Enjoying a deep, sound sleep after a long and hard day is an incredible experience, but drifting off is always unpleasant and frustrating, especially when you are craving rest.  The lack of sleep leads to serious health issues and reduces our cognitive abilities.

Dr. Merrill Mitler, a sleep expert and neuroscientist at NIH says:

“Sleep services all aspects of our body in one way or another: molecular, energy balance, as well as intellectual function, alertness, and mood. The fact is, when we look at well-rested people, they’re operating at a different level than people trying to get by on 1 or 2 hours less nightly sleep. Loss of sleep impairs your higher levels of reasoning, problem-solving and attention to detail.”

During the Second World War, some soldiers had been making critical mistakes as a result of this, so they discovered a trick that helped them fall asleep almost immediately.

Medium reported that the U.S. Navy Pre-Flight School invented a scientific method that helps anyone to fall asleep in any conditions, day or night, and the technique was revealed in the book Relax and Win: Championship Performance. The trick worked in 96% of the cases after 6 weeks of training, and here are the four steps you need to follow:

Step 1

Try to relax all 43 muscles on the face.

Step 2

As soon as your face is fully relaxed, drop down the shoulders as low as possible, and start breathing deeply. Then, send the arms limp, with the dominant side first, starting from the bicep and moving on to the forearms, hands, and fingers. Repeat with the other arm.

Step 3

Start with the thighs, calf muscles and go all the way down to the ankles and feet.

Step 4

Now, when the entire body is relaxed, clear the mind. Take 10 seconds, and forget about all your worries, plans, and things that happened during the day. If you do not succeed in this, your muscles might start to involuntary contract.

The book’s author Lloyd Bud Winter advises you to repeat “don’t think, don’t think, don’t think”, imagine you are in a canoe in a lake or being snuggled in a black velvet hammock in a pitch-black room, etc. When your mind is still, you will immediately fall asleep.

Sierra B. Forbush, from the University of Arizona in the US, points out the importance of sleep:

“..Sleep regularity, beyond sleep duration alone, plays a significant role in our health. Regular sleep schedule may be an effective, relatively simple, and inexpensive preventative treatment for heart disease as well as many other health problems.”

Therefore, try this trick and you will never spend the night tossing and turning again!

Source: www.shared.com