Death of Insomnia

How to Shrink Insomnia to 55 Seconds

If you are over the age of 35 you already have an intimate relationship with Insomnia. Sleep difficulties are SOP (Standard Operating Procedure). From Latin
“somn” means sleep, and “in” translates to Not!

I asked a class of 30 high schoolers if they ever experienced stress or insomnia at age 16. There was a tone in my voice that whispered the obvious answer was a big –
“Of course not – that’s for old people like you!”

The laugh I got did not conclude for seventy-five seconds on the classroom clock. “Stress” they yelled out is our First, not Middle name. We get it 24/7 from parents
and teachers to excel on exams and win admittance to the best schools. We dream about failing and its consequences. Sleep is a non-starter.”

I asked an innocent question. “Wanna know how to fall asleep in 55 seconds without
hitting yourself over the head with a large hammer?”

They screamed out – “Pills – Alcohol – Rock-and-Roll - Electric Shock”. They were really into this Insomnia thing, and not one of the thirty students believed this was not a trick question. Remember, they were sitting here to discover the secrets of Speed Reading, not a non-academic common sense function like – how to fall asleep.

So What

“Who knows where your diaphragm is – and another name for it?”

Fifteen kids screamed out – “Stomach or Belly – so what?”

They respected my knowledge as a world class expert on speed reading, but
sleep was a subject they knew nobody could produce at will.

I asked them if they want to take five-minutes to learn how to fall asleep in less than one-minute, or get back to the secrets of reading-and-remembering three (3) books, articles and reports in the time your peers can hardly finish – one?

They did a Team Cheer – “Sleep! Sleep! Sleep!”

Step One

Place both spread out hands parallel on either side of your stomach – in the middle is your Omphalos. It’s Greek for the Army – uh no, the Navel. That is educational humor. “What’s another name for it?” They got the joke – “Belly-button”.

Step Two

“Tell me how to do Diaphragmatic Breathing?”

They knew their biology – “deep, full, slow breaths!”

“Now kick off your shoes, close your eyes and do five Diaphragmatic
Breaths – each lasting about two-seconds. Keep your hands parallel
on either side of your belly-button. Now, I want you to FEEL the
rhythm of each slow breath – get it?”

“What do you mean feel?”

“Focus your complete attention on inhaling and exhaling. Focus is the
operative word. Focus means – Con-Cen-Trate < from the same center – right? Latin of course. “My family was so poor, when I came to school I could not PAY
attention!”

Nobody laughed, but they got it – concentrate on the Diaphragmatic
Breathing.

Step Three

“When you Inhale – consciously hear the three-words – “Ha -Ho-Hee”.
When you exhale do not hear anything. Inquiring minds will understand we
are distracting our Consciousness with the internal-dialogue of the three silly words
“Ha-Ho-Hee”.

Now Inhale and Exhale deeply, hearing your Mantra only on inhaling.

Our nonconsciousness is focused on following the rhythm of our Diaphragmatic
Breathing function. Both left and right hemispheres are united with their own
work. We have created a Unified Mind, a Brain-Body Link.

Coda

“Who does not understand the directions?”

One snot-nose answered, “We can walk and chew gum simultaneously, sir”

“The final step is to practice destroying Insomnia while seated in your chairs before you use it in bed. Close your-eyes, relax all your stomach-shoulder-facial muscles..”

“How?”

“Just let-go and test your stomach, shoulder and facial muscles. When they are
tight from stress and anxiety, all you have to do is physically – let-go! Just focus
your attention on those three (3) sets of muscles, and permit them to relax. Now test them.”

“Who can summarize the steps to relaxation or sleep?”

The class clown answered. “First, hands parallel on either side of your Navy. Second, deep, slow diaphragmatic breathing. Third, on inhaling mentally and silently say, Ha!-Ho!-Hee! Silence on exhaling. Oh yeah, relax the muscles of your
stomach-shoulders and face.”

Endwords

This works to dissipate stress and anxiety while awake, and to draw in sleep
when insomnia attacks your comfort-zone. This system will always get you
back into the Zone (flow) for sleep, prior to exams, and for interviews.

When they awoke, the class gave me a standing ovation, and I cannot even sing.

See ya,
---

Would you have a powerful competitive edge in your career if you could read-and-remember three (3) books, articles and reports in the time others can hardly finish
one?

We have fifty (50) valuable speed reading reports – free, no strings attached.
Contact us before they run out.

copyright © 2010 H. Bernard Wechsler www.speedlearning.org
hbw@speedlearning.org