A good night’s sleep is something we might take for granted – until we struggle to attain it, that is. If you are one of the many who struggle to fall (or to stay) asleep, rest assured you’re not alone. According to a federal health report (reference 1 below), an estimated 50 to 70 million adults in the United States live with some form of a sleep disorder (such as insomnia, restless legs syndrome, and sleep apnea). The fact that we’re not alone does little to help us with the sleep challenges we face. So, what can we do about it? Early research and long-standing contemplative practice both suggest that sleep meditations can help ease the restlessness we face before bed or in the middle of the night.
If sleep trouble is persistent, a doctor or sleep specialist can help find the cause. Meditation can complement professional care, not replace it.
In this comprehensive guide to meditations for sleep, we will explore:
- How Meditation Improves Sleep
- Elements of an Effective Sleep Meditation
- Setting the Stage: What to Do Before Bed
- 5 Meditations for Sleep
How Meditation Improves Sleep
To understand how meditation helps to improve the quality of our sleep, we need to consider the reasons we might not be getting the sleep we need in the first place. Some of the root causes of poor sleep quality and quantity include:
- Stress, anxiety, depression, and other mental factors
- Hormonal imbalance (i.e. melatonin, cortisol, etc.)
- Environmental factors (i.e. light, noise)
- Lifestyle demands (i.e. shift work, technology)
- Dietary factors (i.e. blood sugar levels)
If we’re struggling to sleep, the reason might be rooted in any number of these factors. Sleep meditations may help with a number of these, and some people find that when mindfulness is practiced throughout the day, several of these areas improve. Let’s consider some of the physiological and psychological shifts that may occur when we practice meditation. For example:
1. Meditation may help balance cortisol, catecholamine, and melatonin in ways that are conducive to sleep.
A brief review of the research (reference 2) describes meditation as influencing the autonomic and endocrine systems, including the HPA axis (the linkage between the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and the adrenal glands). Cortisol and catecholamines are hormones released when we experience stress, and the review suggests meditation may help balance them. It also discusses melatonin, a hormone that plays a role in the sleep-wake cycle. The research is early, and studies vary, but the picture is consistent with meditation supporting our ability to rest.
2. Meditation may reduce heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing rate.
As we breathe mindfully during meditation, the breath tends to slow and deepen. In doing so, the relaxation response may be initiated. This response works in contrast to our fight-or-flight response, helping us to soften any stress we might be carrying. The heart rate may slow, blood pressure may lessen (see Harvard Health, reference 3), and the breath begins to flow more naturally. Softening our expectation of incoming threat, we may begin to feel safer in our surroundings. As the body settles, the mind often follows.
3. Mindfulness and meditation practice reconnect us with the present moment while distancing us from anxious thought patterns.
In addition to the balancing of hormones and easing of the body’s stress response, meditation can change the relationship we have with the inner world. Whether we turn our attention toward the breath, the body, or something else, we can begin to loosen our grip on the stories that keep us up. Since anxiety is a major player in sleep difficulties, creating some distance from anxious thoughts can be helpful. Mindfulness of our emotions plays a big role in this too. As we witness our emotions as passing waves (rather than being fixed components of our experience), it can become easier to let them go and to then drift into sleep.
In addition to these mechanisms, mindfulness and meditation also play a less-direct role in promoting sleep through influencing our daily habits and actions. As we become aware of the impact our food choices, technology usage, and other simple habits have on our sleep, we are encouraged to make lifestyle changes where they’re needed. For instance, we might begin to dim the lights or refrain from screen-time in the hours leading up to bed. Or, we might make an effort to reduce sugar and alcohol intake before sleep. Whatever mindful choices we make here depends upon our unique circumstances and the root causes of our personal sleep struggles.
Elements of an Effective Sleep Meditation
What do the best meditations for sleep have in common? Well, a few things. Sleep meditations are similar to many general waking meditations. However, when the goal is sleep, the focus is typically on relaxation and letting go rather than on insight or single-pointed concentration. With relaxation as a guiding force, we can understand the elements of an effective sleep meditation quite intuitively.
These elements are not mandatory in all meditations for sleep, though you’ll find many of these qualities and techniques in the recordings you explore:
1. Calming Music – With or Without Binaural Beats
From nature sounds to Tibetan flute music, certain sounds can contribute to peace and relaxation. In a 2017 study from Brighton and Sussex Medical School, reported by ScienceDaily (reference 4), playing natural sounds affected the ‘rest and digest’ and ‘fight or flight’ nervous system activity and the brain’s resting activity. Perhaps this is why so many meditations for sleep include sounds of trickling streams, light rain, and log fires. Furthermore, binaural beats are incorporated into some sleep tracks as well. Binaural beats are auditory illusions that arise in the brain when it encounters two different frequencies at the same time. Some people find these tones relaxing, and some listeners say they affect brainwave activity depending on the difference in frequency between the two tones. The research on binaural beats is limited, so it is worth trying them for yourself rather than expecting a particular result.
