7-minute letting go meditation for sleep, when you are overwhelmed

About this practice

When sleep shows up when you are overwhelmed, this 7-minute letting go session gives you somewhere to put it down. A guided session of about 7 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 when you are overwhelmed

• Do not decide priorities during it
• Pick the shortest session available here
• When you finish, write down the first physical action on paper

The pile looks less like a pile once the alarm stops ringing. Sort it after, not during.

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

1. 0:00Unclench your jaw. You were probably holding it without noticing.
2. 0:12With each exhale, let a little of the effort go. Not the problem — just the effort.
3. 0:27Settle into the fact that for the next few minutes, nothing is required of you.
4. 0:41Let your body be exactly as tired as it is.
5. 0:53If you're holding your breath at the top, stop. There's no need to hold anything.
6. 1:07Notice how many breaths you take in a minute. Don't change the number, just check.
7. 1:21Notice your toes, starting with the big one on the left.
8. 1:33Notice your wrists. They bend a lot in a day.
9. 1:45Feel your forearms, from the elbow down to the wrist.
10. 1:57Let the exhale carry a little of the day folding itself up with it. Not all of it. Just a little, one breath at a time.
11. 2:16Remind yourself, slowly: I am safe in this moment, even while the quiet your mind keeps postponing is here. Safety and difficulty can share a room.
12. 2:35Feel your tongue sitting in the bottom of your mouth.
13. 2:47Take the next breath slowly.
14. 2:56Let the breath be slow enough that you can hear it, just barely.
15. 3:09Feel your face. It's probably softer than it was five minutes ago.
16. 3:22If a worry shows up, name it quietly and let it sit beside you.
17. 3:36Quiet for a moment. No need to fill it.
18. 3:47Setting something down is not the same as giving up. You can pick it up again after.
19. 4:02If you feel restless, that's a feeling, not a failure.
20. 4:14Let the breath move at the speed of a sleeping person.
21. 4:26No words for a moment. Only the next breath.
22. 4:37You are allowed to be unimpressed by the heaviness your body already knows. Indifference is a legitimate response.
23. 4:53Notice the space around the day folding itself up. It is there, even if it is small. Put your attention in that space.
24. 5:11Breathe as if you had all evening. There's no rush in this part.
25. 5:24If a song is stuck in your head, let it play in the background.
26. 5:38If you're replaying a conversation, let it play. It'll finish on its own.
27. 5:51A short silence. Let it be empty.
28. 6:01Pick one thing you are gripping — a plan, a worry, a grudge — and loosen a single finger.
29. 6:17Let your eyes open when they're ready, not when the words end.
30. 6:30Wiggle your fingers and toes, gently, like you're testing that they still work.

Questions people ask

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