A "military trick" that will cure your insomnia and help you fall asleep in just 10 seconds!

A pediatrician has explained a new method for treating insomnia that can get you to sleep in minutes and, with practice, in about 10 seconds.

It is referred to as the "military way" and was reportedly commonly used by soldiers in the US Army in difficult circumstances.

First documented in Lloyd Budd Winter's 1981 book Relax and Win: Championship Performance, it was claimed to have a 96% success rate after just six weeks of training.

The method involves muscle relaxation, breathing and illusion tricks, and is demonstrated in a video by Dr. Jess Andrade, a pediatrician and orthopedist in Boston.

First, relax your entire face, including all of your facial muscles. If it helps, you can start with your forehead and work your way down the face, relaxing your jaw, cheeks, mouth, tongue, and even your eyes.

Then drop your shoulders and hands and let them fall naturally with gravity. Relax your neck and arms, starting with your upper right arm, and move slowly to your biceps, forearms, and hands. Repeat on the other left side.

He continued to breathe slowly and deeply. Exhale and relax your chest. Now relax your legs. Start with your right thigh and let it sink into the chair or bed. Then do the same with your calf, ankle and foot and repeat the process with your left leg.

Now clear your mind. If you're struggling, try visualizing an image in your head (one suggestion is a boat on a quiet lake).

You should then fall asleep. Although it may take up to two minutes on the first try, practice can reduce the duration to about ten seconds.

Dr. Lindsey Browning said the method works because it replaces "the unwanted thoughts in your mind with the task at hand - which is to relax the muscles in your body in sequence."

There's also a physical component, the Trouble Sleeping expert and author of Navigating Sleeplessness, added. The more your muscles relax, the less stress and anxiety you might start to feel.

She said: 'The Military Sleep Method is very similar to the progressive muscle relaxation technique that I teach my insomniac clients. Often, people cannot sleep because their minds are too busy or because they are physically anxious.

Browning said there are other relaxation techniques one can do while in bed to help with sleep, including "slow deep breathing and doing mental calculations."

However, she urged that additional assistance may be required depending on the severity of the situation.

"When you have a serious sleep problem, you may need to get additional help, and a relaxation technique may not solve it," she said. "CBT-1 is the scientifically recommended treatment for insomnia and helps people re-learn how to sleep."