10-minute guided noting practice for insomnia — during the evening wind-down

About this practice

10 minutes to meet insomnia with less of a fight. A noting practice, during the evening wind-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 in the evening

• Dim the lights first — bright light works against the point
• Put the phone in another room
• Keep it slow rather than interesting

Something too engaging will wake you up rather than wind you down.

How noting works

Noting is a technique from insight practice: when something arises, you give it a single plain label — thinking, hearing, planning — and return to the anchor. The label creates a small distance between you and the content.

• Use one word, not a sentence — explaining means you have joined in
• Label and return; do not follow the thought to see where it goes
• Drop the labelling if it becomes effortful and just follow the breath

What happens, minute by minute

1. 0:00Quick check: is anything genuinely urgent in this exact minute? Usually the answer is no.
2. 0:14If noting feels like too much, drop it and just follow the breath. The label is optional.
3. 0:29For the next few minutes, the only job is to notice what's already happening.
4. 0:43Notice whether your breathing is high in your chest or low in your belly. Just notice. No fixing.
5. 0:59Let your shoulders stay still while your ribs move.
6. 1:10Notice the difference between the breath at the front of your nose and the breath in your chest.
7. 1:26Notice your whole body as one shape, sitting or lying here.
8. 1:38Notice your breathing, without changing it.
9. 1:48Notice your fingers, one by one, starting with the little finger.
10. 2:00Feel your tongue sitting in the bottom of your mouth.
11. 2:12Imagine softening the edges of the counting of hours until morning. Not erasing it, just letting the sharp parts go a degree softer.
12. 2:30If the frustration of not sleeping has been with you all day, it is probably tired too. Let it rest alongside you.
13. 2:48You might be planning something. Notice the planning, then come back.
14. 3:00Use one plain word, not a sentence. The moment you explain, you have joined in.
15. 3:14Silence. Let your shoulders drop again if they've crept up.
16. 3:26If you feel restless, that's a feeling, not a failure.
17. 3:38Notice the gap between the label and the next thought. That gap is what we are practising.
18. 3:53Nothing to follow for a moment except your own breathing.
19. 4:05Notice the tone of your own inner voice. Is it kind?
20. 4:17A label is enough. You do not need to follow the thought to see where it goes.
21. 4:32I'll step back. You stay here.
22. 4:42If you feel numb, that's a valid thing to feel. Nothing to fix.
23. 4:55Notice that you don't have to start a breath. It arrives by itself.
24. 5:08Stay a moment longer than is comfortable.
25. 5:18Notice the small movement in your belly when you breathe.
26. 5:30Let the in-breath be short and the out-breath unhurried.
27. 5:41Take the next breath slowly.
28. 5:50Notice your eyebrows. They're probably doing something small right now.
29. 6:02Let your ribs widen on the in-breath instead of your shoulders lifting.
30. 6:15Let your body keep settling.
31. 6:24Move to your forehead. Let it be smooth instead of gathered.
32. 6:36If you're holding your breath at the top, stop. There's no need to hold anything.
33. 6:50A few seconds of nothing now. That's on purpose.
34. 7:01If the wide-awake mind at 2am starts telling you a story, let the story finish without you adding to it.
35. 7:18Let the counting of hours until morning be exactly as big as it is, and let your breath be exactly as slow as it is. They can coexist.
36. 7:38Let your belly rise first, then your chest, then the tops of your lungs.
37. 7:52the frustration of not sleeping may quiet down, or it may not. Either is fine. We are practising staying, not performing calm.
38. 8:10If a worry shows up, name it quietly and let it sit beside you.
39. 8:24Notice anything you're holding onto from earlier today.
40. 8:35I'll be quiet for a moment. Stay with the breath.
41. 8:47When something arrives, label it quietly — thinking, hearing, planning, worrying — then return to the breath.
42. 9:02No need to open your eyes yet.
43. 9:12Notice the quiet you made, and let it close gently.
44. 9:24Let your eyes open when they're ready, not when the words end.

Questions people ask

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