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meditation

Health

Here’s a military trick that can help you fall asleep in 2 minutes

It was created to help fighter pilots.

via DVIDShub / Flickr

No better time to grab a little shut eye.

For those in the military, sleep can mean the difference between life and death. But shut-eye can be very hard to come by, especially during active conflict.

The military method regained public attention thanks to a post by writer Sharon Ackman on Medium.com. The U.S. Navy Pre-Flight School developed a scientific method to help its pilots fall asleep. Through this technique, 96% of the pilots were able to fall asleep in two minutes or less.

If pilots can fall asleep surrounded by war, you should be able to use it to knock out in the comfort of your bedroom.

Here's how to do it:

Step 1: Relax in your seat

military men in sleeping bags on a mountain

Sleeping in difficult environments.

via DVIDShub / Flickr

Given the space restraints of a typical plane, the pilots were taught to sleep in a seated position. They put their feet flat on the ground, while relaxing their hands in their laps.

Breathe slow, deep breaths while relaxing every muscle in your face and letting your forehead, cheeks, mouth, tongue, and jaw go limp.

Step 2: Relax your upper body

Let your shoulders drop as low as you can. Allow the muscles in your neck go lifeless.

Starting with your dominant side, let your bicep feel like it's falling off your body. Then move to your forearm, hand, and fingers. If a muscle isn't relaxing, tense it first, then let it go loose.

Slowly exhale to release tension.

Step 3: Relax your lower body

Tell your right thigh muscle to sink, then move down your leg, saying the same thing to your calf, ankle, and foot. Your leg should feel like it has sunk into the ground. Then move on to your left leg.

The final step is to clear your mind for ten seconds. You can do this by paying attention to your breath as it moves through your nostrils or holding a static image in your mind.

Once your body is relaxed and your mind quiet, you should slip away into darkness.

It may sound too good to be true, but this technique is real and effective. Try it out and get ready for refreshing sleep no matter what's happening in your life.

This article originally appeared five years ago.

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Health

Hypnotherapist's simple 'installation' trick gives negative people a more positive outlook

“My life completely changed and my mind was completely blown when I learned that it was possible.”

via Canva/Photos

Thumbs up or thumbs down.

Emilie Leyes, a certified hypnotherapist and brain-training specialist, is helping people turn their negative outlooks more positive by teaching them a simple trick based on neuroscience. The trick is called “installation” and was developed by neuropsychologist Rick Hanson, Ph.D. Over time, it’s a simple practice that can reprogram our brains to counter our natural negativity bias.

Negativity bias refers to our proclivity to “attend to, learn from, and use negative information far more than positive information.” It’s why people tend to read negative headlines more than positive ones or are more likely to remember bad experiences than happy ones. It’s also why we have a larger emotional and physical response to adverse stimuli than things we enjoy.

Even though it’s an unpleasant trait, our focus on things that can harm us has helped humans survive for hundreds of thousands of years. However, according to Leyes, there’s a way to bring our minds into balance so that we don’t have such a negative, dour outlook on life.

How to have a positive outlook on life

“The good news is that you can actually counteract this negativity bias and change the way your brain functions. There's an amazing little tool, brain trick, whatever you want to call it, called installation,” Leyes said in a video with over 4 million views.

@emilieleyes.hypnosis
Taking in more of the good experiences as they happen can keep our brains from thinking so negatively! If you want to be guided through this process and learn these tools in a way that lasts, make sure to check out my six week ✨hypnotic empowerment✨ masterclass where you will learn, bring training and Hypnosis tools to bring yourself out of this negativity, bias, reduce stress, build confidence, and believe in yourself as you pursue your goals! The session is from June 3 to July 8, And you can learn more and get registered at my⛓️ ##mentalhealth##mentalhealthawareness##selfcare##braintraining##neuroplasticity##positivity##mindset##mindsetshift##emilieleyes##psychology##psychologytricks##changeyourmindset##hypnosis##subconsciousmind

“It was developed by psychologist Dr. Rick Hansen, which is basically the act of, like, amplifying the positive experiences when they come. Because, remember, the positive experiences are less intense than the negative ones,” Leyes continued. “And the practice of installation is really all about savoring those positive moments longer and more intensely than you normally would.”

