Imagine being able to fall asleep whenever you want.

No concern for the room’s lighting, sounds, what you’ve ingested during the day, or your activities before getting into bed. No concern for your electronic use, state of mind, mattress type, or room temperature.

My friends and family are dumbfounded by my ability to fall asleep anytime and anywhere, almost instantly.

Whether the middle of the day, at night, and even if I’ve had caffeine. Whether in the car, an airplane, or chair, and if I’m tired or not.

If I had this ability my whole life, I might be inclined to say that I have a gift. Fortunately for you, I learned a technique to fall asleep at any time. That means you can too.

Everyone has, at some point, struggled with sleeplessness. In the thick of my depression, I was only sleeping for a few hours every night. Insomnia exacerbated my symptoms, creating a negative feedback loop.

Years later, I accidentally figured out the secret to falling asleep, and since then, I’ve never had trouble with sleeplessness.

I was listening to a lucid dream induction audio one night, attempting to reach a half-awake state of trance in which I could slip into a lucid dream. This particular audio focused on guided relaxation in an effort to keep the mind attentive but the body relaxed and still.

Somehow, every time I listened to this audio, I fell asleep before finishing the session.

I may not have induced lucid dreaming, but I had discovered something extremely valuable. Without fail, this audio held the secret to making me fall asleep.

My next question was, “How?”

I dissected the content of the audio. The instructor had me lie down and remain completely motionless. She encouraged me to overcome the urge to move as she offered relaxation suggestions and visuals to spur an out-of-body experience.

I’ve learned from experts like Amy Cuddy that our physical state has a profound impact on our minds. Although Cuddy’s assertion that “power poses” can affect our physiology and mental state has come up against criticism, other studies back the mind-body feedback loop.

You may have heard about the pencil study which supports the facial feedback hypothesis. In a follow-up study, participants held pencils in their mouths by biting down, stimulating the facial muscles that are used to smile. Those who were covertly smiling by biting on the pencil “were less stressed and showed faster physiological recovery from the stressful tasks” than the control group.

Another example is the ability to lower our heart rates just by practicing deep breathing, a technique that I’ve also successfully used to calm down in stressful situations.

With this belief in the mind-body feedback loop, I hypothesized that the secret to falling asleep was using my body to trick my mind into thinking I was asleep.

It sounds too good to be true, but every single time I use this technique to fall asleep, it works.

In the beginning, it will take some getting used to. When I began testing out my theory, it was difficult to remain completely motionless. Your mind will do “checks” to see if you’re awake by making you itch or urging you to toss and turn.

Just don’t move.

If you resist the urge to scratch your itch and switch positions, you will fall asleep.

I’ve been using this process for years and have gotten to a point where I can fall asleep in a few minutes at any time, even if I don’t feel tired. This has been a game-changer in my life, allowing me to regulate my sleep schedule more effectively.

I hope that I’m not an anomaly in this case and that others can benefit from using the mind-body feedback loop to induce sleep. There are other factors that can help expedite the process of falling asleep; I like to focus on deep breathing and target areas of my body for relaxation. Regardless of what other strategies you might add, the major determinant of success is remaining completely still.

I encourage you to try out my technique and share your experience with it. The best part? No medication, no supplements, and no miracle product. Like every real solution, it starts from within.

 

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