing, full of thoughts - this can be hard. I found if I have an equivalent to the black void, which is more interesting, then I don't have to have this fight. Sleep comes easily.

I am fascinated by black holes. So I imagine flying close to the center of the Milky Way, nearing the black hole. Might be nerdy, but it works fine for me.

Re: A military technique for falling asleep in two minutes

#57

Post by JauntyHatAngle »

rapnie wrote: post #55
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…

> and revert back to my black space. As long as I kept fighting the temptation for my mind to wander I do the same, but sometimes - when your mind is racing, full of thoughts - this can be hard. I found if I have an equivalent to the black void, which is more interesting, then I don't have to have this fight. Sleep comes easily. I am fascinated by black holes. So I imagine flying close to the center of the Milky Way,…

I have the same problem often, I really enjoy (as I'm sure many of us do) time to myself to think, so being alone with my thoughts and willing myself to relax and not to think of the millions of things I'd like to is akin to telling someone not to eat sweets while dangling a cornetto in front of them.

Re: A military technique for falling asleep in two minutes

#58

Post by nitins »

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…

Isn't this a form of meditation? Stay still and focus your mind on nothingness

Re: A military technique for falling asleep in two minutes

#59

Post by wruza »

1auralynn wrote: post #39
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 ke…

Hmm, sometimes I wake up in few minutes after falling asleep and realize that my mind did exactly what you described, but without my intent. Just quickly changing thoughts with no focus, as if gc started its mark phase.

Re: A military technique for falling asleep in two minutes

#60

Post by davedx »

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 once fell asleep on my feet inside a festival music tent - I actually wanted to stay awake :)
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