Tossing and turning through the night is a familiar ritual for many, but science and social media might just have your answer to a good night’s sleep.
Sleep isn’t just a luxury—it’s a cornerstone of good physical and mental health. For those struggling to catch some zzz’s, you might find hope in the viral two-minute sleep technique that was reportedly designed for soldiers.
- The military sleep method reportedly helps soldiers fall asleep in high-stress environments.
- It involves relaxation, deep breathing, and visualization to reduce stress.
- 96% of people who practiced this technique fell asleep in two minutes.
- The technique was popularized on TikTok by fitness coach Justin Agustin.
This sleep hack isn’t new—it first appeared in the 1981 book Relax and Win: Championship Performance by Lloyd Bud Winter. Thanks to a viral TikTok video by fitness coach Justin Agustin, the technique gained renewed attention.
A two-minute sleep method has been gaining attention on TikTok thanks to fitness coach Justin Agustin
Image credits: justin_agustin
The content creator shared this “military sleep method” designed to help soldiers snooze anywhere, anytime—a skill vital in high-stress and combat environments.
Some sleep experts believe the method, crafted for battlefields, could work in your cozy bedroom as well, with some practice.
This method trains your body and mind to systematically relax, switching off stressors that keep you awake.
This lets you “calm your body and systematically relax and shut down each part of your body from head to toe, literally,” Justin said in his 2022 video, which recently became the subject of conversations online once again.
Relaxation, deep breathing, and visualization through the “military sleep method” could help those who struggle to fall asleep
Image credits: KATRIN BOLOVTSOVA / Pexels
Here’s how you can try it:
1. Relax Your Body
The technique starts with releasing tension, one muscle group at a time. Begin with the top of your head and then your way down to your toes, relaxing each body part along the way.
“Start by relaxing the muscles in your forehead. Relax your eyes, your cheeks, your jaws and focus on your breathing. Now, go down to your neck and your shoulders,” the TikToker explained. “Make sure your shoulders are not tensed up. Drop them as low as you can and keep your arms loose to your sides, including your hands and fingers.”
Visualize warmth spreading from the top of your head to your fingertips. Then, move this sensation down to your chest, legs, and toes. The key is to tune into your body and let go of physical tension.
Focus on releasing tension from head to toe, starting with the forehead and moving down
Image credits: justin_agustin
2. Breathe Deeply
Deep, measured breathing is essential. Take a long, slow breath in, and exhale even more slowly. With each breath, consciously release any lingering tension. Keep your shoulders and hands loose as you breathe.
3. Clear Your Mind
Next comes the mental part. Free your thoughts from the day’s chaos by imagining peaceful scenarios. Justin suggested visualizing yourself floating in a canoe on a serene lake or lying in a hammock in a pitch-black room.
“While you’re doing this, it’s really important to clear your mind of any stresses,” the fitness coach explained.
After consistent practice, 96% of people said they fell asleep within two minutes of shutting their eyes, according to the TikToker
Image credits: justin_agustin
“At any time when you start thinking of anything else or you start getting distracted, repeat these words for 10 seconds: ‘Don’t think. Don’t think. Don’t think,’” he added.
The military sleep method aligns with principles of progressive muscle relaxation and visualization, both proven to reduce stress and promote sleep.
Justin said one should ideally practice this technique every night for six weeks to master it and reap the full benefits of it.
“96% of people who mastered this technique are actually able to fall asleep within two minutes of shutting their eyes,” he added.
“It is actually very peaceful,” one TikTok user noted, while another wrote, “It definitely works”
@justin_agustin Technique to falling asleep in 2 minutes! Insp. AsapSCIENCE on YT #sleep #fallasleep #insomnia #insomniac #learnontiktok #howto ♬ You – Petit Biscuit
Not all the viewers who tried the technique said it worked, but some said they saw great results.
“I’m a military brat and was taught this. I also had a veteran as a psychology teacher in college who taught this. It definitely works,” one said while another wrote, “I’ve been doing that for a long time and i just now realized that is a military sleep method lol.”
“It is actually very peaceful when you do this,” read a third comment.
“Military sleep method can send people to sleep in ‘two minutes,’” said another.
