Today is Veterans Day, Wednesday, November 11, and a good night to stand the watch for a technique named after the people we honor today. The military sleep method promises that, with practice, you can fall asleep in two minutes: lie down, stand your body down from the face to the feet, slow your breathing, and hold a calm picture in your mind.
This is the log of that method: the six steps in order, what the research says about each part, why the two-minute promise can work against you, how to run it on a hot night, and, for the veterans reading, where to turn when sleep needs more than a technique.
The short answer
The military sleep method is a relaxation routine: relax your face, drop your shoulders and arms, breathe slowly, relax your legs, then picture a calm scene. Nobody has studied the method itself, and the two-minute promise is not proven, but its parts, muscle relaxation, slow breathing and imagery, have research behind them. Use it to get calm, not to beat a clock; pressure to fall asleep fast can backfire. On a hot night, set the room to 65 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit first.
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What is the military sleep method?
The military sleep method is a relaxation routine that claims to get you to sleep in two minutes, by relaxing your body part by part, slowing your breathing and picturing a calm scene (Cleveland Clinic). The Sleep Foundation describes it as a technique developed to help soldiers fall asleep in two minutes, since members of the military often have inconsistent schedules and less-than-ideal places to sleep (Sleep Foundation).
Its history is less certain than its name. Reports conflict about where the method started and whether it is actually taught to military personnel; the lore is that pilots and service members on missions use it to sleep fast when time matters (Cleveland Clinic). The real demands are well documented: continuous operations, night shifts and deployments make consolidated sleep hard for service members (Good et al., 2020).
Log entry. Veterans Day falls on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, a federal holiday (OPM), and the national ceremony is held each year on November 11 at Arlington National Cemetery (VA). To everyone who has stood a watch: thank you.
How do you do the military sleep method? The steps
Lie down, close your eyes, and stand your body down in order, from the face to the feet, then let a calm picture hold your mind (Sleep Foundation, Cleveland Clinic). The exact steps vary depending on where you read them; this is the most common version.
Stand down: the military method, step by step
Tap each step in order.
Tap step 1 to begin.
The order
Lie down in a comfortable position and close your eyes. Relax every part of your face first.
How
Start at the forehead and work down: eyes, cheeks, mouth and jaw. If your jaw is clenched, let it soften.
The order
Let your arms rest at your sides, dropping your shoulders first.
How
Let the shoulders sink away from your ears, then let both arms go heavy at your sides.
The order
Take slow, deep breaths to relax your chest and the rest of your torso.
How
Long inhales and even longer exhales. If you are holding your belly in, let it rise and fall with the breath.
The order
Relax your lower half, from your hips down through each part of each leg to your feet.
How
Hips, thighs, knees, calves, ankles. If your toes point at the ceiling, let your feet fall naturally to the sides.
The order
Picture a peaceful setting to set your mind at ease.
How
Use every sense: what you see, hear, smell and feel. Pick a scene in the next widget.
The order
If an intrusive thought arrives, notice it and move past it.
How
Bring your attention gently back to the picture. No scorekeeping: the aim is calm, not a stopwatch.
Proponents say that after practicing faithfully for six weeks, you will nod off in two minutes. A Cleveland Clinic sleep psychologist calls that a bold claim that is not likely to work for everyone (Cleveland Clinic).
Pick your picture
Step five carries the most weight in the mind. The Cleveland Clinic's advice is to use all your senses to ground yourself in the place, and to bring your attention gently back when it wanders (Cleveland Clinic). Here are five scenes to start with. The last one is for hot nights.
Pick your picture
Choose a scene for step 5.
Tap a scene for the script.
See
A wide, slow river. The sky going orange, then pink, behind a line of trees.
Hear
The paddle dripping as you lift it, water lapping at the hull.
Feel
The canoe rocking a little, a light breeze on your face, nowhere to be.
See
Snow on every ridge, a sky so clear it looks blue-black at the edges.
Hear
Almost nothing: the wind, your own breathing, snow settling.
Feel
Cold, clean air in your nose, a warm jacket, the stillness of being above everything.
See
The tide coming in, one line of foam at a time. Wet sand shining.
Hear
Waves breaking and drawing back, a gull somewhere far off.
Feel
Cool water reaching your feet and leaving again, sand moving under your heels.
See
Fields running to the horizon, a single tree, long grass moving in waves.
Hear
Wind in the grass, a distant bird, nothing urgent.
Feel
Sun on your back, grass under your hands, a path you do not have to follow.
See
A still lake under a dark sky, the moon broken into pieces on the water.
Hear
Water against a wooden dock, a loon, then quiet.
