Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

A military technique for falling asleep in two minutes

independent.co.uk

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

101–110 of 238 posts

Re: A military technique for falling asleep in two minutes

#101

Post by sveme »

fzeroracer wrote: post #76

Usually when I suffer from an inability to sleep it's because my mind ends up focusing too hard on things that ground me to reality. Existential dread, worrying about work, thinking about technical problems etc. So often my technique to fall asleep has been to focus my mind on the fantastical. Stimulate my imagination a bit, like what if I was a dwarf in a fantasy universe. This tends to focus my thoughts inwards and…

For me, it‘s going through every tiny movement of a special climb, thinking about what worked and what didn‘t. All these things have the same core, focusing on the body and freeing your mind from distressing thoughts about work, life or relationships.

Re: A military technique for falling asleep in two minutes

#102

Post by sysstemlord »

fzeroracer wrote: post #76

Usually when I suffer from an inability to sleep it's because my mind ends up focusing too hard on things that ground me to reality. Existential dread, worrying about work, thinking about technical problems etc. So often my technique to fall asleep has been to focus my mind on the fantastical. Stimulate my imagination a bit, like what if I was a dwarf in a fantasy universe. This tends to focus my thoughts inwards and…

And i thought i'm the only one with a fantasy world that progresses a little every night before sleeping. Not much progress though because i fall asleep very quickly when i'm there.

Re: A military technique for falling asleep in two minutes

#103

Post by W4ldi »

I read about a method years ago. I usually don't have problems falling asleep. But when I do, I do the following:

Try to breath in through one nose hole and breath out through the other. This may sound stupid, but there are two reasons why this works:

1. You focus on doing something else than thinking about stuff that worries you. 2. While doing this your eyes move from left to right. You might remember what hypnotists do: They swing a pendulum from left to right which you have to follow. This eye movement from left to right activates your subconscious part of the brain. I don't know or remember what exactly that does but everytime I use this technique and wake up the next morning I don't remember doing anything after this. Which means I fell asleep.

Re: A military technique for falling asleep in two minutes

#104

Post by MarkArts »

fzeroracer wrote: post #76

Usually when I suffer from an inability to sleep it's because my mind ends up focusing too hard on things that ground me to reality. Existential dread, worrying about work, thinking about technical problems etc. So often my technique to fall asleep has been to focus my mind on the fantastical. Stimulate my imagination a bit, like what if I was a dwarf in a fantasy universe. This tends to focus my thoughts inwards and…

I tried a few different techniques including breathing and meditation and thinking out a fantasy universe has always worked the best for me.

It also helps me to realise when I'm unable to fall asleep at all. If I can't visually imaging what happens in my fantasy world I know my mind is to busy and I'm better of reading a book for 10 minutes and try again instead of forcing myself to sleep (which never works)

Re: A military technique for falling asleep in two minutes

#105

Post by W4ldi »

throwawayperson wrote: post #49

I've found delaying my sleep habit is very easy, just stay up late, yet the reverse is super hard and easily lapses.

It's easier to go earlier to sleep if you wake up very early. Don't delay your wake up time and you're more tired in the evening. Also don't spend the night with activities that keep you awake. Just watch a movie/series or something or read a book. Usually makes me tired.

Re: A military technique for falling asleep in two minutes

#106

Post by rusk »

I remember once, somebody told me that "often times when you think you're not asleep you actually are". Though it sounds absurd, this single line has helped my sleep immeasurably because often my sleeplessness is compounded by the frustration of not being able to sleep! So I just lie there, and let me thoughts go where they will and treat it as a kind of wakeful "dreaming".

The idea being that even though I'm "conscious" of not being asleep my body is still getting the benefit of rest.

It doesn't help completely all the time but it certainly takes the edge off.

Re: A military technique for falling asleep in two minutes

#107

Post by rusk »

fzeroracer wrote: post #76

Usually when I suffer from an inability to sleep it's because my mind ends up focusing too hard on things that ground me to reality. Existential dread, worrying about work, thinking about technical problems etc. So often my technique to fall asleep has been to focus my mind on the fantastical. Stimulate my imagination a bit, like what if I was a dwarf in a fantasy universe. This tends to focus my thoughts inwards and…

On a couple of occasions I've tried "lucid dreaming". I imagine myself in a tunnel and I find a hole in the ground and descend down, down, down into the dark by a rope, and sometimes my mind will make some interesting things happen. Sometimes I'll just fall asleep :-)

Re: A military technique for falling asleep in two minutes

#109

Post by maccard »

davedx wrote: post #63
linker3000 wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Mobile devices- anything with a screen that emits blue wavelengths IIRC - are terrible for getting to sleep. I avoid mine except for turning my alarm on.

> I avoid mine except for turning my alarm on.

Two solutions to this - get a standalone alarm clock, or set up an alarm to repeat on weekdays so you don't have to do it every evening.

Re: A military technique for falling asleep in two minutes

#110

Post by huhtenberg »

For everyone suggesting to imagine a black void - try imagining the reverse. Try imagining blinding white space, like looking at the surface of the sun, up close.

This is much harder to do, it requires more concentration and for that reason it works faster and more reliably.

Post reply on HN