It’s happened again; this morning, I missed my pre-work gym session because I hadn’t gotten enough sleep.
Despite my strict 9:30 pm bedtime, I regularly fail to get my full eight hours in ― like many of us, I find going to bed and falling asleep two completely different challenges, with the latter behind much harder.
If you also struggle to snooze, though, there may be hope: the University of Minnesota says the “Military Sleep Method” can help you nod off far faster.
One fan of the method said it cut their falling asleep time down to two measly minutes.
What is the military sleep method?
Per the University of Minnesota (UMN), the technique involves a mix of visualisation and muscle relaxation.
“You lie on your back, being still, and intentionally relax each muscle group, one at a time, while focusing on slow, calming breaths,” they say.
That includes your eyelids, tongue, jaw, and more ― make sure your sleep “scan” is thorough.
You should move from the top of your head to the bottom of your toes, imagining yourself sinking into the bed the entire time.
After that, the Sleep Foundation says you should clear your mind for ten seconds, imagining something soothing like rolling hills or lying in a treehouse in a forest.
If you can’t clear your mind, don’t fight your thoughts, they add; just let them float into and out of your head.
UMN says that what you do before sleep matters too ― overstimulating yourself or getting too distracted won’t help, they suggest.
Why is it called the military method?
The Sleep Foundation explains that the method got its name because it was used by some soldiers.
Military service isn’t exactly conducive to a good night’s sleep, they say, so the “military sleep method was used by World War II soldiers to fall asleep within two minutes.”
It was later “popularized in the [1981] book Relax and Win: Championship Performance,” they add (for some reason, a copy of that book is going for over £200 on Amazon).