
A military technique for falling asleep in two minutes - pmoriarty
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fall-asleep-two-minutes-how-to-military-secret-trick-a8520991.html
======
fzeroracer
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 naturally segues
into sound sleeping. Letting my mind wander only becomes an issue when it's
anchored to real life.

~~~
bokononon
I also do this. Time-travel to Ancient Rome, winning the lottery, pandemic
survival, going to Mars. I find I just start the scenario, and the imagination
takes its own turns. It's like daydreaming and it's an enjoyable way of
falling asleep quickly.

~~~
shrimp_emoji
I just do abstract absurdism, like: what if a space ship was propelled by
teddy bears? Bright lances of ionized teddy bears cleaving the sky in twain
from distant torchships pulling out of parking orbit. Power armor visor stress
test. Hammer. .50 cal. RPG. Someone just spilled neutronium. It eats through
to the Earth's core. An algorithm iterates over all the atoms in the Universe,
replacing every other with its antiparticle.

And then noises wake me up all night, and I get bad sleep. :3

~~~
ateng
As my mind falls between asleep and awake my brain would start coming up with
absurd thoughts as well. This would also happens when I'm too tired (think you
haven't sleep for 24+ hours).

I sometimes speculate that your brain comes up with absure ideas all the time,
and a "reality checker" would dismiss those ideas without you realising it
when you're awake? Perhaps the absurd thoughts come out only when you're tired
(checker running low energy) or falling asleep? May be some types of
psychological dieases are due to this checker not working properly?

~~~
shrimp_emoji
No doubt certain other, _cough_ [0], influences inhibit that checker too. I
wouldn't know though. : p In my case, I feel like I deliberately keep such
checking off to diminish the profoundly powerful boredom of trying to drift
off to sleep. You might as well try to keep yourself entertained before you
dissolve into the void!

0: [https://youtu.be/c2LXul1XAvk](https://youtu.be/c2LXul1XAvk)

------
nstricevic
I nap for 20 minutes every day at work (at my previous company, for 4 years or
so and now since I'm working remotely). Here are my steps for taking a nap:

1\. Find a good place to nap. Use the same place every day. I used to nap
under my desk on a lazy bag at my last job.

2\. Quickly find a comfortable position. Quickly fix everything that bothers
you (like watch on your wrist or anything else that's making you
uncomfortable).

3\. Start breathing from your stomach - not your upper torso. Your stomach
should raise up and down, not your upper torso.

4\. Relax your whole body. In the beginning, start by relaxing one by one
region. First your toes. Then your lower leg, then your upper leg. Then the
other leg... Until you relax your whole body. It should feel as your mind is
separate from your body. Like it could go out of it. Your body should be
completely numb. Later, as you progress, you will be able to relax your whole
body with a few breaths. As if some force flows from your stomach and removes
spasm from your body as you breath out.

5\. Start removing thoughts from your brain. As you start thinking about
something, just stop. Another thought comes in. Kill it. Just kill thoughts.
You can think only about your breathing. Nothing else.

That's it. With these steps, I'm able to feel a sleep in just a few moments. I
use that all the time.

Bonus: I have a special position that I "developed" that mitigates office
sounds. I nap on my back, slightly turned on left side. I put my left ear on
the pillow or a lazy bag. I put my right hand over my right ear and over my
head. That way, a pillow isolates my left ear, while my right biceps isolates
my right ear from sounds. I found this to be very effective.

Good luck napping.

~~~
mehrdadn
> 5\. Start removing thoughts from your brain. As you start thinking about
> something, just stop. Another thought comes in. Kill it. Just kill thoughts.
> You can think only about your breathing. Nothing else.

If only it was this easy!! It almost feels like a variation of "start
outlining the owl... now when you have the outline, just draw the rest of the
owl". :-)

~~~
armandososa
Here's a technique that works for me:

So, when I close my eyes I can "see" things. I don't know if it's light coming
trough my lids or blood vessels or just my mind's eye. I don't know. But what
I'll do as a last resource when I have trouble sleeping is to pay full
attention to those things and find patterns in them. I even say _out loud_ in
my mind like: "oh there's a dog", "a canoe", "a cigarrette".