Other content creators also shared their experience with the military sleep method
@tommocarroll Now maybe I won’t feel tired 😭 If you struggle to get to sleep, this could actually be a game changer. Try it out and report back after you get your snooze in with the Military Sleep Method 👋 #skills4all #skillbuilding #levelup #levelupchallenge #skilldevelopment #todayilearned #skillunlocked #skills #howtosleep #sleephack #lifehackstiktok #lifehack ♬ original sound – Tommo Carroll
Rebecca Spencer, Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences at University of Massachusetts Amherst, said she has tried the method and told Bored Panda, “I believe it is effective but not for everyone and not in 2 minutes.”
When asked if she would recommend other sleep techniques or practices, she shared, “I suggest having a visual in mind that you can turn your thoughts to and align your breathing with.”
“This might be a slow oscillating/bouncing ball (this is the visual in some apps out there), sheep progressively jumping over a fence, or for me, I have use imagery from two beautiful places that I can align breathing to – for instances, small waves coming up for pebbles on a beach then retreating, then coming up, then retreating,” said the researcher, who explores the relationship between sleep and brain function. “It’s a relaxing scene and it has that feature that I can focus on (the waves) that I can align and slow my breathing to.”
While some swear by it, others reported mixed results—proof that consistency and practice are key
Image credits: MissKarin / Pixabay
As for her own pre-bedtime ritual, she keeps it simple, asserting that “routine is key, whatever one prefers.”
“For me it is, brush teeth, cozy pjs, in bed with dim light and a book for a bit before I turn off the light,” she said.
If there’s one particular wellness hack she would suggest, it is to “follow your 24-hr circadian rhythm!”
“Circadian health (doing things (eating, sleeping, exercising) the same time of a day every day). Our 24-hr clock circulates hormones according to this clock,” she went on to say. “When our behaviors are misaligned to this, there are all kinds poor health outcomes (cardiovascular disease, obesity, etc). So this not only helps you sleep (you train your body to fall asleep and wake up at according to a schedule) but helps digest food better, etc. For me, this looks like going to bed and waking up generally at the same time daily, exercising at the same time daily, and having the meals at the same time daily.”
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On a more serious note: of course this is a good technique, relaxing and focusing on your breathing. It’s in essence mindfulness and meditation techniques. What Mari says here is also effective: focusing on boring thoughts
Load More Replies...So relax, clear your mind, and breathe. The three most obvious things. Another bad tiktokker. I don't know what bp thinks "viral" means.
This is a guide of _how_ to do that. Just like making a cake is more than “mix stuff together, then bake.” Relaxing one group of muscles at a time is a lot different than to just “relax”, and if you are unaware of that, then you have never experienced it or anything similar. (Edit:word)
Load More Replies...Another technique: always think about the same thing before you sleep.( something boring but comforting) I always think about my grandparents house. I close my eyes and I see the doorbel, the wood, my sister next to me, my grandma opening the door. Then I think about everything in their hall: the lamp, the clock, the carpet on the stairs ect until I reach the kitchen: there I see my grandpa sitting and then I think about all the things in their kitchen and so I continue for the other rooms and garden. The first week I thought about a lot of things and rooms, but after a time I only reach the kitchen with my thoughts and I fall asleep. Relax, think slowly and every evening just the same thing. You'll see it is a good technique that helps.
Nope, I'd fail at step 3. I can never clear my mind, especially not when trying to fall asleep.
Oh the statistics ... lmao ...... “96% of people who mastered this technique are actually able to fall asleep within two minutes of shutting their eyes,” he added. and 100% of those who didn't master couldn't plus the other 4% So lots of people still awake.
Ok gonna try this and hopefully in 6 weeks i can update if it works or not for me.
Similar thing: pretend to be asleep, just let go of your muscles all at once, and breathe as if your sleeping. Don’t move at all. You’ll fall asleep quick. (I discovered this by accident)
I discovered this too when my kids woke up too early from a nap, I pretended to be asleep, so they would turn over and sleep a bit more. How many times I felt asleep next to them 😄
Load More Replies...That's the point! I'd be pretty over-expecting the premise, hence it probably wouldn't wo........💤 💤 💤
Load More Replies...FYI, these are also the same EXACT RULES for if you want to do ASTRAL projection or ... I just feel its funny that they are EXSACTLY THE SAME..... FYI these "techniques" are what your body does when it sleeps, thus making you "sleep" faster as your body is "tricked" into thinking its asleep already.....
I was just listening to a comedy podcast today where they said that the only activity you need to fake for it to happen was sleeping 😂
Load More Replies...I’ve encountered this recommendation numerous times, and I’ve tried it multiple times. I always get stuck on step one: my attention wanders before I get past the first set of relaxations. I can eventually get back to it, but by that point, it’s already been several minutes and I’m no better off than I am without it. I just don’t have the patience and mental discipline to stick with a process like this long enough for it to take hold. Yet another thing my neurodivergence messes up for me.
