Evie Summers
The military sleep technique is a method that can help you fall asleep in just 10 minutes. It was first introduced in 1981 by Lloyd Bud-Winter in his book *Relax and Win: Championship Performance*. The technique involves deep breathing, calming your thoughts, and relaxing your body. Each of these components is known to help improve sleep. The method is designed to reduce stress and help you stop thinking about sleep.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Origin | U.S. Army pilots after World War II |
| Components | Deep breathing, calming thoughts, relaxing the body |
| Purpose | Reducing stress, engendering a feeling of relaxation |
| Time | 10 minutes |
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What You'll Learn
Deep breathing
To practise deep breathing, find a comfortable position and focus on taking slow, steady breaths. Breathe in through your nose for a count of four, feeling your abdomen expand, then breathe out through your mouth for a count of four, feeling your abdomen contract. As you breathe, pay attention to the sensation of the breath moving in and out of your body. If your mind wanders, gently bring your focus back to your breath.
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Calming your thoughts
The individual components of the military sleep method—deep breathing, calming your thoughts, and relaxing your body—are all known to help with sleep. To calm your thoughts, it's important to find something that suits your personality. This could be cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia, or simply getting into a comfortable position and letting a soothing song float through your head.
It's also important not to worry about sleep. As Zeitzer tells *Popular Mechanics*, "the biggest enemy of sleep is anxiety". If you're fixating on something that bothers you—even if it's just concerns about getting enough sleep—that fixation will probably keep you awake. So, find something that helps you relax at bedtime and stop worrying about sleep!
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Relaxing your body
The military sleep technique is designed to help you relax and fall asleep in just 10 minutes. It involves deep breathing, calming your thoughts and relaxing your body.
To relax your body, you should get into a comfortable position. This could be lying down, sitting or standing. You should then focus on relaxing each part of your body, starting with your face and moving down. Relax your jaw, your tongue, your eyelids and the muscles around your eyes. Then move down to your neck and shoulders, relaxing and loosening any tension you feel. You can then move down your arms, relaxing your biceps and triceps, your forearms and your hands. Then move down to your chest, relaxing your upper back and your lower back. Then move down to your hips, your buttocks and your thighs. Finally, relax your calves and your feet.
You can also try tensing and relaxing each muscle group to help you focus on releasing any tension.
The military sleep technique is designed to help you relax and reduce stress. It's important to find something that suits your personality and helps you relax at bedtime. This could be listening to soothing music, doing some light stretching or reading a book.
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Reducing stress
The military sleep technique is a method to help you relax and fall asleep in just 10 minutes. It was first described in the 1981 book *Relax and Win: Championship Performance* by Lloyd Bud-Winter, who explained how U.S. Army pilots used the technique to fall asleep quickly, even under great stress.
The individual components of the military sleep method are deep breathing, calming your thoughts, and relaxing your body. These techniques are all meant to engender a feeling of relaxation and reduce stress. It's important to find something that suits your personality and helps you relax at bedtime. For example, getting into a comfortable position, listening to soothing music, or letting your mind wander. The biggest enemy of sleep is anxiety, so try not to worry about getting enough sleep. Cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia may also be helpful.
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Getting comfortable
The technique involves deep breathing, calming your thoughts, and relaxing your body. Each of these components is known to help improve sleep.
To get comfortable, you might want to get into a cosy position and find something that helps you relax, such as a soothing song or cognitive behavioural therapy. It's important to reduce stress and not think about sleep. As sleep expert Zeitzer notes, anxiety is the "biggest enemy of sleep". If you're worrying about something, especially about getting enough sleep, that fixation will probably keep you awake.
The military sleep technique is meant to engender a feeling of relaxation, and what works for one person might not work for another. It's important to find something that suits your personality and helps you unwind.
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Frequently asked questions
The military sleep technique is a method that helps people relax and fall asleep in 10 minutes. It involves deep breathing, calming your thoughts and relaxing your body.
Each component of the military sleep technique is designed to help you relax and reduce stress. This includes deep breathing, getting into a comfortable position, and letting your mind wander.
The military sleep technique is for anyone who wants to fall asleep quickly and easily, especially those who are under a lot of stress.
The military sleep technique was first described in the 1981 book *Relax and Win: Championship Performance* by Lloyd Bud-Winter. In the book, Bud-Winter explains how U.S. Army pilots used a similar method to relax and fall asleep quickly after World War II.