Then I'm dreaming in no time.

I told my wife and she says that she sees nothing when she close her eyes so,
maybe this won't work for everybody.

~~~
jachee
For years growing up, I'd notice that sometimes when I had my eyes closed,
there were sometimes glowing circles in the darkness. Sometimes they'd be
colorful and others they were like the typical photo of an eclipse. It was
usually just as I was drifting off, I'd notice them.

Years later I realized that I could make them appear at-will by wiggling my
eyes around ( _a la_ REM), and that lead me to conclude that it's likely my
overly-long (i'm severely myopic) eyeballs physically stimulating my optic
nerves.

I don't notice it as much lately, and I avoid doing it on purpose, in case
it's not healthy.

~~~
feanaro
I'm not myopic and I see those too.

------
panorama
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 eye.

The physical cue is to be cognizant of your eyes; every time my eyes began to
squint, I know it was because my mind was wandering off. I'd reset my closed
eyes to be as loose (imagine a very bored expression) as possible and revert
back to my black space. As long as I kept fighting the temptation for my mind
to wander, and maintain loose eyes, I fell asleep. All anecdotal of course,
but I did use this just recently at burning man while soundcamps blasted my
tent, and it's nice to see this method validated in this article.

~~~
bmurphy1976
I used to do something similar. These days I start planning my retirement. I
imagine some deserted moon base orbiting a Saturn like planet orbiting a small
red dwarf star ejected out of its galaxy into the void. No people, no chance
of anybody or anything ever finding it. Trillions of years of quiet solitude
before the star burns out. I've never gotten much farther than a few ideas
into how it will all come together before zzzzzzzz....

~~~
dotancohen
Are you that guy on that inner moon with the shiny rooftop who keeps
reflecting the sunlight at me twice per orbit?

Seriously, you'll retain heat better with a dark, matte finish on your dome,
and you'll blind me less often. In any case, you might also want to reconsider
your choice of moons, as yours seems a bit deep into the radiation belts. Out
here we orbit much more slowly, peacefully, and we're far from the radiation.

~~~
dTal
>you'll retain heat better with a dark, matte finish on your dome

No, they won't. There's a reason a perfect radiator is known as a "black
body". Emissivity (a coefficient that describes the degree to which an object
radiates, compared to a black body) is the exact inverse of reflectivity.
That's why space blankets are shiny.

Of course, dark objects also _absorb_ more heat, so depending on how much
radiation you're getting from the sun, a black roof might result in a warmer
home. But it won't be because it's _retaining_ heat.

~~~
dotancohen
At the temperature that we generally keep our vacuum-facing surfaces they
absorb far more energy in the form of light than the energy that they radiate.
Energy management is tight when you're orbiting a small red dwarf star ejected
out of its galaxy into the void!

------
killjoywashere
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.

~~~
gk1
> 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.

~~~
taneq
Yeah, I was expecting Step 1 to be: Start your day with a 20 mile run in full
gear.

Step 2 is to get permission to fall asleep.

~~~
bradknowles
There is no step 3 — because you’re already asleep!

;)

------
driverdan
This article is very poorly written regardless of how accurate its contents
are. It seems to be based on suggestions, rumors (or rumour since it's UK
based), and a 1981 book that very few have read. No actual sources and
repeated use of the word secret. Trash.

~~~
Timpy
I thought this article was pretty poorly written too, and the website is a
clear example of the "Bullshit Web."
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17655089](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17655089)

However, the number of people who have read a book published in 1981 has no
bearing on the validity of the book as a source.

------
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.

~~~
muterad_murilax
What if only one nostril is "open" at any given time? That is usually the case
for me.

~~~
W4ldi
As i said. It's not the breathing that's affecting you. It's the eye movement.
You don't even have to try breathing like this. I usually just move my eyes
left right.

------
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.

------
sephlietz
Are they just describing Progressive Muscle Relaxation?

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_muscle_relaxation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_muscle_relaxation)

~~~
nkozyra
Mostly, yes. Guided meditation has long prescribed almost the exact same
process.

~~~
jcul
I immediately thought of Shavasana from yoga.