2. Breath Awareness
Many sleep meditations include breath awareness or deep breathing practices. The breath is a steady anchor to redirect an anxious mind – and, as we’ve covered, slow breathing tends to support the body’s relaxation response. If we’re meditating on our own before bed, deep breathing is a great place to begin our practice. It’s also a great practice to turn to when we wake in the middle of the night and struggle to fall back asleep.
3. Body Scan
Becoming aware of the body is another way to slowly soften into sleep. Unconsciously, we tend to hold quite a bit of tension in the physical body. Whether in the forehead, the shoulders, the jaw, or the belly, we each have different areas that tend to contract when we are stressed. Often, these contractions are so habitual that they occur subtly in the background of our experience. So, to help release this, body scan practices increase our awareness of the tension we hold. As we mindfully soften, we find it easier to sink into sleep.
4. Guided Imagery
Last, guided visualization is a practice explored in many sleep meditations. Usually offered after breath or body awareness, guided imagery helps us to imagine new possibilities, think positively, and let go of the day behind us. These meditations can also include positive affirmations, which some people find helpful for moving away from fear-based thoughts.
Again, not all of these need to be present for a sleep meditation to be effective. However, you’ll likely find some combination of these in whatever sleep meditation you choose to sink into.
Setting the Stage: What to Do Before Bed
Before getting to your sleep meditation, it’s important to prepare your inner and outer world for this transition. Over time, these steps will occur naturally; but, if you’re currently struggling to sleep peacefully, mindfully consider these tips to help support your bedtime meditation practice:
1. Turn off or cover up all lights, including those on personal devices.
Light can interfere with our melatonin production, so you can support your circadian rhythm by ensuring that no lights are glaring from your phone, computer, or elsewhere in your environment. You might even transition into this by dimming the lights in your home two hours before bed.
2. Refrain from sugary foods or drinks 2-3 hours before bed.
As briefly mentioned, sugar can affect our sleep in two ways. First, it may make it harder to fall asleep when blood sugar is high at bedtime. Second, it may wake us in the middle of the night if blood sugar drops and the body secretes cortisol to counteract it. In any case, we can ease this by eating balanced meals throughout the day – and by refraining from refined foods and sugary snacks before bed.
3. Make a to-do list for the following day if it helps to put your mind at ease.
Lastly, for those that go to bed with anxious thoughts about the day ahead, it can be helpful to write a to-do list before or after dinner to organize yourself. By setting your day up in this way, the mind may feel less need to keep organizing. Get it down on paper early so that you can mindfully soften before sleep.
In addition to these tips, it’s important to compassionately communicate our needs with anyone we share space with. Perhaps we need to commit to an earlier bedtime, or maybe we need some quiet time before going to sleep. If we’re not quite sure what it is that we need, we can begin by keeping a sleep journal to get to know our personal cycles. As we start to draw lines between our routines and our sleep habits, we’ll feel more comfortable and confident setting nightly routines that support us.
5 Best Meditations for Sleep
Once you’re settled, you can practice self-guided meditation through breath or body awareness, affirmation practice, or any other technique that suits you. Alternatively, you can use guided meditations designed specifically for sleep to help you trail off. While there are plenty to choose from, here are 5 meditations for sleep to start with.
1.Fire and Rain Guided Meditation
This guided meditation by Jason Stephenson is a soothing recording that includes both subtle background sounds and soft-spoken words. The first half of the recording is guided, alongside a backdrop of soft, crackling fire sounds. The second half is unguided as we are invited to let the simple sounds of fire and rain settle the mind and body.
2. Binaural Beats Sleep Meditation
Another meditation designed for a restorative slumber, this recording is different from traditional guided meditations. Without words, this meditation focuses on sounds and binaural beats. It contains a binaural beat of 396 Hz, a frequency that some traditions associate with releasing fear and guilt. As we listen to this recording before bed, we can practice open awareness of the present moment – sounds, sensations, and thoughts – finding the peace that rests beneath it all.
3. Floating Amongst Stars Guided Meditation
‘Floating Amongst Stars’ is another Jason Stephenson sleep meditation. In this recording, guided visualization is used to create a sensory experience that broadens and relaxes the mind. After a visualization of moving among stars and planets, soft music pervades the meditation to help listeners drift into a peaceful and restorative slumber.
4. Bedtime Zen Guided Meditation
This guided meditation for sleep is nature-inspired, taking listeners into a meadow. The imagery can help cultivate a sense of safety and comfort, helping the mind to soften and to refocus on peace. To complement the visualization, it explores both breath and body awareness to help the body relax.
5. Mindfulness Meditation Before Sleep
Last but not least, this simple, mindfulness meditation provides gentle direction to help us reattune to the breath and to our immediate sensory experience. The accompanying music is soft and subtle, encouraging a deep surrender into the present moment. After about fifteen minutes of guidance, another forty-five minutes of music carries listeners into sleep.
“There is a time for many words, and there is also a time for sleep.”
– Homer, The Odyssey –
Getting enough quality sleep matters for our health and wellbeing. We sometimes forget this when we’re sleeping well, but when our sleep falters, we realize just how important it is. If good sleep feels hard to come by, you might take a deep breath and let even your worries about it go, noticing where the mind adds to the challenge. Breath by breath, we can ease ourselves down, in body and mind, toward sleep.
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