Feel
Cool night air on your arms, bare feet on cool boards. A good one for a hot night.
Does the military sleep method work?
It may help you relax enough to fall asleep, but it has never been tested as a method, and there is no proof it works in two minutes. No studies have been done on the military sleep method itself, and no research promises that any of its techniques will get you to sleep in two minutes (Cleveland Clinic).
The Cleveland Clinic's sleep psychologist puts it this way: the techniques may help create a calm and restful state that makes sleep more likely, but they are probably not what puts you to sleep. Your circadian rhythm and your sleep drive, how much your body needs sleep right now, matter too. And for service members who do fall asleep fast, that may have more to do with the intense physical and mental demands of their days than with the method.
Log entry. Read the method as a way to get calm, not as a sleeping pill. That is a promise it can keep.
What does the research say about each part?
The parts of the method have more evidence than the method as a whole.
- Muscle relaxation. The method's body scan is a gentler cousin of progressive muscle relaxation, which tenses and releases each muscle group. A 2026 meta-analysis of 31 randomized trials with 2,277 people found that progressive muscle relaxation significantly improved sleep quality and reduced anxiety (Donato et al., 2026). A second 2026 meta-analysis of 14 trials found it improved self-reported sleep quality, though the effect in adults aged 55 and older was uncertain (Li et al., 2026).
- Imagery. In a 2002 study of 41 people with insomnia, those taught to distract themselves with an engaging mental image fell asleep faster and had fewer, less distressing unwanted thoughts before sleep than those given no instructions (Harvey and Payne, 2002).
- Slow breathing. The Sleep Foundation lists deep breathing and relaxation techniques among the ways to fall asleep faster, and notes that people who struggle to fall asleep often show signs of stress such as tense muscles and a quicker heartbeat (Sleep Foundation).
One caution from the largest review of insomnia therapy. For chronic insomnia, cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is the recommended first-line treatment, and a 2024 analysis of 241 trials with more than 31,000 people found that its key parts were cognitive restructuring, sleep restriction, stimulus control and third-wave components; relaxation procedures were not among them, and were potentially counterproductive within CBT-I (Furukawa et al., 2024). A relaxation routine is a fine way to wind down. It is not a treatment for long-term insomnia; if that is what you are facing, ask your doctor about CBT-I.
Why can the two-minute promise backfire?
Because pressure to fall asleep keeps you awake. When sleep does not arrive after 120 seconds, people get frustrated, blame themselves and feel defeated, and the Cleveland Clinic's sleep psychologist describes sleep becoming performance-based, even gamified, with some people developing sleep anxiety and dreading bedtime (Cleveland Clinic).
Two facts take the pressure off. It can be normal to take up to half an hour to fall asleep, and for most people taking 20 or 30 minutes is not something to fix. And regularly falling asleep very fast is not necessarily good news: it can point to sleep deprivation or another sleep disorder. Her advice: only climb into bed when you are truly sleepy, and if falling asleep is a nightly struggle, try moving your bedtime later in 30 to 60 minute steps.
Log entry. Turn the clock away. The watch does not end at two minutes; it ends when you are asleep.
Can you relax your way to sleep on a hot night?
Only partly: relaxation can calm a tense body, but it cannot take heat out of a warm room, so cool the room first. People who struggle to fall asleep often show physical signs of stress, including tense muscles, a quicker heartbeat and a higher temperature (Sleep Foundation), and your body needs to shed heat for sleep: core temperature drops at night as blood moves to the skin to let heat out (Sleep Foundation).
Set the bedroom to 65 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit, the range most doctors recommend for sleep (Sleep Foundation), and keep the covers light. Heavy bedding and thick, insulating sleepwear such as fleece or wool hold body heat, and a partner adds more: the average adult gives off 75 to 90 watts (Sleep Foundation). Then run the steps. On a hot night, the cool lake in step five earns its place. More on why you get so hot when you sleep.
When heat is a medical question. If you regularly wake up overheated and cannot explain why, or heat at night keeps disrupting your sleep, talk to your doctor (Sleep Foundation).
The hot-night watch
Eight things to set before lights out. Tick them off.
The hot-night watch: tick what is set before lights out
Eight of eight: the watch is set. Stand down, and let sleep come when it comes.
For veterans: when sleep needs more than a method
Military life is hard on sleep, and the effects can last. Insufficient sleep and body-clock disruption during service have been linked with insomnia, sleep apnea and post-traumatic stress disorder (Good et al., 2020). Almost everyone who has PTSD also has trouble sleeping; insomnia and nightmares are both PTSD symptoms (VA National Center for PTSD).