------
secfirstmd
Eh, to be honest I always found the secret to falling asleep in the military
was being bloody tired all the time from carrying heavy stuff, running
everywhere, going on adrenaline, getting barely a few hours broken sleep,
going on stag at silly o'clock in the morning, being put under pressure for
days on end, eating crap, running on tea...

But yeah. Sure. Warm baths, camomile tea and mindfulness...

------
msravi
Many moons ago, my dad taught yoga as a hobby. One of my early memories as a
11 or 12 year old kid, was when I attended a class of his. The class would end
with a "shavasana" (corpse posture), where you'd lie down and the instructor
would slowly get you to relax.

I still remember my dad's voice as he asked you to imagine you're in an empty
field, with a clear sky, nothing at all. Then imagine the "cosmic energy"
entering your body through your head. Imagine the energy making its way down,
slowly through the length of your body as it clears your thoughts and relaxes
your muscles - first your face, then your neck, your shoulders, arms, and so
on. As an observer, I'd notice that more than 90% of the class would be in a
deep sleep before the end. And it was a big class with some 100-150 people in
it.

Just interesting that this "military" technique is so similar (and familiar to
me)!

------
kannmig
I personally first learned about the described technique at
[https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/fall-asleep-
fast/](https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/fall-asleep-fast/), where the
material seems to be better presented. Hope more people can benefit.

~~~
sitkack
[https://www.netflix.com/watch/80198397?trackId=14277283](https://www.netflix.com/watch/80198397?trackId=14277283)

------
ruminasean
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?

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

~~~
watertom
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.

------
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.

~~~
e19293001
What you mention is similar to yoga nidra. I found this helpful when I want to
meditate and relax. All you need to do is to lie down (or sit in the office),
close your eyes and listen to the voice' instructions. I feel very refreshed
after but sometimes I fell asleep when tired.

[https://archive.org/details/YogaNidra](https://archive.org/details/YogaNidra)

[https://ia800301.us.archive.org/1/items/YogaNidra/YogaNidra....](https://ia800301.us.archive.org/1/items/YogaNidra/YogaNidra.mp3)

------
vjsc
I used to struggle with sleep as well. Infact, I thought that it wasn't
natural to be awake while lying on bed in the dark. Then I noticed a pattern.
It was that I would always fall asleep within 10-15 minutes of lying in bed,
only if I didn't worry about when the sleep would come.

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.

------
madeuptempacct
Old stackoverflow thread on this here:

[https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/41528/relax-
and...](https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/41528/relax-and-win-
classified-military-method-to-fall-asleep-quick)

This caught on after being published on the "Art of Manliness" blog. It seems
that there is no factual evidence that this study took place.

------
mywacaday
I'm not convinced its a military trick rather something forced by necessity. I
used to be a terrible sleeper, it usually took an hour to fall asleep and
would regularly wake for multiple 30-40 min periods during the night and wake
up exhausted.

We're now on baby no.2 and I can fall asleep in a few minutes any time from
6pm on. Just close my eyes and expect sleep and it comes. 10 minute power naps
are great.

The ability to fall asleep quickly was forced on me by baby no.1, being woken
up multiple times per night and having to fall asleep quickly was a matter of
what felt like survival. I'm sure military training causes the same exhaustion
and the body learns that it needs to be able to sleep when it can. I'm also
sure that sleeping to 12 or 1 on the weekends to recover is detrimental,
getting to sleep on a Sunday night was the worst as would not be tired but it
would start the week on a the wrong foot.

Any other parents in here have the same experience?

~~~
mjlee
This rings true for me - I had difficulty getting to sleep until I joined the
military. Once I had to be able to get sleep where and when I could I learned
how.

------
eagsalazar2
I used to have a terrible time falling asleep. At some point I stumbled on the
technique of just "breathing like I'm sleeping" or just acting asleep based on
memories of the ultra-relaxed state I was in just after waking. Probably some
combination of the relaxed breathing and mental focus on breathing make it
work. The real beauty of it is that now years later I can fall asleep anywhere
in 3-5 minutes if I'm even slightly tired even without having to consciously
think about this technique anymore.

