Sleep is the latest thing to go viral on Tiktok, with a host of new “hacks” promising to help people get a good night’s rest.
Along with videos showing viewers how to “trick” their brain into feeling sleepy, and posts that claim to be able to put them into a trance, the “two-minute sleep trick” has been gaining attention on the platform.
TikTok user @youngeryoudoc, who posts videos of exercises, stretches and techniques aimed at helping people to look and feel younger, shares his top tip to kip.
In the video, he claims that rubbing the inside of your wrist for a few minutes is the key to drifting off.
“Oh my god, I’m so tired,” he says in the video, in which he plays two versions of himself. “All you have to do is rub that spot on your wrist for two to three minutes,” he adds, demonstrating a circular motion around his pulse point.
The user, whose bio says he “teaches people how to become the youngest version of themselves”, then demonstrates its effectiveness by falling fast asleep.
The pulse point on the inside wrist is an acupressure point which acupuncturists focus on for calming techniques. In traditional Chinese medicine, the area is called Shen Men, which translates to “gate of the spirit”.
Nap like a US Navy Seal
The post comes after fellow TikToker Nick Vitello shared a trick he claims would help people have “the best nap of your life” — although the nap only lasts eight minutes.
Posting under the username @getaheadwithnick, Vitello says the trick was developed and used by US Navy Seals when they only have short periods of time to rest, otherwise known as a “combat nap” or “tactical napping”.
“Here's what to do when you're super tired but you only have eight minutes,” Vitello says. “Get on the floor and put your feet up on the bed like this or on something high, a couch, anything.”
Laying down on the ground, Vitello puts his legs up on the bed, saying: “Set a timer for eight minutes and take the best nap of your life. It’s a Navy Seal trick and it works.”
A report by the US Naval Health Research Center says “uninterrupted sleep for as little as 10 minutes may partially recover alertness”.
“The practice of tactical napping” can help soldiers top up their daily sleep requirements, says Dr Sara Alger, a sleep research scientist at the Behavioral Biology Branch’s Sleep Research Center.
“A tactical nap is ideally in a space that is dark, quiet, and comfortable, but realistically anywhere that is safe.”
