More than 80% of the population experience sleeping problems at some time in their lives. The reasons for sleeping disorders vary from physical to emotional causes.
Essential prerequisites
- Eating a healthy and varied diet
- Drinking an appropriate amount of water during the day
- Exercising daily, an excellent exercise is outdoor walking
- Stopping all stimulation one full hour before bedtime.
A proper and varied diet is a necessary prerequisite to good sleep habits and should include drinking the appropriate amount of water during the day. A person should be doing a reasonable amount of exercise, preferably in the fresh air, daily. Finally, all forms of stimulation, electronic, social and intellectual should be eliminated at the very least one full hour before bedtime.
Stop thinking
The chief reason most healthy people experience sleeping problems is that they cannot ‘shut off their brain.’ These people mull over their day, their problems, their agenda for tomorrow, and much more instead of activating their sleep process. Essentially, they are energizing their mind and an energetic mind is anathema to falling asleep.
Mull over your day for 10
If you want to mull over your day, or your problems, limit yourself to a time limit. Say ten minutes at most and then begin your falling asleep process. The most important aspect of this process is to stop thinking. Explore what “stop thinking” process works best for you: a silent mantra of “don’t think” repeated gently, silently; or visions of a beach listening to the water splashing ashore; or a picture of a quiet summer night rocking on a porch. Find and practice the “stop thinking” process that works best for you. Experiment, vary it, find the one that works best and practice it.
The 10-second method
(The military method)
The military method for falling asleep takes practice but with practice, you can eventually get to the sweet 10-second spot.
Note: The method below takes a couple of minutes to finish. The last 10 seconds is all it takes to finally snooze. Be patient and do this method while in bed.
The fundamentals of the military method
- Relax your entire face, including the muscles inside your mouth.
- Drop your shoulders to release the tension and let your hands drop to the side of your body.
- Exhale, relaxing your chest.
- Relax your legs, thighs, and calves.
- Clear your mind for 10 seconds by imagining a relaxing scene.
- If this doesn’t work, try saying the words “don’t think” over and over for 10 seconds.
- Within 10 seconds, you should fall asleep!
Source: healthline.com/health/healthy-sleep
