15-minute self-compassion meditation for insomnia, when the news hits hard

About this practice

Slow, spoken guidance for insomnia. A self-compassion session you can do when the news hits hard. A guided session of about 15 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 self-compassion works

Self-compassion practice changes the tone of the inner voice rather than the content of the thoughts. It uses the same warmth and steadiness you would offer a friend, applied without requiring you to have earned it.

• Use the words you would actually say to someone you love
• Ask what you need, not what you deserve
• A hand on the chest or belly gives warmth and pressure a place to land

What happens, minute by minute

1. 0:00Feel your ribs move. That is all the machinery you need to pay attention to right now.
2. 0:15Let this be easy, if easy is available.
3. 0:26Settle into the fact that for the next few minutes, nothing is required of you.
4. 0:40You can think about other things. When you notice, come back. That's the whole practice.
5. 0:54Let your breathing be boring. Boring is good here.
6. 1:05Notice the difference between the breath at the front of your nose and the breath in your chest.
7. 1:21Notice your shoulders, one at a time. The left one first.
8. 1:33Now the right shoulder. Let it be a centimetre lower than it was.
9. 1:46Feel the front of your chest. Notice it rise and fall once.
10. 1:59Feel the middle of your back, the part that never gets attention.
11. 2:12Move to your forehead. Let it be smooth instead of gathered.
12. 2:24Imagine softening the edges of the wide-awake mind at 2am. Not erasing it, just letting the sharp parts go a degree softer.
13. 2:42If the counting of hours until morning is loud right now, make your attention smaller. Just the next breath. Nothing beyond it.
14. 3:00Breathe in through your nose and out through your nose, if that's comfortable.
15. 3:13There is a part of you that has handled hard moments before. That part is here now, even if it is quiet.
16. 3:31This is not the last time the wide-awake mind at 2am will visit. That is not bad news. It means you will get more practice.
17. 3:50Feel your forearms, from the elbow down to the wrist.
18. 4:02No rush to move on.
19. 4:11Let the breath move at the speed of a sleeping person.
20. 4:23Let the whole of your left foot be heavy.
21. 4:34Stay here a little longer.
22. 4:43Let your ribs widen on the in-breath instead of your shoulders lifting.
23. 4:56Notice your elbows. Odd things to have, but there they are.
24. 5:08Nothing changes for a moment.
25. 5:17Count four breaths silently. Then stop counting and just follow.
26. 5:29Feel your palms. Warm or cool, either is fine.
27. 5:40Let your body keep settling.
28. 5:49Let the breath be shallow if shallow is what your body wants.
29. 6:02Feel the skin around your eyes. Let the muscles behind them go loose.
30. 6:15No need to open your eyes yet.
31. 6:25Feel the last part of the exhale, where it turns into nothing.
32. 6:38Notice the backs of your knees, which you feel more than you think.
33. 6:51Keep following the air.
34. 7:00Feel the pause at the top of the in-breath. It's shorter than you think.
35. 7:14Pause here. Count three breaths if you need an anchor.
36. 7:26If you only manage half of it, that's half more than nothing.
37. 7:39Notice the pull to make this mean something. It doesn't have to.
38. 7:52No words for a moment. Only the next breath.
39. 8:03There's no need to try harder than this.
40. 8:14Notice any tension that arrived while you weren't looking.
41. 8:25I'll step back. You stay here.
42. 8:35You can be as unimpressive as you like for the next few minutes.
43. 8:48Notice any part of you that wants this to be over.
44. 9:00A few seconds of nothing now. That's on purpose.
45. 9:11Nothing here needs to be efficient.
46. 9:21If a song is stuck in your head, let it play in the background.
47. 9:35Nothing to follow for a moment except your own breathing.
48. 9:47We'll take this slowly, and there's no version of this where you get it wrong.
49. 10:01If nothing much is happening, that's not a problem. Nothing much is often the point.
50. 10:15I'll be quiet for a moment. Stay with the breath.
51. 10:27We'll keep it quiet and unhurried.
52. 10:37If a worry shows up, name it quietly and let it sit beside you.
53. 10:51Let the breath be slow enough that you can hear it, just barely.
54. 11:04Quiet now. The next part will wait for you.
55. 11:15Imagine the counting of hours until morning as a room you can walk out of for a minute. The room will still be there.
56. 11:34the frustration of not sleeping may quiet down, or it may not. Either is fine. We are practising staying, not performing calm.
57. 11:52Notice the breath you're taking right now. That's the only one that exists.
58. 12:05You are allowed to be unimpressed by the wide-awake mind at 2am. Indifference is a legitimate response.
59. 12:20You do not have to win against the counting of hours until morning. You only have to breathe until the next moment arrives.
60. 12:38Notice the small gap after each exhale. Rest there for half a second.
61. 12:51Notice how you're sitting. Adjust if you need to. Then settle again.
62. 13:04Notice any urge to check something. You can wait two more minutes.
63. 13:17Notice if you're being hard on yourself about any of this.
64. 13:29I'll stop for a moment. Take the pause at your own speed.
65. 13:42Small efforts are the whole method.
66. 13:52Remain here for a few more breaths.
67. 14:02Take your time opening your eyes. Nothing is waiting urgently.
68. 14:14Let your breathing go back to whatever it does when nobody is watching.

Questions people ask

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