------
firic
> A secret military technique that is said to help anyone fall asleep in just
> two minutes has recently been revealed.

and

> The secret is detailed in the book Relax and Win: Championship Performance,
> which although first published in 1981

I guess 37 years is "just" for the author.

~~~
tome
I think you mean "recently". It didn't take 37 years to fall asleep!

~~~
firic
yes

------
mirimir
This is good stuff.

But for fighter pilots and such, who are sometimes on call 24/7, the use of
"go pills" (formerly methamphetamine, and now modafinil) and "no-go pills"
(such as zaleplon and zolpidem) is quite common. But then, no-go pills aren't
so great, because it takes hours for effects to wear off. So modafinil plus
relaxation training seems like a great solution. I can say from personal
experience that modafinil doesn't prevent sleep.

~~~
bengale
Yeah modafinil is a weird one, it just feels to me like I've had 4 or 5
coffees, but can sleep alright in the evening. I find it makes me grumpy if I
get interrupted though so it can make working on some teams harder.

~~~
mirimir
I get irritable if I take more than 100 mg per day. But then, I've always been
short-tempered.

------
bonniemuffin
Trying to think "don't think, don't think, don't think" seems like it would
stress me out.

I prefer to count 10 slow breaths as a way to clear my mind. I get my body
comfortable similar to how the article describes, then I take 10 long slow
breaths while focusing only on what number breath I'm on. That seems to be the
right amount to knock my internal monologue off of whatever it's been
ruminating on so I can fall asleep. Sometimes I don't even make it to 10 --
which is remarkable after a lifetime of insomnia.

------
bondolo
Certainly not new. I learned this technique from a self hypnosis book in the
early 1980s. It does work. My mental recitation is "One. One. One. One…" I
used to use this for naps but found I wasn't as rested than natural sleep for
a quick nap. I now use it only when I need a full night's sleep. The quality
of sleep doesn't seem to be affected for full nights the way it was for naps.

------
claytoneast
I purchased this book a few months ago after reading about it elsewhere. The
book is not worth purchase, the article contains everything you need. The book
has a lot of anecdotal tales of athletic relaxation leading to victory (though
given the author was one of the greatest coaches of all time, his anecdotes
have weight). It has absolutely improved my sleep, and I've been insomniac
since a car wreck 11 years ago. You have to do the work though. You can't try
it once and claim that "It doesn't work for me." It is a skill for those that
don't have it naturally, and thus you have to practice. Thr original cohort of
aviators that learned this method in ww2 practiced at least twice a day for 6
weeks straight. If you don't have 42 days straight of doing it, don't complain
that it won't work for you.

~~~
madeuptempacct
Same exact experience - the book has only one related chapter, and that's
paraphrased in the "Art of Manliness" blog. My concern is that I found NO
evidence that this program ever took place. I dunno about the technique
working.

------
agumonkey
Additionally these kinds of techniques are strong positive feedback loops.

When I started caring about sleep (instead of a neverending jetlag lifestyle)
I started to sense sleep cycles more vividly, and didn't delay going to bed,
and instead of worrying I was just rushing to relax and enjoy highly probable
deep and long sleep.

------
flashgordon
Bah. I have two kids. I am so overloaded most of the time that I can sleep
anywhere anytime within seconds!

------
bitanarch
I usually just let my mind adrift, imagining all kinds of crazy bizarre things
and worlds, and fall asleep. Trying to focus on "don't think" actually did the
opposite for me - instead of falling asleep it made me focus on all the weird
things my mind kept creating.

Imagine yourself chanting "don't think" in your head while your mind creates a
room, a wooden chair for you to sit on, shadows, light, a window, and the sky
and the sea is upside-down outside the window, and walking on the sky is
considered normal in this world. Normally I'd be falling asleep in that
bizarre world but I kept chanting "don't think" instead. Absolutely useless.

------
emersonrsantos
The basis of this technique are progressive muscle relaxation plus visual
concentration.

I learned this using techniques you can do to have lucid dreams. When your
concentration is not the best one in the day, the result is sleep.

------
appleflaxen
Here is the summary:

Relax the muscles in your face, including tongue, jaw and the muscles around
the eyes

Drop your shoulders as far down as they’ll go, followed by your upper and
lower arm, one side at a time

Breathe out, relaxing your chest followed by your legs, starting from the
thighs and working down

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.

------
mynewtb
I know I am days late, but the submitted page is horrible and 'stolen'. They
even reference (but of course don't link) a leaner page as their source:
[https://www.joe.co.uk/news/sleeping-
tricks-197402](https://www.joe.co.uk/news/sleeping-tricks-197402)

That site has less sensationalism (not calling it secret for a start, yuck)
and less ad crap.

------
gowld
independent.co.uk article is a reblog (+ video/ad junk) of
[https://www.joe.co.uk/news/sleeping-
tricks-197402](https://www.joe.co.uk/news/sleeping-tricks-197402) (who copied
it from a book)

Mods might change the link, for better reader experience and respect for the
more-original bloggers.

[https://books.google.com/books/about/Relax_and_Win.html?id=Y...](https://books.google.com/books/about/Relax_and_Win.html?id=YGJengEACAAJ)