The VA's recommended treatment for insomnia is cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, CBT-I, which it recommends over medication. CBT-I usually lasts about six sessions, improves sleep in 7 out of 10 people who complete it, and is available in person, by video, and through the CBT-I Coach smartphone app. A relaxation routine can be part of your night; it is not a substitute for that care. Talk to your VA provider or your doctor.
Log or legend? Eight things people say about the method
Tap each card to see whether it belongs in the log or the legends.
Log or legend? Tap each card
What to wear on watch
The method asks your body to let go of tension. Clothing that adds heat, pulls or bunches gives it one more thing to hold. Step two asks your arms to rest at your sides and step four asks your feet to fall open: easier when nothing is twisting around you, and easier in a light layer than in thick fleece on a warm night.
Every NightCool piece is made with a fabric that wicks sweat away from the skin, in a light, breathable knit. It will not put you to sleep, and nothing you wear stops night sweats or hot flashes; the aim is to add as little heat as possible. Pictured at the top: the NightCool Long Scoop Neck Nightgown with 3/4 Sleeves in Navy, standing down for the evening.
Light layers for the watch
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The watch log, in short
- The method: relax the face, drop the shoulders and arms, breathe slowly, relax the legs, picture a calm scene.
- The method itself has not been studied; muscle relaxation, slow breathing and imagery have research behind them.
- Do not race the clock. Taking 20 or 30 minutes to fall asleep is normal.
- On a hot night, cool the room to 65 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit and keep the covers light first.
- For long-term insomnia, or sleep problems after service, CBT-I is the recommended treatment. Talk to your doctor or VA provider.
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Your questions, answered
What is the military sleep method?
A relaxation routine that claims to get you to sleep in two minutes: relax your face, drop your shoulders and arms, breathe slowly, relax your legs, then picture a calm scene.
Does the military sleep method really work in two minutes?
There is no proof that it does. The method itself has not been studied, though its parts, muscle relaxation, slow breathing and imagery, have research behind them. It may help you relax enough to fall asleep.
Where does the military sleep method come from?
Reports conflict. It is said to have been used by service members, such as pilots, to fall asleep quickly, but whether the military actually teaches it is unclear.
How long does the military sleep method take to learn?
Proponents say about six weeks of nightly practice. A sleep psychologist calls the two-minute promise bold and unlikely to work for everyone, and warns that pressure to fall asleep fast can backfire.
What if the military sleep method does not work for me?
Taking 20 or 30 minutes to fall asleep is normal. Go to bed only when you are truly sleepy, keep the room cool, and if you struggle most nights, talk to your doctor about CBT-I.
Can veterans get help with sleep problems?
Yes. The VA recommends cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, CBT-I, which improves sleep in 7 out of 10 people who complete it, and offers it in person, by video and through the CBT-I Coach app.
Read next
Sleepmaxxing When You Run Hot: The Step Most Routines Skip
Why Do I Keep Waking Up at 3am? Causes and a Plan to Fall Back Asleep
Men Who Sleep Hot: How to Share a Bed Without the Thermostat War
Why do I get so hot when I sleep?
Sources
- Cleveland Clinic Health Essentials. The military sleep method: does it work? October 31, 2024.
- Sleep Foundation. How to fall asleep fast. Updated June 3, 2026.
- Donato KO, et al. Progressive muscle relaxation technique improves sleep quality and mental health: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 2026.
- Li K, Chen S, Liu Y, Yu N. The effects of progressive muscle relaxation on sleep quality in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Frontiers in Public Health, 2026.
- Harvey AG, Payne S. The management of unwanted pre-sleep thoughts in insomnia: distraction with imagery versus general distraction. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 2002.
- Furukawa Y, et al. Components and delivery formats of cognitive behavioral therapy for chronic insomnia in adults: a systematic review and component network meta-analysis. JAMA Psychiatry, 2024.
- Good CH, Brager AJ, Capaldi VF, Mysliwiec V. Sleep in the United States military. Neuropsychopharmacology, 2020.
- US Department of Veterans Affairs, National Center for PTSD. Sleep problems and PTSD.
- US Office of Personnel Management. Federal holidays: 2026 holiday schedule.
- US Department of Veterans Affairs. Veterans Day.
- Sleep Foundation, Danielle Pacheco. The best temperature for sleep. Medically reviewed by David Rosen, MD. Updated July 11, 2025.
- Sleep Foundation, Jay Vera Summer. Why do I get so hot when I sleep? Medically reviewed by Abhinav Singh, MD. Updated September 9, 2026.
This article is general information about sleep and sleepwear, not medical advice. If you struggle to sleep most nights, have nightmares or other sleep problems after military service, or wake up overheated without a reason, talk to your doctor, your VA provider or your care team.
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