10-minute grounding meditation for insomnia, when the news hits hard

About this practice

When insomnia shows up when the news hits hard, this 10-minute grounding session gives you somewhere to put it down. A guided session of about 10 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: insomnia

Insomnia is often maintained by the fear of not sleeping. Anticipating a bad night raises arousal at bedtime, which produces the bad night.

It tends to show up as:

• Dreading bedtime
• Hours awake with a busy mind
• Sleeping worse as the week goes on

Removing the pressure to sleep is the active ingredient. This gives you something to do that is not trying.

Doing this after bad news

• Do not make any decisions during it
• Let it be simple — you do not need to process anything today
• Tell one person where you are, even briefly

The first hours after bad news are not for planning. Deliberately doing nothing useful is the right move.

How grounding works

Grounding brings attention to physical contact and the immediate environment. It works on the principle that the body cannot be somewhere else, so contact with the surface you are on is always available as an anchor.

• Feel the contact points — feet, seat, back — and let them take your weight
• Use the senses deliberately: what you can see, hear, touch
• Return to solidity whenever attention drifts

What happens, minute by minute

1. 0:00If you're tired, you can let that be true. Tired is allowed here.
2. 0:13Name what you can see, hear and touch. Counting senses is not a distraction; it is the practice.
3. 0:29Let your body feel heavier than it did a minute ago. Let the chair or the floor take it.
4. 0:45You can let your eyes close now if they weren't already.
5. 0:57Feel the slight stretch at the very bottom of the exhale.
6. 1:09Let the exhale empty you a little more than usual, but not to the point of strain.
7. 1:24Feel your ankles. Let them be loose.
8. 1:34Feel your knees. They're just hinges, but they've worked hard.
9. 1:46Feel your upper arms hanging. They're heavier than you remember.
10. 1:58Feel the tops of your thighs.
11. 2:08You do not have to solve the wide-awake mind at 2am in these few minutes. Your only job is to keep breathing while it is here.
12. 2:27When the counting of hours until morning arrives, name it once, quietly, and go back to the breath. Naming is not fixing, and that is fine.
13. 2:46Notice if you're being hard on yourself about any of this.
14. 2:58If your mind has gone somewhere else, the floor under you has not moved. Start from there.
15. 3:13Nothing to follow for a moment except your own breathing.
16. 3:25Notice the pull to make this mean something. It doesn't have to.
17. 3:38Feel the contact points — feet, seat, back. That contact is the whole anchor.
18. 3:52Quiet now. The next part will wait for you.
19. 4:03If your mind is quiet, don't grab at it. Quiet comes and goes too.
20. 4:17Press down slightly and feel the push back. Your body already knows where it is.
21. 4:31I'll leave a gap here. Use it however you like.
22. 4:43If your body wants to move, let it move, then come back.
23. 4:56Let your ribs widen on the in-breath instead of your shoulders lifting.
24. 5:09No rush to move on.
25. 5:18Notice your ribs on both sides. Wide, not squeezed.
26. 5:29Let your belly rise first, then your chest, then the tops of your lungs.
27. 5:43A few seconds more.
28. 5:52Notice your hands again. Check whether they've loosened on their own.
29. 6:04Feel the air move past your upper lip. It's the coolest spot on the way in.
30. 6:19Just the breath, still.
31. 6:28Let your thumbs rest wherever they landed.
32. 6:38Let your shoulders stay still while your ribs move.
33. 6:49Let me stop talking. Follow the breath instead.
34. 7:00When the frustration of not sleeping presses in, put a hand on your chest or your belly. Warmth and pressure are anchors your body already trusts.
35. 7:19Notice the space around the wide-awake mind at 2am. It is there, even if it is small. Put your attention in that space.
36. 7:37Notice your breathing getting quieter on its own, without you deciding anything.
37. 7:50You do not have to win against the counting of hours until morning. You only have to breathe until the next moment arrives.
38. 8:08Notice the exact moment your attention left. You probably won't catch it. That's normal.
39. 8:22If you're sleepy, sit up a little. Or let the sleepiness be there.
40. 8:35I'll step back. You stay here.
41. 8:45The floor is holding you right now. You do not have to hold yourself up.
42. 8:59Let it be this simple.
43. 9:08Stretch whatever feels stiff, then carry on.
44. 9:18If you're going straight back to work, take ten seconds at the doorway first.

Questions people ask

Meditation is a practice, not a treatment. If you are dealing with ongoing distress, please also reach out to a professional.