The military sleep method: the steps, and does it work?

Does the military sleep method work?

According to Cleveland Clinic, no studies have been done on the military sleep method itself, its exact steps vary from source to source, and reports conflict about where it started and whether it is taught to military personnel.

Proponents say that after six weeks of practice you will fall asleep in two minutes. Cleveland Clinic calls that a bold claim, and notes that even the idea that you need to fall asleep in two minutes can put undue pressure on you.

What can be checked is the evidence for each part of the routine. Here it is, part by part.

The AASM guideline describes relaxation therapy as structured exercises that reduce body tension (such as abdominal breathing or progressive muscle relaxation) and mental arousal (such as guided imagery or meditation), and makes a conditional recommendation for it used on its own as a treatment for chronic insomnia disorder in adults.

A 2026 meta-analysis of 14 randomized trials with 957 participants found that progressive muscle relaxation improved self-reported sleep quality in adults, with large differences between the studies; for adults aged 55 and over the benefit was uncertain.

Its abstract describes the participants as cancer patients and non-cancer patients.

In a one-night experiment with 41 people with insomnia, those taught to distract themselves with an interesting, engaging imagery task fell asleep sooner and had less frequent and less distressing thoughts before sleep than those given no instructions.

Why chasing two minutes can backfire

Trying to fall asleep within two minutes can add pressure of its own. One model of insomnia proposes why that matters:

Espie and colleagues proposed that normal sleep is a relatively automatic process, so it can be inhibited by focused attention on it and by direct attempts to control it (their attention-intention-effort model, a theoretical review).

So use the routine as a way to wind down, not as a timer. If you are still awake, the steps for getting up and coming back to bed come from stimulus control, and they are set out with their sources on what to do when you can't sleep. Stimulus control has its own guideline recommendation:

The AASM guideline makes a conditional recommendation for stimulus control used on its own as a treatment for chronic insomnia disorder in adults.

Other things to try

If the calm-place picture keeps sliding into worries, try cognitive shuffling, which uses a stream of random pictures instead of one scene. If bedtime itself has started to feel like a test, see sleep anxiety. All five methods, each with its evidence, are on how to fall asleep fast.