This seep technique was introduced in the military in order for the soldiers to get enough sleep so that they are fresh and in shape when entering the battlefield. In this way their alertness will be at their highest levels and as well as their vigilance.

This sleep technique was released in Bud Winter’s book “Relax and Win”.

HERE IT IS HOW IT GOES:

Relax your body by following these steps:

Start with releasing the muscles of your face like your jaw, tongue and the muscles around the eyes. Then, release your shoulders letting them to fall as far as they can, followed by your arm and forearm, but do it one side at a time.

Now slowly inhale and exhale, and then relax your chest, thighs, legs and toes.

Your mind needs to get free from all the negative thoughts and for that purpose you need to focus on your breathing 10 seconds and become aware of the air coming in and out of your nostrils.

While breathing, clear your mind, and try to solely focus on one of three things:

• Imagine you are lying in a canoe on the edge of a calm lake with only a clear blue sky above you.

• You can imagine that you are lying in a black velvet hammock in a dark room.

• Mentally repeat “do not think, do not think, do not think”.

These are the steps that can help you to easily fall asleep, and it shows 96% percent efficacy in people who practiced it for 6 weeks.

The key for proper sleep is to slow down your mind and prevent it go in all sorts of directions especially before going to bed.

You should try to find the method that offers you relaxation so that you can free your body and mind from all the tension. Possible solutions are practicing yoga, meditation, having a walk in nature, listening to relaxing music, reading a book, in fact anything that relaxes you.

Stick to a sleep schedule

Get daily sunlight exposure

Avoid caffeine & nicotine

Avoid alcoholic drinks

Don’t nap after 3pm

Don’t exercise too late in the day

Avoid large meals and beverages late at night

Have a dark, cool, gadget free bedroom

Don’t stay in bed if you really can’t sleep

These are adapted from the American Association for Sleep Medicine's sleep tips.

After trying everything: melatonin, white noise, breathing, you name it... I found a trick that actually helps me fall asleep:

I pretend I’m a medieval peasant. No emails, no bills, no doomscrolling. Just a tired cabbage farmer lying on a straw bed, no wolves nearby, nothing to do but sleep.

It sounds dumb, but the mental shift works. No pressure to optimize rest, just old-school exhaustion. I fall asleep faster pretending I’ve never seen a smartphone than I ever did using one to track my sleep.

Try it. Pick your own vibe: bard, viking, 1800s librarian. Just keep it low-tech and low-stress. Cheers guys.

Some background, I've never had any kind of negative feelings towards obama, In fact, I always kind of liked the guy.

The problem started about three weeks ago. I had a dream involving Barack, I was working with him and Michelle on their upcoming Netflix show. We were looking over demographics and how they related to various geographical locations. Without even realising it, I said "Yeah, N***er, we should do pretty well in (area near me)" He just looked at me and stormed out with Michelle behind him. I woke up and went into the bathroom to splash cold water in my face. I dismissed it. I don't have a racist bone in my body. This was just one of those dreams, right?

A week and a half ago, I had a similar experience. This time I dreamt we were going wine-tasting together. I don't remember the lead-up but I ended up saying something to the effect of "The sommelier said we should be detecting earthy tones in this wine, but it's just not registering with me, N***er" This time, instead of storming out he replied, very sternly "Why did you feel that was an appropriate thing to say?" I began to stutter and explain it was an accident but I had once again woken up.

The most recent incident was last night. I dreamt I was at a family barbecue with the Obamas, just his family and mine. He was manning the grill and i was speaking to Michelle while the children played with each other (I know Sasha and Malia are adults now but I still think of them as children) I said to Michelle very politely "excuse me for one moment" and marched right up to Barack and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around to look at me and I just said the word and nothing else. I can write off this happening once or twice in my dreams but three separate events is too much.

I don't know what to do. I don't want to do this. Every time it happens my work suffers the next day. I've started lying to my wife saying I've been having nightmares but I'm not sure she fully believes it. Lately, I've been worrying I might start saying it in my sleep and she could hear. I'm at my wits end and I want it to stop.

Not enough at least

There was an episode of Mythbusters where they discovered that if you don't sleep but just lay down and close your eyes and rest, you still regain a bit more energy than if you didn't rest at all. It's not as good as real sleep but you're not 'doing nothing' when you're laying there awake, youre still recharging you're just doing it slowly.

This has helped me countless times because it takes the pressure off myself that I NEED to fall asleep. Like it's ok if I'm just going to lay down for a few hours it'll still help. And then because I'm not trying to fall asleep, I do.