~~~
mynewtb
I am sad this wasn't seen when the story was still fresh.

------
gaius
The true military technique for falling asleep easily is to march 15 miles
carrying a 100lb rucksack first

------
phendrenad2
I discovered similar techniques because I realized that I was wasting too much
time trying to fall asleep. But I think I can summarize it better:

1\. If any of your muscles are tensed, recognize it and untense them!

2\. Purge all distracting thoughts. The easiest way to do this is imagine that
you're unburdened by human concerns. Imagine that you're an immortal being
floating through space, or sinking into the ocean, or floating on it.

------
Kagerjay
Personal hobby projects &/or learning things before I go to sleep. I find it
hard to sleep unless I meet this quota everyday.

Second, sometimes I'll read math and/or nonfiction books. Those are never too
exciting like fiction, so I end up falling asleep fairly consistently

Third, not doing work or using phone in bed.

Fourth - associating different postures with different conditional training.
When I'm sitting or standing I'm almost always doing something productive. I
sleep on my left side, so this is the cue to tell my brain to go to bed. I
strictly enforce these disciplines, and will have never have my phone out when
in this sleeping position

Fifth, using flux to have warmer color temps / less blue light on monitors
before going to bed

Sixth, bedjet and bodypillow do wonders on aiding in sleep

Seventh, working out every 3 days or less helps me fall asleep. When I hit an
awful sleep cycle, I do a 40 minute run that day to reset my body fatigue.

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

~~~
W4ldi
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.

------
unstablevacuum
FYI: Skip the video. The video does not address the article subject; it's man-
on-the-street nonsense.

------
2sk21
Listening to an audio book on some scientific topic will almost always put to
sleep within 15 minute. I really like books on cognitive science - I have used
books by Daniel Dennet and Dean Buonomano for this purpose. I not only learn
interesting things, but I get to relax very quickly.

------
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.

------
colek42
I think the 12+ hour days is what helps people in the military fall asleep so
quickly.

------
jellicle
The military technique for falling asleep at any available time is pretty
easy. Do you want to hear it? I won't even charge you. Here you go:

Do lots of hard physical labor, and get inadequate sleep at night.

I know this is crazy, but it works! Try it!

------
fpoling
A version of this I heard in Russia is similar. But they also suggest to open
the mouth to ensure relaxation of face muscles and roll up one's eyes. The
latter moves eyes to their position during sleep.

------
fjfaase
I almost always fall asleep within two minutes after going to bed. For some
period I used a breathing technique, where I would breath deeply for some 20
seconds, and then just hold my breath and fall asleep.

------
Hydraulix989
I used to have insomnia in college because of stress. To this day, the night
before any high pressure event like an on-site interview or exam, I only
manage to get a few hours of sleep. I think I was somehow traumatized by
college that now this happens all the time without fail. Before college, I
could always just sleep, but I was never stressed before college. It's not
even the military, it's just a test, but it still happens since the outcome of
that one day could very well shape the next few years of my life.

------
dzhiurgis
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.

