This military trick allows them to fall asleep in just two minutes... Does it work for everyone?
A sleep trick allegedly used by the military, supposedly taking only two minutes to fall asleep, has recently gone viral on social media. Who hasn't wished they could drift off the moment their head hits the pillow? It would be wonderful if it worked. However, as Dean J. Miller, a sleep expert at Central Queensland University in Australia, explained in an article for The Conversation, it's not that simple, and it's not necessary for the vast majority of people.
This doesn't mean this sleep trick is ineffective. It's not guaranteed to work, just like any sleep trick ever. But it is effective in many cases, given the living conditions of military personnel. The idea is that falling asleep too quickly for civilians might be an indicator of insufficient sleep the previous day. Sometimes, nothing will happen, but if it happens frequently, you might want to find a way to change your routine.
However, others can use the military sleep trick. In fact, it's a common technique used to help those suffering from insomnia. Let's take a look at what it involves and then analyze which parts to be wary of.
What is the military sleep deception?
The military sleep trick consists of three parts. The first part, known as progressive muscle relaxation, involves tensing and relaxing the muscles of the face, shoulders, arms, legs, and feet. You can also go further by tensing other muscles, such as the glutes. The key is to work from top to bottom.
The second part of this sleep trick involves breathing calmly and steadily, with a long exhalation.
Finally, it is advisable to imagine a peaceful atmosphere, such as floating in calm water or lying in a quiet field.
What do sleep experts say?
In fact, the three steps used in this trick are part of what is known as cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I). It is the most effective psychotherapy, with the strongest scientific evidence to help people with sleep problems. It also consists of several parts.
The first part, logically, is cognitive therapy. Sleep problems often stem from some kind of anxiety or belief, which may worsen with each night of poor sleep. This can be treated with cognitive therapy, which specifically aims to identify and modify negative thought patterns and irrational beliefs.
Secondly, cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia recommends controlling stimuli that may affect sleep. This ranges from light intensity to the temperature of the room where we sleep.
The third step of this therapy encourages patients to use their beds solely for sleeping (and nothing else). We need to train our brains to associate the bedroom in general, and the bed in particular, with rest, so we only enter it when we are ready to sleep. This strengthens the stimulus-response relationship and helps us sleep better.
Of course, there is a fourth step related to sleep health, which is to establish a specific routine that helps with sleep, such as refraining from drinking alcohol or caffeine late in the day, taking a warm bath, or maintaining a regular sleep schedule.
And here comes the interesting part. The fifth step is to use techniques that help us to calm down, such as progressive Jacobson relaxation, controlled breathing, and mindfulness.
This last point is precisely the military sleep trick. The Jacobson Progressive Relaxation trick consists of gradually contracting and relaxing the muscles, just as the military recommends. Breathing techniques are extremely varied. For example, abdominal breathing is very useful because it focuses primarily on the diaphragm, located between the chest and abdomen.
In short, what this achieves is conscious and relaxed breathing, just as the military recommends. Finally, mindfulness requires us to focus on the present moment and learn to pay attention only to the stimuli of what we are doing at any given time, without allowing thoughts of the past or future to invade our minds. However, these types of techniques are often also accompanied by visualization exercises. The third point of the military sleep trick.
Is it beneficial or not?
The sleep trick incorporates one of the five pillars of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia. Therefore, we might think it's insufficient. However, as Miller explains, military personnel subconsciously possess some of the other pillars.
For example, they strictly adhere to restricting the use of their bed (or sleeping bag) to sleeping only. During training, they often follow a simple sleep routine. This doesn't apply to maneuvers or tasks, of course, but it does apply in other situations. In these cases, the only things they can control are how they breathe, what they do with their muscles, and what they think.
They are encouraged to focus only on what is within their control and not outside of it. This is often recommended in cognitive behavioral therapy with many other applications, not just those related to sleep. For all these reasons, and because they are highly trained individuals accustomed to maximizing their energy resources, this may work for them. It's even possible for them to fall asleep after just two minutes.