I just wanted to share in case it is helpful for others too.

I started prioritizing sleep. I had to because I was warned by my doctor that I was skating on thin ice. He said, "You're not a machine. You need to get proper sleep."

Prior to that, I used to feel I was lazy if I went to bed before 11pm & tried to get 7-8 hrs of sleep.

The glamorizing of the constant "do more" lifestyle of not sleeping & always hustling, night & day, waking up at 5am to get more done, is really harmful. Sleep is an essential part of life. It's not something that we can do without. Your body needs it in order to function properly, and it's not just a luxury; it's a necessity.

Rant over. That is all.

Over the last few months, I've been fairly consistently experimenting with taping my mouth shut. I wanted to mention the results I've had as well as the struggles for anyone else interested.

Why: I was struggling with sleep for a long time I had a sleep study done and it came back fine. I'll be getting my own Pulseoxometer soon to verify the study. I wanted to see how taping my mouth shut would help deal with this issue. I've woke myself up snoring a few times and even remember on several occasions waking up with my mouth shut. As a back sleeper, this makes the snore risk worse. Mouth Open breathing, in general, has been linked to all sorts of cognitive issues (brain fog) as well as putting your body in a semi-fight or flight state. Taping the mouth shut can help to solve this issue.

Starting in about May I made the change, it was hard a first but I slowly realized the best tape was medical tape. The results were pretty immediate as in, the next morning I felt more rested, I felt better able to take on my day, and mid-day sleepiness was reduced or not present at all.

What I've come to realize more recently is I can pretty much tell during the day if I remembered to tape my mouth shut. Not only do I wake up fatigued, but I tend to toss and turn at night with a much much less restful sleep cycle. (The pulse oximeter may end up verifying this. IE: A higher pulse may mean the sleep is less restful.) The tossing and turning have often resulted in neck pain, upper back pain, and waking up sleeping on my stomach, the worst sleeping position.

Waking up after a no-tape night results in sleepiness in the morning, lack of motivation throughout the day, increase depressive thoughts (this is unique to people who struggle with depression I'd imagine), and afternoon sleepiness resulting in a nap.

Meanwhile, a taped night results in a refreshed feeling waking up, a more positive outlook about situations and the day. More energy, and naps in the afternoon, if needed, are reduced to 20 minutes naturally.

What is specifically interesting to me is the fact although sometimes I slept for only 5-6 hours on some nights, I only needed a short nap in the afternoon to make me feel better. Whereas sleeping even 8-9 hours without taping my mouth resulted in a restful morning but a groggy afternoon met with a medium to long nap (1-3 hours).

Conclusion: Anyone who's having sleep issues try taping your mouth shut. It might cure a lot of issues for you or reduce them in a meaningful way.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to ask questions about my experience so far.

I had an AMA about my sleep habits go viral on r/AMA so I'm doing it again in this sub!

I've spent the last 5 years trying to improve my sleep. Tried a bunch of techniques, products, etc. Some worked much better than others and I finally hit my stride last year.

At least 8 hours of sleep. Every single night. For 365 nights.

I feel great. Ask me anything

EDIT: Love the questions. Keep em coming! In the meantime, I've summarized some of the FAQs below

How do I feel?

• feeling way more sharp cognitively. work has become more enjoyable

• more positive outlook on life - feeling more appreciative/grateful

• better ability to connect with my wife. i feel like i'm more present

• increased libido (I'm in my early-mid 30s)

• overall I have a feeling of confidence and calm that has made my life a lot more positive

Most impactful technique I used:

Something i learned from Huberman. When you wake up, DO NOT scroll on your phone. Get your butt out of bed and get sunlight immediately. The first 30 mins after waking up are crucial to getting a good sleep later that night.

Other helpful techniques I use:

• get out of bed immediately when I wake up + getting sunlight immediately

• weight training 3x per week

• walking 10k steps per day

• not eating within 4 hours of bedtime

• making sure my bedroom is COLD. Blast the AC to 19C or 66F

• using a fan for subtle white noise + cooling

• don't keep your phone in your bedroom. use a standalone alarm clock

• PRIORITIZING MY SLEEP (sometimes at the expense of my social life in the short term. but it's absolutely worth it)

Products I swear by:

1. Magnesium Glycinate: https://www.amazon.ca/Magnesium-Glycinate-Supplement-Nutritionn-Non-Buffered/dp/B0C9WB79FF

2. Cheap standalone alarm clock from Walmart - keep your phone OUTSIDE your room when you sleep

3. (If you have some $ to spend) Good bedding: I am a Gravid fan-boy: gravid.ca - I love their cooling weighted blanket, doze gel mattress topper and cooling sheets/pillowcases. Tried the orthopedic pillow but found it awkward

Products that DID NOT help:

• melatonin

• white noise machine

• expensive pillows

22F I’ve been a mouth breather since I was at 8, probably even younger than that.
Everytime I would sleep my jaw is practically on the floor.

