In Handy Tips, we find ways that can improve your life and make it easier and explain why these tips work. Today, we will tell you how to fall asleep in 2 minutes in any situation according to the method of American military pilots.
Insomnia and lack of sleep significantly worsen the quality of life. If thoughts about the coming day prevent you from falling asleep, try the method of American pilots, which allows you to fall into the arms of Morpheus in 2 minutes.
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The method of Bud Winter
During World War II, American fighter pilots made tragic tactical mistakes and died because of a lack of sleep. Therefore, it was necessary to quickly provide those fighter pilots with enough rest as it was a matter of life and death. Navy lieutenant Bud Winter, a formerly successful football coach, was tasked with developing and testing a solution to this problem. This way, in collaboration with a professor of psychology, Winter developed a method of relaxation for those under stress.
The method of Bud Winter fully paid off: after only 6 weeks of training, 96% of pilots managed to fall asleep within 120 seconds even if there was shooting nearby, if they drank coffee, and even if they were sitting.
Step 1: Choose a comfortable position
If you already got comfortable in your favorite bed, you can skip this step. But if you need to fall asleep in another place, choose the most convenient position from the possible ones. For example, if you are in the car, adjust the seatback, and tilt it.
Step 2: Relax your face muscles
This is a crucial moment in our adventure. Our face consists of 43 muscles. Mainly thanks to these 43 muscles, your body learns about the stress you are experiencing, or, on the contrary, receives a signal that everything is okay and you can sleep.
Therefore, close your eyes and relax your forehead, cheeks, tongue and lower jaw – let the tension go. After that, you will notice that breathing becomes deeper and slower. Now, make sure your eyes are relaxed too – none of the 6 muscles of the eyeball should be tense.
Step 3: Lower your shoulders
Feel the heaviness on your shoulders and “drop” them as if they were falling at your feet. Relax the back of the neck. Take a deep breath and exhale slowly, relieving all remaining tension (for most people, it builds up in the shoulders, neck and jaws). Now move on to your hands: feel how they become heavy and relaxed. Right-handed people should first focus on the right biceps, and left-handers should, respectively, focus on the left. If you can’t loosen the muscle, tighten it firmly, and try again. Do the same with your hands.
Step 4: Relax your legs
Feel how you release the right quadriceps, and it gets heavier. Then repeat this with the right calf, ankle and foot and move on to the left side of the body.
Step 5: Clear your mind for 10 seconds
Now that you have completely relaxed your body, you are one step away from sleep. One thing left to do is turn off your brain (this process is similar to turning off your smartphone when it takes a few seconds until all processes are completely stopped). It is essential to avoid any thoughts that imply movement, like, “Tomorrow I need to refuel the car.” This thought involuntarily provokes micro-contractions in some muscles.
Winter offers several ways to clean your mind quickly and efficiently. For example, imagine that on a warm spring day, you are lying in a boat floating on a lake, and light waves are gently rocking your boat, you look up at the blue sky, where clouds are floating lazily. Or imagine that you are lying in a large cozy hammock, and wherever you look, there’s darkness. Do not let other thoughts disturb you from this image you came up with. Concentrate on it, keep the image in your mind, and enjoy it for at least 10 seconds.
Another way is to simply repeat, "Don't think, don't think." You need to try to hold this state in mind while not allowing other thoughts to appear.
That's it! If you have completely relaxed your body and freed your mind for at least 10 seconds, you will fall asleep. Sleep well!
