---
title: "How to Fall Asleep Fast: Methods That Work Tonight"
description: "To fall asleep fast, relax your body from head to toe, slow your breathing and give your mind a dull picture to hold. Most people take 10 to 20 minutes."
url: https://shimmr.app/learn/how-to-fall-asleep-fast/
---

- [Learn](https://shimmr.app/learn/)

- [Sleep](https://shimmr.app/learn/sleep/)

# How to fall asleep fast, including the military method

To fall asleep fast, relax your body from head to toe, slow your breathing and give your mind a dull picture to hold. Most people take 10 to 20 minutes.

The Shimmr team

Published Oct 31, 2026

4 min read

- **What is normal:** most healthy adults take about 10 to 20 minutes to fall asleep, so a few minutes of lying awake is not a problem.
- **The military method:** relax your face, drop your shoulders and arms, breathe out slowly, loosen your legs, then hold a simple picture in your mind for 10 seconds.
- **Where it comes from:** the method was published in Lloyd Bud Winter’s 1981 book “Relax and Win”, and its famous “96% of pilots” figure is the book’s own account, not a study.
- **What studies show:** in a 2018 sleep lab study of 57 young adults, writing a specific to-do list for 5 minutes before bed helped them fall asleep faster than writing about what they had already done.
- **If it is not working:** after about 20 minutes awake, get up, do something quiet in dim light, and go back to bed when you feel sleepy.

Hear it

The way to fall asleep fast is to switch your body off first and your thoughts second: relax your muscles from head to toe, slow your breathing, and give your mind one dull picture to hold. Most healthy adults take about 10 to 20 minutes to drift off, so you do not need to fall asleep in seconds. Here is how to fall asleep fast tonight, including the military method, and what the research actually shows.

## How long should it take to fall asleep?

For most healthy adults, falling asleep takes about 10 to 20 minutes. Falling asleep in under 5 minutes every night can be a sign you are short on sleep. Lying awake for more than 30 minutes most nights, for weeks, is worth talking to a doctor about.

That range matters because trying hard to sleep is one of the things that keeps you awake. Watching the clock adds pressure. Turning the clock away, or putting your phone face down, takes some of that pressure off.

## What is the military method for falling asleep?

The military method is a step by step body relaxation followed by a simple mental picture. It takes about two minutes to go through:

1. Lie down and relax every muscle in your face: forehead, jaw, tongue and the small muscles around your eyes.
2. Let your shoulders drop as low as they will go, then let your upper and lower arms go heavy, one side at a time.
3. Breathe out slowly and let your chest soften.
4. Relax your legs: thighs first, then calves, then feet.
5. Clear your mind for 10 seconds by holding one picture, such as lying in a canoe on a still lake, or by repeating “don’t think” to yourself.

The method comes from Lloyd Bud Winter’s 1981 book “Relax and Win”, based on his work training US Navy pilots. The book says that after six weeks of practice, 96% of pilots could fall asleep within two minutes. That figure is the author’s account, not a published study, so treat it as a story rather than a result. The parts of the method, though, are well known relaxation tools, and the next section shows what we know about them.

## Do relaxation and breathing help you fall asleep faster?

Yes, they help you relax, and relaxing makes sleep easier to reach. In a [2021 study](https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/5924040) of 60 undergraduates, 20 minutes of recorded progressive muscle relaxation, deep breathing or guided imagery each raised feelings of relaxation compared with a control group. The study measured relaxation, not sleep, but relaxation is the state you need first.

[Progressive muscle relaxation](https://shimmr.app/learn/progressive-muscle-relaxation/) means tensing one muscle group for a few seconds, then letting it go. Slow breathing works best with a long out breath. [4-7-8 breathing](https://shimmr.app/learn/4-7-8-breathing/), in for 4 counts, hold for 7, out for 8, is a simple pattern to use in bed. Practise either during the day first, so it feels familiar at night.