About 6 months ago I got a job working as a CPAP DME supplier, and throughout this time I realized that maybe I should invest in the quality of my sleep.

I would always wakeup with severe exhaustion, missing alarms, headaches, I could barely even get myself to move my body. My husband was also telling me I’m grinding my teeth, chomping, chewing, snoring, everyday he would tell me “new sound unlocked”😂

Anyways I do have a at home sleep study scheduled soon, but I decided to take matters into my own hands for now

I started using a chinstrap from Amazon, and used that for about a week until I realized the chinstrap just wasn’t the best fit for me because I move so much it would sometimes stay all night, sometimes I’d wakeup and it would be off my head.
I invested in mouth tape to wear with my chinstrap to help make sure I’m fully nasal breathing.

I recieved my chinstrap around September 30th? I’ve definitely missed some days here and there, but the difference to my face is absolutely blowing my mind. Not even an entire month of nasal breathing and my face structure has already improved significantly!

Anyways I still have a lot to go, and like I said I’m awaiting my sleep study, but I just wanted to show these results because now my jaw is on the floor (again😂😂).
I only wish I would have taken better photos before I started using it to really capture how disgusting my face was, I wasn’t aware until after I had started using it that mouth breathing changes your face shape, I thought it was just making my sleep poor.

I have had decent sleep. But when I wake up, I still feel tired and even after hours my eyes are tired and sometimes red. Unable to focus. But then I decide okay maybe I need more sleep and I try to sleep, I can't sleep. And it's a never ending cycle. It's hard to fall asleep but once I sleep, thats it I'm dead for few hours. Issue is even after that my eyes feel tired and mind feel tired. Am I the only one. What should I do. Someone help me out 😭🙏

EDIT: With this method, you don’t need any tea or white noise, your brain does all the work for you.:) EDIT2: You may not even realize that you’re slightly spinning unless you really focus. It’s all in the mind.

When I was younger, I realized that my brain did the illusion on spinning or floating when i was falling asleep. So with a little practice, you can fall right asleep.

Begin with being relaxed. You can do some breathing exercises or something, but this best works relaxed.

Remember, any disruption will completely reset any progress of falling asleep, so even barely opening your eyes, or purposely moving will reset it all. I am used to outside noise, but I have found that since you are so focused on sleeping, you kinda forget that there is even noise. This varies from person to person.

Now get into a position that is comfortable for you. You can move all you want at this stage.

Once you are in a position, focus on spinning in your bed, you will starting think your bed is spinning. It depends on how tired you are, the more tired you are, the faster you will spin. It takes practice to achieve this, but that’s why relaxation is key.

Your brain will begin to give the illusion of spinning, or falling. By the time you are full on spinning, DO NOT open your eyes or even twitch. It will ruin the process, and in some cases, make you not even tired anymore at all.

Once this happens for a few moments, you are fully aware that you are spinning at a slightly rapid rate, and then, you’ll float. At this point you are about to fall asleep. You might not even realize you fell asleep.

Remember, this takes practice. You may not get it on the first try. But it’s very simple once you get the hang of it. It’s also fascinating how you can be aware of how deep you are. It’s like lucid dreaming, without the soul part of it. Sweet dreams!

I’ve had a breakthrough.

Years of bad sleep. 4-6 hours. 7 hours was a miracle. Recently I am hitting 8, 8.5, 9 hours a night. Here’s my routine:

• I quit alcohol a few years ago which did help reduce anxiety which helped sleep

• I walk a lot and exercise

• I eat clean

When I eat crap like lots of sugar, I wake up early and feel awful. I also drink a lot of caffeine, and recently have limited to 2/3 cups per day.

My routine:

• Macks noise cancellation earplugs (foam)

• Silk wrap around the head eye mask

• Kindle on dark mode in bed with blackout room, ear plugs in and eye mask on forehead ready to go. I read for a bit on my side (sleeping position) and when I feel my eyes getting heavy I drop the kindle onto the bed and pull the mask down. I’m out within 10 seconds.

These have been staple for the last few years and helped me average 6-7 hours per night.

