[National Archives] [80.MN.3428E Reels 1-2 of 2 Source: 16mm DNS/DNT] [United States Navy Training Film, Nonclassified] [Music] [Insomnia] [Music] [Sailors gather to watch a film.] [Music] [Donald Duck yawning.] [The audience laughs.] [Quacking/talking.] [Music] [Donald continues to talk.] [Laughter.] [Donald:] Lalalalalahlalalah... [Donald bangs his head, audience laughs.] [Donald struggles to get comfortable in bed.] [Clock ticks.] [Growing laughter in the audience. Clock ticks.] [He scoots the clock into a drawer to muffle the ticking.] [Loud ticking as drawer rattles.] [Donald:] I'll show you who's boss. [He slams the clock against the wall.] [Laughter, ticking, quacking.] [Crashing, thumping sound] [Donald's bed folds up with him inside.] [Donald:] Come on now get going, come on now get tough, get tough, get tough. [The crowd erupts with more laughter.] [Donald mumbles to himself as the audience laughs.] [Donald:] Haaaa, at last. [The clock reassembles itself, ticking loudly. The alarm rings.] [Springs pop off the bed, making bouncing, springing sounds as the ringing alarm continues.] [Vaguely middle-eastern music.] [A Walt Disney Donald Duck The End RKO Radio Pictures Inc.] [The crowd laughs at the movie.] [Man 1:] Boy, that part about the clock was really...what's the matter chum, didn't you like it? [Buntz:] What's so funny? You're one of those slap-happy guys. You sleep like a babe, I suppose. [Man 1:] Sure. [Buntz:] Okay, so you're lucky. [Man 1:] Okay, so I'm lucky, so what? [Buntz:] So you're lucky, that's all! [Sounds of men leaving the room, walking out into the hall.] [Man 1:] Well, why can't you sleep? [Buntz:] I don't know, I don't know. [Footsteps as men continue to exit.] [Man 1:] Maybe you should take a warm shower before you hit the sack, Buntz. Maybe you don't eat right. Could be the detail you run is too tough. You know what you need is... [Music] [Man 1:] Give a hand, huh boy? So why don't you try it, huh Buntz? [Buntz:] Oh, forget it, will you? [Man 1:] Ohhh, I don't know what's come over ya, it's a cinch you don't get any easier to live with. [Buntz:] So what. [Man 1:] So you don't have to be so touchy. Come on, Buntz, be yourself. All right, so she hasn't written for a couple of weeks. [Buntz:] Three weeks. [Officer:] Does that mean anything? Don't worry so much. Don't be a worry-wart. Look at me, I never worry. [Sound of water running as shower is turned on.] What does it get you, worrying all the time? Do I worry? How am I gonna get those leave papers signed by Saturday night? I could worry about that. I do, kind of. But not enough to stew all night. [Water sounds.] Remember that time we were moving in on Saipan? Didn't sleep a wink. Who did? Wasn't anything I could do about it. Sure, there've been times I couldn't sleep. School, the night before exams, first time I ever went to the dentist. Wider please, this will hurt you a little. Nut! Things like that''ll keep you awake maybe. But you, you stay awake night after night. Don't seem to have anything on your mind. If you do, you don't tell a guy about it. You know, I, I don't get it. Well, maybe you'll really get some shuteye tonight, huh? What do you say? [Wristwatch ticking, low music in background.] [Buntz:] Go to sleep. Go to sleep. Why can't I get some sleep? Night after night. I can't take it. I'd rather be dead. Probably will die. Nobody, nobody can last without sleep. Night after night. Night after night after night. [Narrator:] Oh no, you're not gonna die. We know how you feel, but in all medical history, nobody's ever died from lack of sleep. Before that can happen, nature will take over and give you the rest and sleep that you need, whether you realize it or not. But you're worried. You've got something on your mind, and that's what keeps you lying there, staring at the ceiling. Everybody does that once in a while. Look at Lucky right now. He's still awake. Insomnia? Well, that's only a vague medical term. Let's see what's going on in his mind. Each man's problem is more or less different. But here is one kind. Listen. [Lucky:] Dammit to hell. What's the matter with me? I got to get some sleep. What goes on, I'm all wound up like a top talking to that guy. Oh, fine. Now I can't sleep. [Narrator:] Wound up like a top. Yes, that's a good way to put it. And getting wound up, excitement, anticipation, minor indecisions, confusion, anything like that is a sure way to postpone sleep. You have to unwind before you can rest. Listen to him. [Lucky:] How am I going to get those papers put through? I don't know why I had to get myself in the doghouse with the chief. I wonder what's eating Buntz. Hell, I can't help him. It's the doc's job. Sure, see the doc. [Narrator:] It goes on and on, and the more wound up he gets, the worse it is. That's just tension. He doesn't have to do this. Tension, that's all. But he won't get any real rest when he's all wound up like that. Let's see what he does about it. [Lucky:] All right, I can't sleep. So why can't you sleep? Eat too much? Too much coffee? Uh-uh. Work too hard? Who me? Naw, not there. Yeah. That's okay. Aw, what the hell? I wonder if I'll have a clean