How to fall asleep quickly in a minute: the US military technique has become a TikTok trend

If you can count a huge herd of sheep before you fall asleep, or go to bed early but still suffer from insomnia, try the US Army REM sleep method, which is now going viral on TikTok. The video with him has already gained more than 5 million views, and the first technique was described back in 1981 by sports coach Lloyd Bud Winter in the popular book Relax and Win: Championship Performance.

As the blogger promises, the method allows you to fall asleep in just a couple of minutes anywhere and in any position, focusing on relieving muscle tension.

How to fall asleep quickly in 1 minute:

1. Lie on your back with your legs straight and arms at your sides.
2. First, relax your jaw and facial muscles, including your tongue.
3. Now lower your shoulders as far as you can to relieve tension.
4. Relax your arms at your sides, fingers and hands.
5. Exhale deeply to relax your chest, then relax the muscles in your legs and feet.
6. Imagine a soothing sensation of warmth spreading from your head to your toes.
7. Take a deep breath in and out, clearing your mind of thoughts and stress.
8. Now you need to render one of two images “to choose from”:

• You lie on your back in a canoe on a serene, calm lake with nothing but crystal clear skies above you.
• You are lying in a black velvet hammock in the pitch darkness of the room.

In the discussions under the original video they write that the method really works. One commentator was taught this method in college psychology classes. Another doctor told a similar technique with slight differences, and it helped to overcome insomnia due to chronic nervousness.

Sounds good, right? But you should understand that the army life hack is unlikely to help you instantly turn off the first time. It is relaxing and using it from the start people fall asleep faster than usual. But in order for such meditation to be really effective and the body learns to shut down on command, it must be practiced every night. The book says that after 6 weeks of “training”, the algorithm starts working in about 96% of people.