## How do you stop thinking so you can fall asleep?

Give your mind a specific, gentle task instead of trying to make it empty. In a [2002 study](https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7967(01)00012-2) of 41 people with insomnia, those taught to picture an interesting, detailed scene fell asleep sooner than people given no instructions. A specific scene seems to work because it fills enough of your mind to keep worries out.

Writing can help too. In a [2018 sleep lab study](https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000374) of 57 young adults aged 18 to 30, writing a to-do list for 5 minutes before bed helped people fall asleep faster than writing about tasks they had already finished. The more specific the list, the faster they fell asleep. If [racing thoughts at night](https://shimmr.app/learn/racing-thoughts-at-night/) are what keep you up, these two habits are a good place to start.

## What should you stop doing before bed?

The quickest wins are often things to remove, not add:

| Habit | Why it slows sleep |
| --- | --- |
| Caffeine after early afternoon | It can keep you alert for many hours |
| Alcohol close to bed | It can make you drowsy, then break up sleep later in the night |
| Bright screens in bed | Light and new messages keep your brain alert |
| Lying awake for a long time | Your bed starts to feel like a place for worry |

The last one has a simple rule. If you have been awake for about 20 minutes, get up, do something quiet in dim light, and go back to bed when you feel sleepy. It feels odd at first, but it teaches your body that bed means sleep.

## Do sounds help you fall asleep faster?

A steady, soft sound can help by covering sudden noises and giving your attention something even to rest on. [Rain sounds](https://shimmr.app/learn/rain-sounds-for-sleep/), pink noise or brown noise all work this way. Keep the volume low, about the level of a quiet conversation or less, and use a timer so it fades out once you are asleep.

In Shimmr, the Awake → Asleep Shift glides a binaural beat from Alpha down to Delta over 20 to 90 minutes and plays with the screen off. You can layer rain or brown noise under it in the mixer and set the sleep timer to fade it all out. Sound is a gentle aid, not a cure. If you sleep badly most nights for more than a few weeks, talk to a doctor.

In the app

Awake → Asleep · 20 to 90 min

A Shift that glides from Alpha down to Delta and holds it, then fades out with the sleep timer while your screen is off.

## Common questions

**How can I fall asleep in 2 minutes?**

Some people can, with practice, but for most adults 10 to 20 minutes is normal. Relaxing your body part by part, breathing out slowly and holding a dull picture in your mind is the quickest honest route.

**Does the military sleep method work?**

It has not been tested as a package, and the claim that 96% of pilots fell asleep in two minutes comes from a 1981 book, not a study. Its parts, muscle relaxation, slow breathing and peaceful imagery, do have research behind them.

**What should I do if I can’t fall asleep after 20 minutes?**

Get up, go to another room if you can, and do something quiet in dim light, like reading a paper book. Go back to bed only when you feel sleepy, so your bed stays linked with sleep rather than with lying awake.

**Does breathing help you fall asleep faster?**

Slow breathing with a long out breath helps your body shift toward rest, and in a 2021 study 20 minutes of recorded deep breathing raised feelings of relaxation. Patterns like 4-7-8 breathing are easy to use in bed.

**Do sounds help you fall asleep faster?**

A steady sound such as rain or brown noise can cover sudden noises and give your mind something even to rest on. It is a gentle aid, not a cure, and works best at a low volume with a timer that fades it out.

Keep reading

- [Sleep How to stop racing thoughts at night: 6 things that help you fall asleep](https://shimmr.app/learn/racing-thoughts-at-night/)

- [Relaxation 4-7-8 breathing: how to do it, how often, and what the evidence says](https://shimmr.app/learn/4-7-8-breathing/)

- [Relaxation Progressive muscle relaxation: the steps, how long it takes, and what it does](https://shimmr.app/learn/progressive-muscle-relaxation/)

This article is for general information and is not medical advice. Binaural beats are not a treatment for insomnia or any other condition.