This technique helped fighter pilots fall asleep within two minutes at Navy Pre-Flight School.
Around 96% of pilots fall asleep in 2 minutes within one and a half months of practice. After 6 weeks the pilots were able to sleep anywhere they want: sitting in a chair, on the battlefield, listening to a recording of machine-gun fire.
I am a huge fan of finding out more productive and healthy ways to live life. This technique I read in the book Relax and Win by Lloyd Bud Winter (amazon affiliate link), which was first published back in 1981.
In this article, I will demystify the fall asleep under 2 minutes military technique. Let’s dive in!
I can guarantee you that if you follow the steps, it will help you fall asleep faster. I tried the technique for 2-weeks, but I did not do the 6 weeks challenge. Here is the military technique.
Sitting upright in the chair
Well, in the military technique, the fighter pilots had to sit upright in the chair to practice this technique. And you know how hard it is to sit in a chair for a long time.
This is one of the reasons the airline industry introduced business class. According to my research, the first business class was invented back in 1979 by Japan Airlines to travel without noise or discomfort; however, there are many speculations. Here is an excellent article on the history of business class.
Okay, back to the sleeping technique- the fighter pilots needed to sit back in the chair, put their feet flat, and let their hands go free. Here is an explanation by Justin Augustin (Fitness coach).
First, you need to calm your body and systematically relax and shut down each part of your body from head to toe. Start by relaxing the muscles in your forehead. Relax your eyes, your cheeks, your jaws and focus on your breathing. Now, go down to your neck and your shoulders. Make sure your shoulders are not tensed up. Drop them as low as you can and keep your arms loose to your sides[s], including your hands and fingers. Justin Augustin
When I tried this technique, I cleared my mind from any stress (suggested in the book). The fitness coach, Justin, suggested thinking of two scenarios.
i) laying in a canoe over a beautiful lake or
ii) Laying in a black hammock in a pitch-black room
The author also suggested repeating the following words for 10 seconds if you got distracted.
Don’t think
Don’t think
Don’t think
According to the book, if you practice the technique mentioned above for 6 weeks, you will fall asleep in two or less than two minutes. I could not find more studies on how this technique eventually works and what are the impacts on health in the long run.
The bottom line
Sleep is the best meditation. — Dalai Lama
In a nutshell, just imagine being able to fall asleep almost anywhere within no time.
Here the fitness coach, Justin Augustin (more than 1.8 million followers), demonstrates the military fall asleep technique in a video
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