Brian JohnsonChairman & Philosopher in Residence at Heroic

Watch this if you struggle to fall asleep quickly.

17 Dec 2025 · 1 min

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Brian Johnson describes his nightly ritual to fall asleep: a breathing exercise (five deep breaths using a 6‑1‑8 pattern repeated as needed), followed by reciting five memorized quotes in the same order each night to prevent rumination. He cites Marcus Aurelius’s idea of a sentinel guarding the mind and emphasizes intentional control over which thoughts are allowed before sleep.

Questions this video answers

Five deep breaths using a count of six inhale, hold one, exhale eight (described as an inhale count of six, hold one, exhale eight); performed as four breaths after initial set (he says 'six, hold one, exhale, eight, four breaths' implying sequence).

Five quotes, recited in the same sequence every night.

Chapters

Every single night when I go to bed, I do the exact same thing. So I've got this ritual where I'm in bed and I take five deep breaths, a count of six, hold one, exhale, eight, four breaths. And in order to do that count, I had to stop thinking about what was going on in the day. And then I sleep in the Citadel. I've memorized five quotes, and I say them same exact sequence every single night. If I'm not asleep by then, I do it again. I want to have the control over whether I decide to think about something, and I'm not just ruminating and going over and over and over in my mind, or thinking about some nonsensical thing or some super stressful thing. Aurelius says you need to have a sentinel who's keeping watch and doesn't let anything into your mind but that which you decide to let in.