Recent additions:

• 1x banana just before bed (potassium + magnesium)

• 12 hour rain sounds Spotify playlist throughout the whole night, barely audible through earplugs but I’m convinced is making a HUGE positive impact

• Magnesium supplements before bed

Since adding these three, I am hitting 8-9 hours per night. When waking up to pee, I am straight back to sleep, which has never happened before.

I also smoke weed and find I sleep much better without weed. I can fall asleep in about 3 seconds when I’m stoned, but feel groggy the next morning. Sober sleep really is king.

Tonight I’m going to try and hit 9+ hours. I’ve not had these kind of sleeps since I was in school. For reference, I’m 37/M.

For folks with sleep disorders like myself, good sleep hygiene is all about putting yourself in the best position to sleep well, each and every night. Without fail.

As a chronic insomniac, a slip up can lead to a terrible night’s sleep (or no sleep whatsoever), which often becomes a full week of sleep deprivation, plus a derailed sleep pattern, and of course, an unbearable mood - sorry wife.

I’ve been on the sleep optimization journey for a good few years and after much experimentation i finally found a sleep hygiene checklist that works for me:
(Would love to hear your opinions on this!)

Exercise Daily

Cliche but works. I’ve ventured out in different exercise modalities and I found powerlifting to be the best for me. The CNS fatigue from lifting heavy weights is much higher than your typical cardio/endurance workout (unless you’re a crossfit bro). That factor alone, has been one of the biggest catalysts in balancing my sleep pattern.

Whenever I start straying, I just lift more and heavier.

Eat Well - Eat Smart

Thankfully I didn't have to become a fully fledged straight edge and renounce coffee, booze, or sugar to repair my sleep disorder.

I just had to learn the art of moderation and live by a handful of golden rules:

• Absolutely no coffee/caffeinated drinks/stimulants after 12 noon. (I’m super sensitive to caffeine)

• My last meal of the day is at 6pm the latest. I eat mostly keto, and my last meal is usually a variation of a broth with some meat.

• Cheatmeals and the occasional indulgence in my libation of choice are reserved for the weekends (typically around lunchtime).

Optimize Your Sleeping Environment

For me this means:

• No electronics in the room at night time (Except dimmable lights and the trusted sunrise alarm clock) .

• Absolute pitch darkness (I use blackout curtains - the good stuff).

• Room temperature is never higher than 60 fahrenheit.

• Heavy blanket works a treat.

• No noise (Thankfully I live deep in the countryside).

Have an Immaculate wind down routine

About 1h 30m before bed time I initiate my little sleep hygiene routine:

1. Myofascial release (lots of spinal decompression).

2. Passive stretching.

3. Steaming hot bath with Epsom salts followed by a semi-cold shower - Even though there are many arguments against raising your core temperature before bedtime, the hot/cold combo has worked really well for me. Really effective at shutting the brain up.

At this stage I will also completely cut blue light exposure by turning off my devices. No late night Netflix dopamine fix for this guy.

Experiment and Optimize

Sleep optimization is all about trial and error.

I often experiment with different protocols, tools, and gadgets, as a way to stay ahead of the curve. Tools I’m currently testing:

Rise Science (https://www.risescience.com/)

• Effective sleep tracker. I find the way they frame sleep optimization using sleep debt and daily circadian peaks very useful on a day-to-day basis.

Oak Meditation (https://www.oakmeditation.com/)

• I’ve used Headspace for years and wasn’t until recently that I’ve started incorporating a daily pre-bed meditation practice in my routine. I quite like the mantra meditations on Oak.

Orange Glasses (Blue light protection)

• Incredible how effective orange glasses are if you spend lots of hours in front of a screen every day like myself. I grabbed mine from Amazon for $10 bucks, still kicking after a year of heavy use.

Nucalm (https://nucalm.com/)

• Latest addition to my sleep optimization stack. In theory, it should simulate an entire 120-minute sleep cycle with just a 20-minute daily power nap.

Last thoughts

I do think most people shrug off the value of having a consistent sleep checklist. I spent most of my early life being a chronic insomniac which deeply affected my health, personal life, relationships - I was an effing disaster.

I only realized how much better life gets when I started putting in practice a consistent sleep hygiene strategy. My energy, mood, happiness, and outlook on life changed dramatically for the best.

PS. Goes without saying that I'm not affiliated with any of the companies mentioned.

I’ve always had a hard time falling asleep, not because I wasn’t tired, but because my brain refuses to shut up. I’d be lying in bed thinking about work, awkward conversations from five years ago, or random what-ifs I couldn’t control. I tried everything. No screens, herbal tea, white noise, breathing exercises. Some of it helped, but nothing really worked consistently.

