sleep · 3 min
3-minute grounding meditation for insomnia, on the morning of an interview
Slow, spoken guidance for insomnia. A grounding session you can do on the morning of an interview.
Press start. This is a quiet space — no music, no ads, just a voice and some room to breathe.
A quiet voice reads the session aloud in your browser — nothing is recorded. You can switch the voice off and follow the text instead.
About this practice
Slow, spoken guidance for insomnia. A grounding session you can do on the morning of an interview. A guided session of about 3 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 before an interview
- Do it where you will not be interrupted, even if that is a stairwell
- Have the first sentence of your answer ready afterwards
- Keep it short — there is no time for a long session
Nerves before an interview are normal and not something to eliminate. You need access to what you know, nothing more.
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
- 0:00Then find the nearest sound. It's probably your own breathing.
- 0:12Come back to the solid things: weight, temperature, surface. They are always available.
- 0:25We'll work through this slowly. If you lose the thread, the thread will wait.
- 0:39Count four breaths silently. Then stop counting and just follow.
- 0:51Notice your breathing getting quieter on its own, without you deciding anything.
- 1:04Move to your forehead. Let it be smooth instead of gathered.
- 1:16Let 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.
- 1:36When 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.
- 1:55Feel the slight stretch at the very bottom of the exhale.
- 2:07Give the wide-awake mind at 2am a shape, a colour, a temperature. Turning it into something specific makes it easier to hold.
- 2:25If your mind is quiet, don't grab at it. Quiet comes and goes too.
- 2:39If your mind has gone somewhere else, the floor under you has not moved. Start from there.
- 2:54Let the quiet end on its own rather than cutting it off.
Questions people ask
What does this session help with?
Insomnia is often maintained by the fear of not sleeping. Anticipating a bad night raises arousal at bedtime, which produces the bad night. Removing the pressure to sleep is the active ingredient. This gives you something to do that is not trying.
Where and when should I do this one?
Do it where you will not be interrupted, even if that is a stairwell. Nerves before an interview are normal and not something to eliminate. You need access to what you know, nothing more.
What actually happens during the 3 minutes?
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.
Meditation is a practice, not a treatment. If you are dealing with ongoing distress, please also reach out to a professional.
If this one is not quite right, try Gratitude meditation for being present (12 min), in a waiting room, Overwhelm: 7-minute self-compassion meditation, on your commute or 7-minute gratitude meditation for self-doubt, when you are at your limit.