I’m a naturally early riser. No matter how late I go to sleep, even if it’s 3am, I wake up around 5 or 6am. And if I haven’t had more than 5 hours sleep, I start to get headaches. So I’ve been making a conscious effort in the last few months to ensure I go to bed early. Certainly before midnight.

With this routine, I find I’m a much nicer person the next day! I’m more efficient and get my work done earlier. And I’m better able to support those around me. It’s a classic example of how when we look after ourselves, we are better able to serve others.

Some people really struggle to fall asleep. If that’s you, here’s some ways you could try using mindfulness meditation to drift off into dreamland. The research agrees that it works, as explained in this Harvard article.

1. Very easy - deep breathing

In this strategy, you simply take long, mindful breaths. Ideally you breathe in for a count of 3 and breathe out for a count of 5. Just keep doing that and you’ll engage your relaxation response. Your mind will start to calm down and hopefully you’ll find yourself drifting off into sleep.

Alternatively, you can try some belly breathing. Here’s a guided audio you can try from one of my online courses:

2. Easy - counting your breaths

Count your breath. Each time you breathe out, count 1. Then 2, 3 all the way up to 10. When you get to 10, count down back to 1. If you lose count, either start again or just keep going from where you left off - whatever feels most comfortable to you.

3. Medium - short body scan

Easy body scan - Feel the sensations in your feel for a few breaths. Then feel the sensations in your lower legs for a few breaths. Then your thighs, your pelvis, belly, chest, arms, neck, face and head. Then just feel your breathing. My friend does this to help him drift off to sleep every night. He often does get much further than his legs.

Here’s a guided meditation with some ‘kindfulness’ too, taken from my online course, Kindfulness.

4. Long - full body scan

Full body scan meditation - Listen to a 30 minute guided body scan. Or longer. There’s lots online. Here’s my own below:

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed these 4 different mindfulness meditations to help you sleep. If you have any other favourite ones you’d like to share, let me know in the comments below. Thanks so much for sharing!

If you’d like to learn more about my approach of combining mindfulness with kindness, consider my free 7 day course. Or my full 8 week program which is currently on sale - includes 60 mini daily videos and over 15 guided kindfulness audio meditations to try.

20 guided Kindful Meditations,
50 High- Definition Videos
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