We all want to sleep as soon as we lay on the bed or couch, but that doesn’t happen most of the time. Something wanders in our minds, which delays the sleep process. Thus, in this blog post, we’ll learn the military sleeping method to sleep like a baby instantly.
What is the Military Sleeping Method?
A military sleeping method allows an individual to sleep within 2 minutes—yes, 2 minutes—and the person falls asleep. Bud Winter, an Olympic sprint coach, introduced this technique. In his book on performance enhancement, “Relax and Win: Championship Performance,” he describes how the method was developed for the United States Navy Pre-Flight School to allow them to sleep when they’re going through critical situations.
How Military Sleep Method Works?
Do you want to try this method and reap its benefits but are unsure how to use it? Don’t worry—below is a simple guide to help you experience it.
- Relax Your Head & Face: Start by calming your face. Unclench your jaw, relax your tongue, and let your forehead smooth out. Then, close your eyes and allow your face to relax fully.
- Keep Your Shoulders & Arms Down: Release any tension in your shoulders by dropping them down far from your ears and relaxing your arms at your sides. Also, imagine tightness, letting go of stress in your upper body.
- Exhale & Release Your Chest: Take a deep breath and then exhale slowly as you practice meditation. As soon as you do, you’ll start relaxing your chest and releasing any tightness you may be holding unintentionally, making your body feel lighter.
- Relax Your Legs: Now, move towards your legs and relax. Take a moment and start with your thighs, then move to your knees, and finally, your calves and feet to get all the tension away.
- Get Out of Your Thoughts: The final step is to clear your mind. If your mind wanders here and there, clear it and gently push it away. You’ll find yourself in a peaceful and calm place by focusing on breathing.
Importance of Sleep Quality Over Quantity
There’s a dogma in the field that everyone needs eight hours of sleep, but our work to date confirms that the amount of sleep people need differs based on genetics. - Louis Ptacek, MD
Many people focus on sleep quantity. They think that getting a full eight hours every night is all they need. To some extent, it’s true, but did you know that sleep quality is more important? Yes, it is!
It's not just about the number of hours you spend in bed; it's about how well your body rests and recovers during that time. High-quality sleep refers to more restorative cycles, better memory consolidation, and a stronger immune system.
According to researchers at UC San Francisco, it’s clear that there’s no rule of thumb for sleep. Our genetics play a big role in how much sleep each person needs. Yet, some people may feel fully rested after just four hours, while others may require more than six hours of sleep to feel the same level of alertness.
Benefits of the Military Sleep Method
After a proper sleep, you’ll be in a better mood and be more productive during the workday. Let’s explore how the military sleep method can benefit you:
- Decrease Anxiety & Depression: When you’re fully rested, it calms your mind and body and helps to reduce feelings of anxiety and sadness.
- Decreases Stress: It helps you manage stress by promoting relaxation and helping you focus on letting go of worries instead of getting stuck in negative thoughts.
- More Focus: When you train your mind to let go of distractions and relax before sleep, you focus more throughout the day and have more mental clarity and attention space.
- Fall Asleep Easily: The method is designed to help you fall asleep faster by calming your mind and body, making it easier to drift off at night.
- No Racing Thoughts at Night: If you tend to have busy thoughts that keep you awake, this method can help slow them down.
- Less Anger & Frustration: You’ll learn to control anger & frustration, leaving yourself feeling calmer and more in control.
The Bottom Line
We hope you understand how to use the military sleep method and sleep quickly without getting distracted. Among all other aspects, one major reason you may not sleep well is the mattress on your bed. If you haven’t considered it yet, do it now. A bad mattress can disturb the sleep cycles and decrease the quality of sleep. So, get a top-notch mattress from a reputed brand like Cloud Sleep and rest with full swings.
