WEBVTT - Does the Military Teach a Sleep Meditation Technique?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio, Hey brain

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff Lauren vocal bomb here. Getting good sleep is important

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<v Speaker 1>for everyone. It's essential for optimal cognitive performance, physiological processes,

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<v Speaker 1>emotional regulation, and quality of life. But the National Sleep

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<v Speaker 1>Foundation found at its annual Sleep Index study the just

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<v Speaker 1>ten percent of American adults prioritize sleep over other things

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<v Speaker 1>in their daily lives, such as fitness and nutrition, work,

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<v Speaker 1>social life, and hobbies and personal interests. In the study,

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<v Speaker 1>just thirty five percent of those surveyed described their sleep

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<v Speaker 1>quality as good, while said it was fair, and twelve

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<v Speaker 1>percent rated their sleep quality as poor. Most adults should

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<v Speaker 1>get between seven and nine hours of sleep per night,

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<v Speaker 1>and the effects of sleep deprivation when you don't get

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<v Speaker 1>enough sleep can be serious. So what's one to do

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<v Speaker 1>when they either can't fall asleep or simply don't get

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<v Speaker 1>good quality of sleep when they do. A pop culture

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<v Speaker 1>legend of sorts suggests that the military might have the answer.

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<v Speaker 1>Members of armed forces do have to sleep in dangerous

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<v Speaker 1>and stressful environments all the time, and the consequences of

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<v Speaker 1>poor sleep for soldiers on missions can be catastrophic. Soldiers

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<v Speaker 1>on deployment often have unpredictable schedules that conflict with their

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<v Speaker 1>natural circadian rhythms, and they have small sleep quarters that

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<v Speaker 1>double is personal and leisure space. That's why soldiers reportedly

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<v Speaker 1>use a meditation technique that helps them or anyone, fall

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<v Speaker 1>into RESTful sleep in two minutes. According to a November

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<v Speaker 1>report from the U. S Army, a metric called the

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<v Speaker 1>Performance Triad is used to assess and improve soldiers readiness

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<v Speaker 1>in the areas of physical activity, nutrition, and sleep. The

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<v Speaker 1>report revealed that almost one third of soldiers get less

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<v Speaker 1>than five hours of sleep per night. One out of

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<v Speaker 1>every twenty active duty soldiers takes prescription sleep medication, and

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<v Speaker 1>sleep deprivation can increase the risk of soldiers developing post

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<v Speaker 1>traumatic stress disorder. The report includes that the Performance Triad

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<v Speaker 1>course offered to soldiers provides tactical sleep techniques to help

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<v Speaker 1>them get as much rest as possible while on deployment.

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<v Speaker 1>It also suggests soldiers aim to get eight hours of

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<v Speaker 1>sleep in a twenty four hour period and avoid caffeine

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<v Speaker 1>six hours before bedtime. It includes advice on how to

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<v Speaker 1>use caffeine or energy drinks to improve performance while minimizing

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<v Speaker 1>their impact on sleep. Although this report demonstrates the Army's

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<v Speaker 1>understanding of the importance of sleep. It includes no mention

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<v Speaker 1>of meditation as a sleep tool. So where did this

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<v Speaker 1>oft cited technique come from. The technique was developed in

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<v Speaker 1>the U. S. Navy Pre Flight School. It appears to

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<v Speaker 1>have entered popular culture by way of self help book

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<v Speaker 1>that's now out of print called Relax and Win Championship Performance.

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<v Speaker 1>The author, Lloyd Bud Winter, was by then a well

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<v Speaker 1>known track and field coach. The book is actually based

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<v Speaker 1>on research the Winter conducted as a naval ensign after

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<v Speaker 1>World War Two years before the book's publication, Winter's technique

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<v Speaker 1>was tested on two groups in Winter's Navy preflight academy

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<v Speaker 1>to teach the naval aviators how to properly relax and

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<v Speaker 1>fall asleep faster. The test group outperformed the control group

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<v Speaker 1>in numerous tests and drills, and after six weeks of

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<v Speaker 1>the group could fall asleep practically on command. So while

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<v Speaker 1>the technique has seen a resurgence lately, thinks to some

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<v Speaker 1>mentions in the press, it's definitely not new, but it

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<v Speaker 1>is courtesy of the military. Winter described the process in

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<v Speaker 1>his book to physically relax quickly. In short. His technique

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<v Speaker 1>leads you through full body relaxation and then helps you

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<v Speaker 1>clear your mind. You start by slowly relaxing the muscles

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<v Speaker 1>in your face, including your tongue and lips. Then move

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<v Speaker 1>down to your shoulders, arms, and torso. Let each muscle

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<v Speaker 1>go limp and breathe slowly as you concentrate on relaxing,

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<v Speaker 1>focus on your chest while you take in deep breaths

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<v Speaker 1>and exhale, releasing your tension with your breaths. Once your

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<v Speaker 1>upper body muscles feel relaxed, move down to your thighs, calves,

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<v Speaker 1>and feet, consider them dead weight. Finally, take three deep breaths,

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<v Speaker 1>and when you let them out, blow out all of

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<v Speaker 1>your remaining tension. The process should take about a minute

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<v Speaker 1>and a half. It takes practice to relax your body

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<v Speaker 1>on command, so the trick is to first tents up

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<v Speaker 1>each area and then or axit. Clear your mind by

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<v Speaker 1>concentrating on a common mental image. In theory, you should

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<v Speaker 1>fall asleep pretty quickly. Based on recent military publications. It's

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<v Speaker 1>unclear if this technique is still taught or widely used,

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<v Speaker 1>but if you have insomnia or just aren't getting a

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<v Speaker 1>good night's rest, there's certainly no harm in trying it.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's episode was written by Sheris three Witt and produced

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<v Speaker 1>by Tyler clayg. Brain Stuff is a production of iHeart

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<v Speaker 1>Radio's How Stuff Works. For more in this and lots

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<v Speaker 1>of other relaxing topics, visit our home planet, how stuff

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<v Speaker 1>Works dot com. And for more podcasts from my heart Radio,

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