According to the Spanish Society of Neurology (SEN) , 25-35% of the adult population suffers from temporary insomnia and between 10 and 15% suffer from chronic insomnia. These figures are surely increasing these days of quarantine as we have more concerns and it is also likely that we are experiencing anxiety symptoms. Anxiety about not going out, anxiety about not knowing what will happen … All that does not help to sleep. And more when we spend the day locked at home.
If you are also in this situation and you have been sleeping for days, you have to try the American army trick to fall asleep in two minutes. It was designed by the United States Army during World War II and was 96% successful.
The American Army has the infallible trick to fall asleep in two minutes
This famous military method of falling asleep quickly is captured in a book called Relax and Win: Championship Performance In Whatever You Do , by Lloyd Bud Winter. Notably, Bud Winter was a renowned track and field coach who had trained numerous Olympians. It turns out that we only have to follow six simple steps to get to sleep in just two minutes.
- Step 1: Sit on the edge of the bed. Keep in mind that the only light that can be on is the one on the bedside table and, obviously, the mobile must be off or silent.
- Step 2: Relax your face. To start, close your eyes, breathe deeply, and relax your jaw, forehead tongue, and eye muscles. No going to bed with a frown and tight eyes!
- Step 3: Relax your shoulders and arms. Focus on the tension in your shoulders and let them drop to simulate floating. Next, you have to tense your arms (first one, then the other) and to relax them little by little until you achieve the goal.
- Step 4: Relax your legs. You have to inhale and exhale by relaxing your chest. Meanwhile, relax your legs (starting at the thigh, the calf, going down to the ankle and ending at the foot) as we did with the arms, one by one.
- Step 5: Relax your mind. In the end, it takes ten seconds to clear the clutter from our mind. If after relaxing the body you are now able to relax the mind, you will fall asleep super fast!
- Step 6: Use your imagination. Imagine yourself in one of these two situations: the first is lying in a canoe, on a lake and looking at the blue of the sky. The second, in a hammock that rocks slowly. And to sleep!