I've been using this method for decades when I can't fall asleep. Not exactly 2 minutes to full sleep, but it relaxes me enough to stop worrying about why I'm not sleeping. Didn't learn it in the military though; I learned it from a therapist who used hypnosis on me. Seriously though, it's not like relaxation is going to hurt at bedtime.
As a long suffering insomniac I am going to have to try this technique. I've tried the muscle relaxation one but only on it's own. It worked well to give me cramp 😂
And then I get to my shoulder, which will start to mutter something inexplicable. By the time I reach my back, it shouts: Hey! You know I start hurting ones you relax me, right?" That's where my left hip joins in, hoping it will finally get the attention it has been begging for the entire day. Then the rest of my joints join in, in sinc with that song I can't get out of my head.
On a more serious note: of course this is a good technique, relaxing and focusing on your breathing. It’s in essence mindfulness and meditation techniques. What Mari says here is also effective: focusing on boring thoughts
Load More Replies...So relax, clear your mind, and breathe. The three most obvious things. Another bad tiktokker. I don't know what bp thinks "viral" means.
This is a guide of _how_ to do that. Just like making a cake is more than “mix stuff together, then bake.” Relaxing one group of muscles at a time is a lot different than to just “relax”, and if you are unaware of that, then you have never experienced it or anything similar. (Edit:word)
Load More Replies...Another technique: always think about the same thing before you sleep.( something boring but comforting) I always think about my grandparents house. I close my eyes and I see the doorbel, the wood, my sister next to me, my grandma opening the door. Then I think about everything in their hall: the lamp, the clock, the carpet on the stairs ect until I reach the kitchen: there I see my grandpa sitting and then I think about all the things in their kitchen and so I continue for the other rooms and garden. The first week I thought about a lot of things and rooms, but after a time I only reach the kitchen with my thoughts and I fall asleep. Relax, think slowly and every evening just the same thing. You'll see it is a good technique that helps.
Nope, I'd fail at step 3. I can never clear my mind, especially not when trying to fall asleep.
Oh the statistics ... lmao ...... “96% of people who mastered this technique are actually able to fall asleep within two minutes of shutting their eyes,” he added. and 100% of those who didn't master couldn't plus the other 4% So lots of people still awake.
Ok gonna try this and hopefully in 6 weeks i can update if it works or not for me.
Similar thing: pretend to be asleep, just let go of your muscles all at once, and breathe as if your sleeping. Don’t move at all. You’ll fall asleep quick. (I discovered this by accident)
I discovered this too when my kids woke up too early from a nap, I pretended to be asleep, so they would turn over and sleep a bit more. How many times I felt asleep next to them 😄
Load More Replies...That's the point! I'd be pretty over-expecting the premise, hence it probably wouldn't wo........💤 💤 💤
Load More Replies...FYI, these are also the same EXACT RULES for if you want to do ASTRAL projection or ... I just feel its funny that they are EXSACTLY THE SAME..... FYI these "techniques" are what your body does when it sleeps, thus making you "sleep" faster as your body is "tricked" into thinking its asleep already.....
I was just listening to a comedy podcast today where they said that the only activity you need to fake for it to happen was sleeping 😂
Load More Replies...I’ve encountered this recommendation numerous times, and I’ve tried it multiple times. I always get stuck on step one: my attention wanders before I get past the first set of relaxations. I can eventually get back to it, but by that point, it’s already been several minutes and I’m no better off than I am without it. I just don’t have the patience and mental discipline to stick with a process like this long enough for it to take hold. Yet another thing my neurodivergence messes up for me.
I've been using this method for decades when I can't fall asleep. Not exactly 2 minutes to full sleep, but it relaxes me enough to stop worrying about why I'm not sleeping. Didn't learn it in the military though; I learned it from a therapist who used hypnosis on me. Seriously though, it's not like relaxation is going to hurt at bedtime.
As a long suffering insomniac I am going to have to try this technique. I've tried the muscle relaxation one but only on it's own. It worked well to give me cramp 😂
And then I get to my shoulder, which will start to mutter something inexplicable. By the time I reach my back, it shouts: Hey! You know I start hurting ones you relax me, right?" That's where my left hip joins in, hoping it will finally get the attention it has been begging for the entire day. Then the rest of my joints join in, in sinc with that song I can't get out of my head.
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