shirt? Borrow one. Buntz ought to see the doc. Maybe I can...oh, go to sleep. Forget it. Forget the papers. Forget Buntz. It's night. It's a problem for the morning. It's night. [Narrator:] Get the idea? Here's the whole business in a nutshell. At first, his thoughts had him on a merry-go-round. Then he took control, pinned down the cause. He was stewing around about you, then about his leave. But once he decided what his troubles were, then decided he couldn't do anything about them tonight, that was that. He began to relax, and look at him now. Lucky's method won't work for you, will it? Your problem isn't quite that easy. If it were as simple as one, two, three, you wouldn't be lying awake night after night. Maybe you know what's bothering you. And maybe you don't exactly. That happens to lots of people. Sometimes they can't put their finger right on the cause, and sometimes they can but refuse to admit it, even to themselves. You know, we're all a little different. It's interesting to look around just one ward and see just how different we are. The kind of person we were to start with, and how we've been brought up may make a difference in the way we react to our problems. Maybe it's a question of marriage, money, or a job. Maybe it's a question of getting along with others, and again, sometimes it's a question of getting along with ourselves, or just plain lack of purpose. Maybe it's a combination. It may be purely physical, like a toothache or a recent operation, but whatever it is, there's no cure-all. Every guy's worry is a personal problem. If each one of these men had a stomachache, would you give him the same dose of medicine? No, of course not. They're all different. You'd tell him to see the doctor and get individual attention. That's what you ought to do tomorrow. Tell the doc what's on your mind. But we can give you some help right now. What detail you on, Buntz? [Buntz:] Maintenance squad. [Narrator:] Grounds? [Buntz:] Cars and machines. [Narrator:] Oh, um-hum. Responsible work. Now, think back over the jobs you did today. [Buntz:] I spent most of the day on my back under a truck. [Narrator:] Feeling something like a spring that's wound up too tight? [Buntz:] Well, yeah. Kind of tied up in knots at the back of the neck. [Narrator:] The back of the neck, elbows, and chest? [Buntz:] Yeah. It's funny. I lie there fiddling with that screwdriver, and the first thing I know, I'm trying to figure things out. I get to talking away. Not out loud, you understand, but my jaws are working. [Narrator:] And here in the ward you go on doing the same thing, trying to work things out in your head about the way Lucky was doing a few minutes ago. [Buntz:] Yeah. [Narrator:] Did you ever wind a watch too tight? You have to wind it, but if you wind it too tight, the spring freezes tight, and the watch stops. The right amount of tension keeps the watch, or you, ticking along in good shape. You're too tense all day long. At chow, or just walking from one building to another. You're wound up tight all the time, day and night. You don't think about it during the day because something's always going on. But at night, you keep right on generating energy with no good way to get rid of it. Result? You not only lie awake, but you worry about being awake. Now, see if we can't channel that energy, so even if you are awake, you get some rest. Let's start with your head, and relax gradually, all the way down. [Buntz:] Well that's easy to say, but-- [Narrator:] How do you do it? Well, get this first. Relaxing's a skill, like hitting a target. It takes practice, concentration, and more practice. Go ahead, start getting comfortable right now. Eventually, relaxing becomes automatic, and you can do it without thinking. [Buntz:] I hope you're right. [Narrator:] Um-hum. To begin with, stretch out flat on the bed. Get into a position that suits you best. That's better. Straighten out. Okay. Lie quietly but don't force yourself to hold still. If you are at the control panel, imagine you're going to switch off the current to the tight places, one knob at a time. Slow and easy. Start by turning off that worried look. Ease into a smile, not a smirk. Loosen the furrows on your forehead. Now around your nose and between your eyes. Your mouth is relaxed, and already there's less tension in your shoulders, less tension in your arms, your fists, loosen them up, one at a time. Take a good breath. Now yawn. If you don't feel yawning, fake one. Again. Next, relieve that pressure from your neck. Think of it as pulling out a row of stitches, unraveling them, one at a time. Then your back muscles, relax them too. Let the pressure off the thigh muscles. Take the knots out of the calf muscles. Relax the right leg, left leg, then the ankles, one at a time. Your feet. Your toes. Remember that sock in the Donald Duck picture? Imagine it dropped, just plop. That's how you should lie there. Plopped out, limp. And now, will you sleep? Well, if you can't, the doctor will help you. But at least you'll be in condition to pass the night restfully and comfortably. [Music] [THE END. Navy Department United States of America, MN-3428e 1945]