Longevity logo

Relaxation: 5 Quick Steps to Fall Asleep in Two Minutes

Tips on Falling Asleep from the Pros - Military Pilots

By Jessica MillerPublished 3 years ago 3 min read
Like

American military pilots know how to fall asleep in just 120 seconds, in any situation.

During World War II, the US military noticed that pilots were making fatal mistakes due to lack of sleep. They decided to get rid of the problem with the help of the famous trainer Bud Winter, who at one time invented a system of exercises for relaxation of athletes. After just six weeks of training - and 96% of pilots learned to fall asleep in 2 minutes under stress. The trainer later spoke about his method, the essence of which is to completely relax the body.

If you wish to read more about my work, please see my website; we specialize in organic shampoos and skincare, which are based on the recipes only known the Ancient Greeks and Egyptians.

Step 1. Find a comfortable position

If you are already in bed, you can skip this step. Otherwise (for example, in a car), choose the most comfortable position possible - sit back, spread your knees, put your hands on your hips, lower your chin, and ready yourself.

Step 2. Relax your face

The human face consists of 43 muscles - the more worked they are, the more they "tell" the body about stress. Contrary to what you may think, you don’t need stress to sleep. Therefore, close your eyes, relax your forehead, cheeks, tongue and jaw (open your mouth slightly). You will notice that your breathing becomes slower. Make sure your eyes are relaxed too - none of the muscles in your eye socket should be tense.

Step 3. Lower your shoulders

Feel the weight of your shoulders completely "drop." Relax the back of your neck. Take a deep breath and exhale slowly, releasing any remaining tension (in most people, it builds up in the shoulders, neck, and jaws).

I personally love this step; I would recommend watching YouTube videos to get a sense of this exercise. Often, we are hunched over staring at our screens and doing our work all day long. Hence, your shoulders get tense as well as your back.

Step 4. Relax your hands and legs

Move on to your hands. Feel how they become heavy and relax them.

It is better for right-handers to focus first on the right biceps, for left-handers, respectively, on the left. If you cannot relax the muscle, tense it strongly and try again. Do the same with the hands. Now to your legs.

Feel your right quadriceps (hip muscle) release and become heavy. Then repeat this with the right calf, ankle and foot and move to the left side of the body.

Step 5. Clear your mind for ten seconds

Now that you have completely relaxed your body, all that remains is to turn off your brain. It is extremely important to avoid any thoughts that imply movement (like “I need to take my child to school tomorrow”) - they involuntarily provoke micro contractions in some muscles.

There are several ways to clear the mind. For example, imagine that on a warm spring day you are lying in a boat sailing on a lake and looking at the sky. Or imagine lying in a big black velvet hammock and everywhere you look, darkness. Don't let other thoughts disturb your "picture" - just concentrate on it, hold the image in your mind and enjoy it for ten seconds. Another way is to simply repeat, "Don't think ... don't think ... don't think" 'till it dissolves into nothingness.

Again, you need to hold this state for a short while in the mind, not allowing other thoughts.

'Till you finally drift to sleep.

advice
Like

About the Creator

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.