This Navy SEAL Sleep Trick Will Give You The ‘Best Nap Of Your Life’ In Just 8 Minutes
This simple military sleep hack puts you to sleep in under 8 minutes and leads to “the best nap of your life.”
fizkes / Shutterstock Do you often feel drained throughout the day? You might lie down just for a minute to rest your eyes, but it quickly turns into a nap that lasts several hours and leaves you feeling more tired than before.
A viral video claims there’s a military sleep hack that’ll leave you feeling recharged after just 8 minutes. Posted by Nick Vitello, the simple hack is a Navy Seal trick that puts you to sleep in under 8 minutes and leads to “the best nap of your life.”
There are three steps to the 8-minute military sleep hack developed by Navy SEALs.
The first step is to lie down on the floor. You’ll want to be on the floor or another surface low to the ground while you nap. While it may not be the most comfortable, it's crucial because you'll next need to put your feet in a position above your head.
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Whether it’s your bed, your couch, a chair, or a table, the point is that you want your feet elevated above your heart. Elevating your feet while sleeping helps to circulate your blood flow and take pressure off your spine, so your body isn’t working against gravity, allowing your body to achieve a higher level of relaxation.
Last, make sure you set a timer for 8 minutes. This is an important step so you don’t end up oversleeping! Plus, knowing your timer is set will allow you to fully relax without being anxious about sleeping for the right length of time.
This 8-minute military sleep hack was first popularized by Navy SEAL Jocko Willink.
In his book, “Discipline Equals Freedom Field Manual,” former Navy SEAL Willink shares “strategies and tactics for conquering weakness, procrastination, and fear.” One of these strategies is the 8-minute nap that Willink credited to keeping him going despite his grueling — or, more accurately, nonexistent — sleep schedule.
In a 2019 appearance on Peter Attia’s “The Drive” podcast, Willink explained that on a typical day, he schedules five and a half hours of sleep for himself. For most people, this amount of sleep seems unsustainable. In fact, Mayo Clinic recommends about 7 or more hours of sleep per night for anyone over the age of 18.
And Willink explained in the podcast that he’s not immune to feeling some tiredness throughout the day. To curb this sleepiness, he simply takes a nap. An 8-minute nap, to be exact. “Elevate your feet above your heart and then set an alarm for 8 minutes, 10 minutes at the most, maybe 12,” Willink explained during the podcast, claiming that the 8-minute nap is the sweet spot for not feeling groggy upon waking up.
While it may sound a little ambitious, it turns out there’s some scientific evidence that the 8-minute nap does work.
According to WebMD, one full sleep cycle lasts about 90 minutes. However, 10- to 20-minute naps are believed to be the most effective when it comes to waking up without feeling groggy and still having enough energy to make it through the rest of your day. That said, even 6-minute naps are beneficial for the human body and brain, with a 2008 study finding that a nap as short as 6 minutes is “enough to significantly boost memory performance.”
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Of course, for any nap to be effective, it’s important to do everything you can to get quality sleep throughout the night. SleepFoundation.org notes that sleep continuity, or staying asleep once you fall asleep, is extremely important to getting refreshing and reparative sleep and likely even more important than the actual number of hours of sleep you get. For example, though Willink himself gets under 6 hours of sleep every night, he said in the podcast that he doesn’t wake up at all throughout the night.
Practicing good sleep hygiene, such as avoiding electronics within an hour before you go to sleep, consistently following a bedtime routine, and going to sleep at the same time every night, can contribute to getting better rest.
Micki Spollen is YourTango’s Editorial Director. Micki has her Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism & Media Studies from Rutgers University and over 10 years of experience as a writer and editor covering astrology, spirituality, and human interest topics.
