20-minute letting go meditation for sleep, in the mid-afternoon

About this practice

For the times in the mid-afternoon when sleep takes up more room than you would like — 20 minutes, letting go. A guided session of about 20 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: sleep

Sleep arrives on a downslope, not on command. Arousal has to fall for some minutes before the switch flips, and trying harder keeps it up.

It tends to show up as:

Getting a second wind at bedtime
Mind starting up as soon as the light goes off
Sleep arriving much later than you intended

The practice is to stop steering. Following a slow voice occupies the part of the mind that would otherwise be trying.

Doing this in the mid-afternoon

Sit upright and open a window if you can
Expect heaviness rather than fighting it
A short session here beats a longer one that never happens

The dip is a normal circadian low. You are riding it out, not correcting a fault.

How letting go works

Letting go is about loosening grip rather than dropping things. It works on the effort attached to a problem — the holding, rehearsing and bracing — which is separable from the problem itself.

Pick one thing you are gripping and loosen a single finger
Release the effort with the exhale, not the issue
Set down temporarily; you can pick it up again after

What happens, minute by minute

0:00Let the floor take your weight through your feet, and stop holding yourself up for a second.
0:15With each exhale, let a little of the effort go. Not the problem — just the effort.
0:30There's no correct speed. Slower isn't better. Steadier is the only aim.
0:43If some part of you is resisting this, that resistance is worth noticing too.
0:57Let your belly rise first, then your chest, then the tops of your lungs.
1:11Breathe in through your nose and out through your nose, if that's comfortable.
1:24Feel your calves, front and back.
1:34Move to your forehead. Let it be smooth instead of gathered.
1:46Now the right shoulder. Let it be a centimetre lower than it was.
1:59Start at the top of your head. Notice the scalp, which you almost never notice.
2:13Notice the backs of your knees, which you feel more than you think.
2:26Nothing about the heaviness your body already knows has to be explained or justified in this room.
2:41You do not have to win against the day folding itself up. You only have to breathe until the next moment arrives.
2:59Let your breathing get quieter rather than deeper.
3:10When the quiet your mind keeps postponing presses in, put a hand on your chest or your belly. Warmth and pressure are anchors your body already trusts.
3:30Remind yourself, slowly: I am safe in this moment, even while the heaviness your body already knows is here. Safety and difficulty can share a room.
3:49Let each breath out be a small letting go of the muscles around your ribs.
4:03Notice if you've been frowning at your own thoughts.
4:14Setting something down is not the same as giving up. You can pick it up again after.
4:29Let me stop talking. Follow the breath instead.
4:40If you feel restless, that's a feeling, not a failure.
4:52Pick one thing you are gripping — a plan, a worry, a grudge — and loosen a single finger.
5:08A short silence. Let it be empty.
5:18If you're sleepy, sit up a little. Or let the sleepiness be there.
5:31You have been carrying this competently for a while. A few minutes off will not undo that.
5:46I'll be quiet for a moment. Stay with the breath.
5:58Notice the moment you realise you've drifted. That moment is the whole skill.
6:11We are not solving anything in the next few minutes. We are setting it down, temporarily.
6:26I'll stop for a moment. Take the pause at your own speed.
6:39If a worry shows up, name it quietly and let it sit beside you.
6:53Stay with it.
7:01Let the breath be shallow if shallow is what your body wants.
7:14Notice your fingers, one by one, starting with the little finger.
7:26Quiet now. The next part will wait for you.
7:37If your mind has wandered, that's not a mistake. Noticing is the practice.
7:50Remain here for a few more breaths.
8:00Let the breath get soft, the way it goes when someone is reading beside you.
8:14Notice your pelvis resting on the surface below you.
8:25I'll step back. You stay here.
8:35If you're bored, stay with the boredom for a moment. It's usually thinner than it looks.
8:50Stay here a little longer.
8:59If you're holding your breath at the top, stop. There's no need to hold anything.
9:13Notice the weight of your thighs, all the way down.
9:25Pause here. Count three breaths if you need an anchor.
9:37Notice the small gap after each exhale. Rest there for half a second.
9:50No rush to move on.
9:59If you've lost track of where we were, you haven't lost anything important.
10:12A few quiet breaths. That's all this is.
10:23Let the whole of your right foot be heavy.
10:34Notice where you feel the breath most clearly. Nose, chest, or belly — pick one and stay there.
10:50Nothing changes for a moment.
10:59Notice how you're sitting. Adjust if you need to. Then settle again.
11:12Nothing to follow for a moment except your own breathing.
11:24Notice your wrists. They bend a lot in a day.
11:36Feel the last part of the exhale, where it turns into nothing.
11:49Take the next breath slowly.
11:58If you're thinking about the next thing on your list, that list will still be there.
12:13No words for a moment. Only the next breath.
12:24Feel your face. It's probably softer than it was five minutes ago.
12:37Notice the small pause before your body decides to breathe in again.
12:50Let the pause stretch out.
12:59Feel your upper arms hanging. They're heavier than you remember.
13:11Feel the slight stretch at the very bottom of the exhale.
13:23Let this one be unhurried.
13:32Feel your forearms, from the elbow down to the wrist.
13:44Feel your breath move down your back, all the way to your lower ribs.
13:58Let your body keep settling.
14:07Feel your tongue sitting in the bottom of your mouth.
14:19Let the breath move at the speed of a sleeping person.
14:31Stay a moment longer than is comfortable.
14:41Let your throat soften. There's nothing to swallow right now.
14:53If the day folding itself up shows up, let it be there without arguing with it. You are not trying to remove it, just to sit beside it.
15:13Quiet for a moment. No need to fill it.
15:24If you catch yourself fighting the quiet your mind keeps postponing, that is worth noticing. The fight usually costs more than the feeling.
15:42Notice your breathing getting quieter on its own, without you deciding anything.
15:55Let the exhale carry a little of the heaviness your body already knows with it. Not all of it. Just a little, one breath at a time.
16:15You are allowed to be unimpressed by the day folding itself up. Indifference is a legitimate response.
16:30Let your shoulders stay still while your ribs move.
16:41You do not have to solve the quiet your mind keeps postponing in these few minutes. Your only job is to keep breathing while it is here.
17:01Each time your mind hands you the heaviness your body already knows, treat it like a leaf on a stream. Present for a moment, then carried on.
17:21Feel the air as it passes the back of your throat. It's cooler going in.
17:35If you're replaying a conversation, let it play. It'll finish on its own.
17:48Notice whether you're breathing or holding. Start breathing again.
17:59Notice the pull to make this mean something. It doesn't have to.
18:12Silence. Let your shoulders drop again if they've crept up.
18:24Ask yourself what you could stop holding for the next sixty seconds. That one is a good start.
18:40A few seconds more.
18:49Stretch whatever feels stiff, then carry on.
18:59When you stand up, do it slowly. There's no reason to hurry.

Questions people ask

What does this session help with?

Sleep arrives on a downslope, not on command. Arousal has to fall for some minutes before the switch flips, and trying harder keeps it up. The practice is to stop steering. Following a slow voice occupies the part of the mind that would otherwise be trying.

Where and when should I do this one?

Sit upright and open a window if you can. The dip is a normal circadian low. You are riding it out, not correcting a fault.

What actually happens during the 20 minutes?

Letting go is about loosening grip rather than dropping things. It works on the effort attached to a problem — the holding, rehearsing and bracing — which is separable from the problem itself.

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