~~~
krylon
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.)

~~~
glhaynes
I've had good success with the Sleep With Me podcast for this.
[https://www.sleepwithmepodcast.com](https://www.sleepwithmepodcast.com)

~~~
krylon
Thank you, I am going to give that a try! As if I could resist a
virtual/fictitious candlelight dinner with Captain Picard! :)

------
liquidcool
I thought this was already posted, but I had read this longer article with
more context, including the original text from the book that is short and
written in a fun, old-timey style:

[https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/fall-asleep-
fast/](https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/fall-asleep-fast/)

For me, none of the imagination techniques work, but mindfulness meditation -
simply focusing on my breathing - does the trick.

------
skc
Sounds suspiciously like a technique I saw on Sesame Street as a toddler. I'm
42 now and I still use it.

In the episode, Big Bird (I think) would say goodnight to each of his body
parts...so "Goodnight toes, goodnight foot, goodnight leg, goodnight knees"
and so on.

I think what ends up happening as you say goodnight to each body part, you
subconsciously "relax" them, so to speak. And by the time you get to your
upper torso...you're pretty much drowsy enough to nod off.

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runjake
While I do find these techniques effective, it's important to keep the
military's step zero in mind: be sleep-deprived.

In the military, especially at operational tempos (eg. during conflicts),
you're constantly doing stuff (except when you're not and you're cat-napping
on a pile of duffel bags or other equipment) and you're normally sleep-
deprived.

This of course helps you fall asleep.

------
geggam
When I was in the military sleep deprivation worked wonders on falling asleep.
Could sleep anywhere. The hood of a humvee was my preferred spot.

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stiff
This kind of practice is at least as early as yoga:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shavasana](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shavasana)
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoga_nidra](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoga_nidra)

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marsrover
> You say “don’t think, don’t think, don’t think” to yourself over and over
> for about 10 seconds.

I do this pretty much every night. Instead of 10 seconds I just do it until my
thoughts start getting weird and not making sense. Usually when that’s
happening I’m starting to fall asleep.

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drsopp
A lot of the comments here are about imagining blackness. Lately, I’ve been
contemplating the infinite thinness of mathematical planes. I mostly do it
when I try to sleep; maybe that’s a key; letting the brain associate certain
thought patterns with going to sleep.

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bengale
I throw an audiobook on that I've listened to many times before, its enough to
distract my brain from solving problems of the day, but not enough that I'm
listening intently to see what happens. Tend to fall asleep within 15 mins
with it.

------
amai
I can also recommend white noise machines:
[https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-white-noise-
machine/](https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-white-noise-machine/)

~~~
earth2mars
if you have a google home, just ask for white noise!

------
umichguy
I have to give it a go. I am horrible at being able to fall asleep even after
long tiring days. I typically get only about 4 to 5hrs of decent sleep on
average. That said, I do wake up refreshed. At least I think I do.

------
quadcore
Similar: [https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/fall-asleep-
fast/](https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/fall-asleep-fast/)

------
bawana
I think about the distortion of spacetime caused by gravity and the fact that
it distorts the path of EM waves and the reciprocal distortion of gravity
caused by EM fields.

------
hellofunk
I wonder what that popular book _Why We Sleep_ would say about this, and the
other suggestions here in the comments. I guess I'll have to read it to find
out.

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frebord
I read this a few weeks ago and have tried it a few times and think it works
but I can never remember if I fell asleep the next morning.

------
newsbinator
tldr

> 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.

------
dmitripopov
Noisli has "Fireplace" sound, it makes me fall asleep in under 2 minutes even
if I am extremely anxious.

------
bryanrasmussen
my wife complains that I am able to fall asleep immediately whereas it always
takes her a long time and if she gets woken up too close to morning that's it.
maybe this will help her.

anyway my secret is just to close my eyes and not think about anything but
looking deeper into the darkness and breathing slowly.

------
yoz-y
I guess that a good amount of physical fatigue also helps a lot. There was
also a joke about it somewhere.

------
chad_strategic
I was in the USMC for 20 years... never once had a problem falling asleep.

In Humvees, in the dirt, on a stack of rifles...