Leyes says you can use the technique whenever you have a positive experience. Let’s say you are enjoying a big, cheesy, saucy piece of pizza. As you come to the last bite, focus on all of the incredible flavors and slowly chew it. Savor every moment it’s in your mouth. “And in doing that, you're actually growing that emotional response to that positive experience, which over time can start to balance out that negativity bias,” she says.

Dr. Hanson says it’s ok if we create our own positive experiences by thinking about things we’re grateful for or remembering a time we stood up to a bully or had genuine compassion for someone in pain. “Then, once you’ve got that good experience going, really enjoy it: taking 5, 10, or more seconds to protect and stay with it, and open to it in your body. The longer and more intensely those neurons fire together, the more they’ll be wiring this inner strength into your brain,” Dr. Hanson writes.

The great thing is that the installation trick will not only improve your outlook but also open the door to more positive experiences.

“It's actually priming the brain to take in more good experiences as they come,” Leyes says in her TikTok video. “Cause what we put our focused attention on is amplified in our minds and totally informs our experience. So your brain will start to learn from that and start to recognize that positive experiences are equally important to the negative ones.”

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Health

Stuck in the past or worried about the future? 6 tips for living more fully in the present.

Living in the now is both harder and easier than it sounds.

Photo credit: Canva

Living in the present includes finding joy in small things.

One of the hallmarks of being human is that, without even leaving our own heads, we can live in three different places—the past, the present and the future. We all have memories of things that have happened in our lives, which we might reminisce on fondly or relive traumatically. And we all have our imaginings of things to come, in which we place our hopes and dreams as well as our worries and anxieties.

And then we have the now, where all of us actually live. Despite the fact that the present moment is the only place life actively happens, many of us spend much more time mentally living in the past or in the future. We might long for a time when things were better or dwell in the past where we wish things had been different. We might look forward to something that's coming next—a big life event, a change, a break from the routine—or we might find ourselves paralyzed by the fear of an uncertain future.

There's nothing wrong with looking back or looking ahead, but if we don't look at the present right before us more often, we end up missing out on life as we're living it. The past can't be changed and the future is unknown; the only time that we can truly live fully is now.

It sounds so simple, right? If it were easy to live in the present, we'd all be doing it more often. Habits of mind can be hard change, but tips for living in the now aren't complicated. It's both easier and harder than it sounds to live in the now, but these habits can help us strike a healthier balance.

"Use the good china"

We live by a lot of unwritten rules, some that are there for good reason and some that aren't. Examining the do's and don'ts we have set for ourselves—or that others have set for us—is a worthwhile endeavor, especially when they lead us to experience life more fully in the now.

How many of us have dishes for special occasions that rarely (or never) get used or special outfits we're saving for some unnamed future event? What if we used the good china more often, just because? What if we wore our fancy dress out to dinner, just because? Would the world end? No. Might we enjoy making the most of what we're holding onto for special occasions that might never come? Probably.

via GIPHY

It's fine to have special things for special occasions, but there's no set definition of "special," and if not now, when?

"Always take the trip"

One of the best pieces of parenting advice I ever received was "always take the trip." The idea is that our kids grow quickly, and if we're ever considering not taking a family trip because the timing or cost isn't ideal, as long as it's doable, to just do it.

That advice spills over into more than just parenting. If we have opportunities to make memories with loved ones, to experience something together outside of our norm, we should take them. There will always be reasons to say no or to put things off, but that doesn't mean we should. Barring actual financial ruin or some other dire consequence, take the trip, whatever it is.

Ground yourself in your senses

This is an exercise that can help stop a panic attack, but it can be used any time you find your mind spinning in the past or future. Becoming hyper aware of your physical surroundings can bring you into the present moment in a tangible way, and it's quite simple to do. Look around and name 5 things you see, list 4 things you hear, 3 things you feel, 2 things you smell and 1 thing you taste. Then sit with those physical senses for a moment, taking them all in.

