12-minute guided body scan practice for health anxiety — as sleep prep

About this practice

When health anxiety shows up as sleep prep, this 12-minute body scan session gives you somewhere to put it down. A guided session of about 12 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: health anxiety

Health anxiety runs on a loop of scanning and checking. Each check briefly relieves the fear and then strengthens it, because the relief teaches the brain that checking was necessary.

It tends to show up as:

• Repeatedly checking a symptom or a pulse
• Searching symptoms late at night
• Reassurance that only helps for an hour

Attention moved out of the head and into the body as a whole reduces scanning. You are not arguing with the worry, just giving it less to grip.

Doing this before sleep

• Dim the lights and put the phone out of reach
• Do it in bed if that helps you stay there
• Let yourself fall asleep rather than finishing it

Checking anything afterwards undoes most of it. Let this be the last thing.

How body scan works

A body scan moves attention systematically through the body, region by region. It does not try to change what it finds — it builds a map of what is actually there, which is often different from what you assumed.

• Move slowly, head to feet or feet to head, and do not skip the uncomfortable areas
• Meet each region with plain curiosity rather than a verdict
• Numbness and absence of sensation are findings too

What happens, minute by minute

1. 0:00Sit however you were already sitting. You don't have to straighten up first.
2. 0:13Let this be easy, if easy is available.
3. 0:24We'll be quiet for a bit longer than usual. Stay with whatever shows up.
4. 0:38Let your attention drop to the level of your shoulders and stay there a moment.
5. 0:52Notice where you feel the breath most clearly. Nose, chest, or belly — pick one and stay there.
6. 1:08Breathe as if you had all evening. There's no rush in this part.
7. 1:21Let the whole of your left foot be heavy.
8. 1:32Let your whole body be as heavy as it wants to be.
9. 1:45Feel the outline of yourself, from the top of your head to your heels.
10. 1:59Notice the space between your shoulder blades.
11. 2:09This is not the last time the worry about what your body might be telling you will visit. That is not bad news. It means you will get more practice.
12. 2:30Let the exhale carry a little of the habit of checking for something wrong with it. Not all of it. Just a little, one breath at a time.
13. 2:50Let the exhale empty you a little more than usual, but not to the point of strain.
14. 3:05If you're counting the minutes, that's fine. Count them and come back.
15. 3:18Nothing here needs to be efficient.
16. 3:28Quiet for a moment. No need to fill it.
17. 3:39Notice the difference between a thought and the space around it.
18. 3:51There's no need to try harder than this.
19. 4:02A short silence. Let it be empty.
20. 4:12Notice the exact moment your attention left. You probably won't catch it. That's normal.
21. 4:26Small efforts are the whole method.
22. 4:36Let's rest here in silence. It's short.
23. 4:46If you're replaying a conversation, let it play. It'll finish on its own.
24. 4:59We'll take this slowly, and there's no version of this where you get it wrong.
25. 5:13A few quiet breaths. That's all this is.
26. 5:24Notice any tension that arrived while you weren't looking.
27. 5:35Notice your wrists. They bend a lot in a day.
28. 5:47Let the breath move at the speed of a sleeping person.
29. 5:59A few seconds more.
30. 6:08Notice your ribs on both sides. Wide, not squeezed.
31. 6:19Let each breath out be a small letting go of the muscles around your ribs.
32. 6:33Just the breath, still.
33. 6:42Notice your shoulders, one at a time. The left one first.
34. 6:54Let the out-breath be a little longer than the in-breath, without forcing it.
35. 7:07Stay here a little longer.
36. 7:16Notice the weight of your thighs, all the way down.
37. 7:28Let the exhale fall out rather than pushing it.
38. 7:39Let this one be unhurried.
39. 7:48Start at the top of your head. Notice the scalp, which you almost never notice.
40. 8:02the fear attached to each new symptom may quiet down, or it may not. Either is fine. We are practising staying, not performing calm.
41. 8:21Nothing to follow for a moment except your own breathing.
42. 8:33Picture the worry about what your body might be telling you as a weather front passing over. You are not the weather. You are the sky it moves through.
43. 8:54Breathe in through your nose and out through your nose, if that's comfortable.
44. 9:07Notice how the habit of checking for something wrong changes shape when you stop resisting it. Usually it gets smaller, not bigger.
45. 9:25If the fear attached to each new symptom has been with you all day, it is probably tired too. Let it rest alongside you.
46. 9:44Feel the air move past your upper lip. It's the coolest spot on the way in.
47. 9:59If a song is stuck in your head, let it play in the background.
48. 10:13Notice how quickly your mind labels things: good, bad, boring, nice.
49. 10:25No words for a moment. Only the next breath.
50. 10:36We'll keep it quiet and unhurried.
51. 10:46Keep following the air.
52. 10:55If you're going straight back to work, take ten seconds at the doorway first.
53. 11:09When you stand up, do it slowly. There's no reason to hurry.
54. 11:22No need to open your eyes yet.

Questions people ask

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