~~~
acct1771
The lesson here is, do tons of shit if you want to sleep well, not that parent
is a boss.

------
OCISLY
I rather need technique for wake up in two mintues (two quaters will be fine,
too).

------
RickJWagner
Wow, that is one blaringly annoying web site. Too much stuff going on!

------
uptownfunk
This is nothing new.. called yoga nidra.. excellent for falling asleep.

~~~
kr4
guided yoga nidra audios examples here:
[http://www.swamij.com/Meditations.htm](http://www.swamij.com/Meditations.htm)

------
neaanopri
Worked last night!

------
AltruisticGap
All these techniques always come down to a form of meditation.

THe common ingredient is:

* an actual EFFORT and DISCIPLINE, ie. a will, a decision, a commitment to stop following the monkey mind going on about tomorrow and all its good/bad things, and "me" and everything about me.

* attention is on the body, the body has always been a key focal point to calm the mind in most meditation techniques (sometime it's external like watching a candle.. but we want to fall asleep here)

* it takes some practice, particularly that in bed and lying down, the mind will more easily lose focus.. this is why most meditation practices take place in the classic sitting posture

I use Vipassana, very similar:

\- I lie down on my BACK.. I think it's helpful to have a "cue" to signal the
commitement. Usually I don't fall asleep on my back but when I feel more
relaxed and quiet eventually I roll to the side and fall asleep not long after

\- Move attention from head to toes, it can help to keep ahold of the mind, to
mentally label "head (or break it down: forehead, eyes, nose, mouth, ...) ,
neck, shoulder girdle, upper chest, solar plexus, tummy, waist, upper thighs,
knees, " (etc)

Typically I'll do 2-3 passes up > down and back up.

When putting to much strain, it can keep you awake.

But here is a KEY thing that this article doesn't mention and you may verify
by yourself over time.

When I started, I was worried that staying awake I would lose sleep. Of course
this gets into a spiral, since we're trying to relax the mind.

However over time you realize, if you have some energy left and you don't fall
asleep, maybe you woke up too late today. That's OK. You'll find out that if
you COMPLETELY let go of any control of the body, try to be completely STILL..
you'll notice that it does actually rest the body to some extent. So if
somehow you don't fall asleep you can just keep doing this technique for 30
min, even an hour. Then maybe the clock says only 6 hours left, and next day
you'll find you're doing fine, not yawning, like you had your 7 hours of
sleep.

So the key here, once subtler point those techniques don't talk about, is that
if you make an effort to completely relax control of the body, you do get rest
even as you are still awake and aware.

One issue you can run into when trying to be completely and entirely still and
release total control of the body is that you can get "fidgeting legs"
syndrome or whatever it's called. People believe this is a problem and go to
the doctor for it. While it's symptomatic of something going in the body,
maybe it's not a problem. It's actually interesting... if you can stay still
even in the face of those unpleasant electric / buzzing sensations in the
legs... and you completely let go no matter what.. eventually you may have a
very pleasant sensation where it feels like suddenly the tension diffuses
through the body. It feels like some current was stuck, and now it's flowing.
You may even get very pleasant (fine) tingly sensations. I don't really want
to geti nto what this means here and I'm experimenting myself, not on expert
on this subject... But it's definitely worth investigating. As with many
things involving body/mind you're on your own. The doctors talk a different
language, they'll see a "restless legs" syndrome (though they admittedly have
no cause for it). With all that said, I'm not saying it's easy and it takes
practice too. But if you take time to fall asleep it's something to do, and
it's very curious... you get to experiment first hand with mind and body
interaction and a subtler aspect of the nervous system.

------
qualitative
Okay, so what's the secret military method for curing hiccups?

~~~
dingaling
Drink a mouthful of vinegar, in one go. The reflex defibrilates the diaphragm.

I used to a sachet of vinegar in my daypack for that reason and it had 100%
success with colleagues.

~~~
mladenkovacevic
That's quite drastic. If you don't like the taste of pure vinegar here's my
method. I inhale all the way, then while holding my breath drink a glass of
water. Doesn't that work for everyone?

------
agoldis
5 yeara in military - bullshit

