Just because your body is tired, doesn’t mean your brain is ready for bed. If your mind is still racing hours after your head hits the pillow, a nighttime meditation might be the answer. According to our sleep experts, free meditations for sleep can help relax both the mind and body, reducing anxiety and slowing down any recurring thoughts for a better night’s rest. Whether you want to unwind after a long day of work, focus on mindfulness, or wake up ready to take on the day, these free meditations for sleep are all great places to start. Plus, you don’t need extensive experience to effectively meditate yourself to sleep. Read on to learn more about the benefits of nighttime meditation, beginner-friendly meditation tips, and free meditation videos you can use for better sleep. Just don’t blame us if you start dozing off before the end of the meditation.
Benefits of Meditating Before Bed
Meditation before bed, especially when it encourages more mindfulness, is proven to help with insomnia, according to Harvard Medical School. Considering that many sleep disorders are at least partially connected to stress and anxiety, taking the time to meditate before bed can also make it easier to fall asleep and even stay asleep for longer. At the end of the day, when many of us are still unintentionally tensing our muscles or trying to process our thoughts, meditating before sleep can be conducive to a better pre-bedtime headspace, says Mike Gradisar, PhD, head of sleep science at Sleep Cycle. “Meditation can give us that space to notice [that] these factors are still hanging around in the evening,” he tells POPSUGAR. “As such, we can begin to relax our bodies and our minds before we try to fall asleep.”
How Does Meditation Help With Sleep?
Meditations for sleep work to relax the mind and body while decreasing anxiety. Dr. Gradisar specifically suggests trying a guided meditation that emphasizes mindfulness. “Meditations that help to bring our thinking back to the present, back to our breath, are very helpful,” he explains. Meditation tools such as breathwork can shift the nervous system out of its sympathetic fight or flight mode, allowing the parasympathetic nervous system to take over. Another study found that meditating also improved the overall quality of sleep for people with sleep disturbances. Of course, while meditation can serve as a useful transition for bed, it’s not a surefire solution for sleep disorders. If you’re concerned about the quality of your sleep, contact your healthcare provider for the best personalized medical information.
What Kind of Meditation is Best For Sleep?
The specific sleep meditation you listen to is totally up to you, but some of our favorites include guided meditations with visualization techniques, body scans, and deep breathing techniques. “In our own research, we found that people who used a 15-minute mindfulness body scan around their bedtime took half as long to fall asleep after one week of use,” Dr. Gradisar says. “Their average time taken to fall asleep was initially 50 minutes, and by the end of the week, it was around 25 minutes, and it reduced even further after two weeks of practice.” Find more of the best free meditations for sleep below.
Chandler Plante is an assistant editor for POPSUGAR Health & Fitness. Previously, she worked as an editorial assistant for People magazine and contributed to Ladygunn, Millie, and Bustle Digital Group. In her free time, she overshares on the internet, creating content about chronic illness, beauty, and disability.