Vanity Fair – The French sleep less: less than seven hours per night, while the ideal sleep duration is seven to nine hours per night. That anxiety and stress explode is therefore no coincidence. How to cure it ? By sleeping better, and in this perspective, soldiers have an infallible technique to fall asleep very easily. Its advantage: it would be effective in just two minutes.
What does this technique consist of?
This method was designed to be effective a priori anywhere, even in risky environments, such as battlefields. Some claim it can cut sleep time to 2 minutes. Explained in detail in a 1981 book titled Relax and Win: Championship Performance, it was developed by US Army leaders to reduce fatigue in their soldiers.
The method
This method is similar to the body scan, a meditation technique that involves focusing on your body. His goal: to gradually relax each part of his body, from the top of his head to the tip of his toes.
- Relax your face first – Start with the forehead, then the eyes, cheeks and jaw, while focusing on your breathing.
- Drop your shoulders – Release the tension and keep the arms along the body, including the hands and fingers. Imagine that a feeling of warmth starts from your head and goes down to your fingertips. Take care of one arm at a time and breathe slowly.
- Take a deep breath and relax your chest – Inhale and exhale slowly down to the stomach.
- Relax your legs – Take care of one leg at a time and imagine that a warm sensation runs down your thighs, knees, legs and feet before reaching your toes.
- Release the stress – Imagine yourself in one of the following situations: 1) You are lying in a canoe on a calm lake with a blue sky above you. 2) You are lying in a black velvet hammock in a totally dark room.
- Repeat “don’t think” to yourself for 10 seconds.
