7-minute breathing meditation for falling asleep, before an appointment

About this practice

For the times before an appointment when falling asleep takes up more room than you would like — 7 minutes, breathing. A guided session of about 7 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: falling asleep

Falling asleep is a passive process. The harder you aim at it, the further it moves, because the effort itself is arousal.

It tends to show up as:

• Watching the clock
• Getting frustrated at being awake
• Sleep only arriving after giving up

Attention on something boring and continuous is the oldest trick there is. That is all a sleep story is doing.

Doing this in a waiting room

• You can do this with your eyes open and your hands where they are
• Nothing here needs to look like a meditation
• Aim for steadiness rather than calm

Waiting feeds the dread it is meant to relieve. Having something specific to do with the time is the useful part.

How breathing works

A breathing practice uses the breath as the object of attention and as the control lever. Because exhaling slows the heart through the vagus nerve, it acts on the nervous system directly rather than through thinking.

• Keep the exhale longer than the inhale — that is the active ingredient
• Count the exhales and start again whenever you lose count
• Do not force depth; let the breath find its own level

What happens, minute by minute

1. 0:00Let the first out-breath be longer than the in-breath. Nothing dramatic, just longer.
2. 0:13Follow the air from the nostrils down to the belly, then back out. One full trip at a time.
3. 0:29If it helps, imagine your attention is a torch beam. Right now it's wide and soft.
4. 0:44Let the breath get a little quieter, as if you were trying not to wake someone sleeping nearby.
5. 1:00Count four breaths silently. Then stop counting and just follow.
6. 1:12Let your ribs widen on the in-breath instead of your shoulders lifting.
7. 1:25Feel your forearms, from the elbow down to the wrist.
8. 1:37Feel your heart somewhere in there, doing its work without instructions.
9. 1:49Notice your pelvis resting on the surface below you.
10. 2:00Notice how the slow drift toward sleep changes shape when you stop resisting it. Usually it gets smaller, not bigger.
11. 2:17Notice the space around the thoughts that keep the light on. It is there, even if it is small. Put your attention in that space.
12. 2:36Feel the back of your neck. That's a place that holds a lot.
13. 2:49Stay a moment longer than is comfortable.
14. 2:59Let the exhale fall out rather than pushing it.
15. 3:10Notice your shoulders, one at a time. The left one first.
16. 3:22If you're replaying a conversation, let it play. It'll finish on its own.
17. 3:35A gap. Don't rush to fill it with thinking.
18. 3:46Your anchor for the next few minutes is the breath itself. Nothing else needs following.
19. 4:00Notice the pull to make this mean something. It doesn't have to.
20. 4:13Follow three breaths and let the fourth one go unobserved.
21. 4:25A few seconds of nothing now. That's on purpose.
22. 4:36Give the surrender at the end of the day a shape, a colour, a temperature. Turning it into something specific makes it easier to hold.
23. 4:55This is not the last time the slow drift toward sleep will visit. That is not bad news. It means you will get more practice.
24. 5:14Feel the air move past your upper lip. It's the coolest spot on the way in.
25. 5:29Notice if you've been frowning at your own thoughts.
26. 5:40If you feel restless, that's a feeling, not a failure.
27. 5:52Let's pause. Just the breathing for a while.
28. 6:03Keep the exhale a little longer than the inhale. That is the entire technique.
29. 6:17Take one breath that's a little fuller than the others, and let it out through your mouth.
30. 6:32Let your breathing be completely ordinary again.

Questions people ask

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