Meditate—however it works for you

I know, I know. Some of us love meditation and others find it impossible. Much of the time, people who feel like they can't meditate have a limited view of what meditation means or what it can look like. But there are a million ways to reap the proven benefits of meditation.

via GIPHY

You don't have to sit cross-legged and you don't have to try to "clear your mind." You can lie down. You can walk. You can focus on your breathing or on a word or phrase or image. When your mind starts wandering or racing or otherwise doing what it normally does, intentionally direct it back to whatever you're focusing on.

That mindfulness helps bring you into the present moment. Start with a couple of minutes a day and build up. It doesn't have to be complicated. Don't overthink it. Find a comfortable position or a movement you enjoy and pick one thing to focus your attention on. That's it.

Practice gratitude

The idea of practicing gratitude has almost become a cliché at this point, but hey, it works. What are you thankful for in your life right now? Making a habit of ending each day writing down or thinking about what you're grateful for is a powerful way to appreciate the present.

If you struggle to find something you're thankful for, think beyond your own immediate circumstances. Humans created public libraries and they exist all over the world—isn't that amazing? Grateful. Sunrises and sunsets and puppies and flowers? Grateful. The fact that we live in an era with toilet paper? Grateful.

There's always something to be thankful for in the now.

Find joy in small things

Life has its big moments, but most of our daily life is made up of small things. If we only look forward or backward to big things, we miss out on a lot of the simple joys of everyday life—the first sip of coffee in the morning, the sound of a loved one's laughter, the feel of the wind in your hair.

man joyfully riding a bicycle. Enjoy the little things.Photo credit: Canva

Take a moment to look at how the light comes through a window, how cute your cat looks when she's sleeping, the beauty of your favorite decor in your home, the smell of your favorite food.

Remembering that our present is the future our past self used to look forward to can help us remember the importance of living in the moment. Reflect on the past and plan for the future, but in moderation. Life is happening in the now.

good living

Pop Culture

Neuroscientists say this is the most relaxing song in the world

Enya’s got nothing on this song.

via Pexels

What's the most relaxing song in the world?

Stressed? Of course you are. Luckily for you, and the entire U.S. population, scientists believe they may have identified the most relaxing song in the world.

Music has forever been associated with bringing about relaxation, happiness, and serenity — whether it's a Gregorian chant or some Enya accompanied by a glass of merlot.

Neuroscientists in the United Kingdom think they have found the one song that relieves stress and soothes our souls more than any other.

Mindlab International, a market research firm, conducted a study a few years ago in which participants completed difficult (and possibly stressful) puzzles while their brain activity was monitored. To study its effect, music was played while they completed the puzzles.

One song stood out above the rest. "Weightless" by Marconi Union (listen below), an English ambient music band, induced a 65% reduction in stress among participants, according to Inc. And DailyMail.com reported that the song was 11% more effective than most other songs — by such musicians as Adele and Coldplay — in reducing blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing speed.

The 2011 song was created by the band, along with the British Academy of Sound Therapy, to do just that — relax listeners.

If you prefer something with lyrics, try Enya's "Watermark" or "Pure Shores" by All Saints, which were also proven to be relaxing,

Music therapy is considered to be a natural therapy important in alleviating stress. Because stress is an important cause of other deadly illness, fighting it is key to maintaining good health. Numerous studies have shown how damaging stress can be to our bodies and our brain. So don't let it get out of control. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the music.

This article originally appeared on 11.03.16

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Education

A school replaced detention with meditation. The results are stunning.

🙏🙌

Imagine you're working at a school and one of the kids is starting to act up. What do you do?

Traditionally, the answer would be to give the unruly kid detention or suspension.

But in my memory, detention tended to involve staring at walls, bored out of my mind, trying to either surreptitiously talk to the kids around me without getting caught or trying to read a book. If it was designed to make me think about my actions, it didn't really work. It just made everything feel stupid and unfair.

But Robert W. Coleman Elementary School has been doing something different when students act out: offering meditation.

Instead of punishing disruptive kids or sending them to the principal's office, the Baltimore school has something called the Mindful Moment Room instead.

The room looks nothing like your standard windowless detention room. Instead, it's filled with lamps, decorations, and plush purple pillows. Misbehaving kids are encouraged to sit in the room and go through practices like breathing or meditation, helping them calm down and re-center. They are also asked to talk through what happened.