Then one night, just to distract myself, I imagined I was a small animal going to sleep. I pictured being a cat curled up somewhere warm and safe, or a bear tucked away in a quiet cave for the winter. And something shifted. My body relaxed. My thoughts slowed down. I actually fell asleep without even realizing it.

Now I am trying to do as part of my routine. Sometimes I imagine I’m a dog in a cozy cabin, or an otter floating on calm water. It sounds silly, but it gives my mind something soft and safe to focus on. No pressure. No noise. Just rest.

Has anyone else tried something like this? I’d love to hear other “weird but it works” sleep tricks. Maybe the key isn’t trying harder, maybe it’s making sleep feel a little less serious.

I’ve had "wake up at 3 AM and stare at the wall" insomnia for years. I got sick of reading articles written by bots, so I spent way too much money testing this stuff myself. Here is the ranking based on what actually works versus what is marketing garbage.

S-Tier (Actually Legit)

• Magnesium Glycinate: The MVP. Most people buy the cheap stuff (Oxide) which is basically a laxative. Glycinate is the one that actually relaxes your muscles and stops physical anxiety. It doesn't knock you out, just helps you stay asleep.

• L-Theanine: The "shut up brain" pill. It’s the stuff in green tea. If you lay in bed replaying awkward conversations from 2018, take this. Pairs perfectly with Magnesium.

A-Tier (Good, but pricey/tricky)

• Apigenin: It's basically Super Chamomile. Makes you feel heavy and sedated. It works great, but it’s expensive and you can build a tolerance.

• Magnesium Threonate: Technically the best for your brain, but it costs 3x more than Glycinate. Unless you’re rich, stick to Glycinate.

B-Tier (Situational)

Melatonin (MICRO doses only):

• The Mistake: Taking 5mg or 10mg gummies. That is a massive overdose. It burns out your receptors and gives you a hangover.

• The Fix: Take 0.3mg (300mcg). Seriously. Less is more here. Use it only for jet lag, not every night.

F-Tier (Literal Trash)

• Sleep Cocktails/Blends: If the bottle says "Sleepy Time Blend" and hides the dosages, it’s a scam. They fill it with cheap melatonin and charge you $40. Buy ingredients separately.

• Magnesium Oxide: Look at your bottle. If it says "Oxide," you bought expensive poop pills. It absorbs poorly. Throw it out.

• Valerian Root: Works okay, but gives me crazy nightmares and the pills smell like old gym socks. Not worth it.

My Daily Stack: 400mg Mag Glycinate + 200mg L-Theanine. Simple, cheap, effective.

Hope this saves you some cash. Let me know if I missed anything!

I’m in the process of fixing my sleep hygiene. It has been abysmal the last year. Imagine the worst set of habits one could do and that’s what I’ve been doing.

Started with getting a schedule down and swapping my phone for reading before bed, but still woke up feeling tired and like my body got hit by a truck. Back pain, neck pain, and often times wondering if I still had an arm because I slept on it all night. Yes I have googled “Can you lose an arm by sleeping on it wrong?”, scarily the answer is yes?? See ‘Saturday Night Palsy’

After fixing everything else, I researched what the best sleep position was and was horrified to learn the worst was stomach sleeping. I’ve slept on my stomach for as long as I can remember and up until last night, you couldn’t pry it from dead, lifeless, pins & needles arms. But, I figured I’d give it a try for one night for scientific research purposes. I am sad to report I woke up refreshed, I woke up with no pain in my back or neck, and best of all, I woke up with functioning hands. This is devastating news. I now must begin a journey I was never prepared to go on. I will be joining all of you coffin style sleepers.

I work as a pharmacist and over time I started noticing a pattern.

A lot of people come in saying they’re constantly tired.

Not just “a bit low on energy”, but properly exhausted.

Even though they sleep 7–8 hours.

Most of them assume it’s something simple like:

- not enough vitamins

- low iron

- needing more caffeine

But honestly, in many cases it doesn’t seem to be a pure “energy deficiency” problem.

It’s more like their system never really switches off.

They’re stressed during the day, then at night their body is still kind of “on”, even if they fall asleep. So they wake up without feeling actually recovered.

Then they try to fix it with things that just push energy (coffee, energy drinks, random supplements), which works short term but doesn’t really solve the underlying issue.

I’m not saying this is true for everyone, but I see this pattern way more often than people think.

Curious if others here feel the same way?