Anxiety: 7-minute body scan meditation, in the hour before sleep

About this practice

For the times in the hour before sleep when anxiety takes up more room than you would like — 7 minutes, body scan. A guided session of about 7 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: anxiety

Anxiety is your nervous system treating a thought as a threat. Adrenaline and cortisol rise, the heart speeds up, and the body prepares to act on a danger that is mostly in the future.

It tends to show up as:

• A tight chest or a knot in the stomach
• Feeling keyed up but unable to say why
• Checking things more than once

Slow exhaling directly signals safety to the vagus nerve, which is why breathing is the fastest route down from a spike.

Doing this before bed

• Do it in bed or somewhere you can move straight to bed after
• Lower the light, and do not check anything afterwards
• If you fall asleep before the end, it worked

Falling asleep mid-session is a success, not a failure to complete it.

How body scan works

A body scan moves attention systematically through the body, region by region. It does not try to change what it finds — it builds a map of what is actually there, which is often different from what you assumed.

• Move slowly, head to feet or feet to head, and do not skip the uncomfortable areas
• Meet each region with plain curiosity rather than a verdict
• Numbness and absence of sensation are findings too

What happens, minute by minute

1. 0:00Let your forehead smooth out. Most of us hold a small frown there all day.
2. 0:14Your only job is to notice what is there, region by region, without fixing anything.
3. 0:28Notice the pause at the end of each breath. It's short, but it's there.
4. 0:42Let the rhythm of your breathing set the pace, not the words.
5. 0:55Let your ribs widen on the in-breath instead of your shoulders lifting.
6. 1:08Breathe as if you had all evening. There's no rush in this part.
7. 1:21Let your thumbs rest wherever they landed.
8. 1:31Feel your hips. Wide, heavy, and doing nothing.
9. 1:42Notice your whole body as one shape, sitting or lying here.
10. 1:54This is not the last time that tight feeling that something is wrong will visit. That is not bad news. It means you will get more practice.
11. 2:14Picture the hum of anxiety as a weather front passing over. You are not the weather. You are the sky it moves through.
12. 2:32Notice your shoulders, one at a time. The left one first.
13. 2:44Let this one be unhurried.
14. 2:53Notice the first breath of the day versus this one. They're the same mechanism.
15. 3:07Notice the exact moment your attention left. You probably won't catch it. That's normal.
16. 3:21Quiet now. The next part will wait for you.
17. 3:32Visit each area with plain curiosity, not with a verdict. Sensation is information, not a problem.
18. 3:47If you're sleepy, sit up a little. Or let the sleepiness be there.
19. 4:00Let your shoulders stay still while your ribs move.
20. 4:11I'll stop for a moment. Take the pause at your own speed.
21. 4:24Notice how the alarm in your body changes shape when you stop resisting it. Usually it gets smaller, not bigger.
22. 4:41the restless edge of worry may quiet down, or it may not. Either is fine. We are practising staying, not performing calm.
23. 4:59Let the out-breath be a little longer than the in-breath, without forcing it.
24. 5:12If you're distracted by a sound, let the sound be the object for a moment.
25. 5:26Notice if you've been frowning at your own thoughts.
26. 5:37I'll be quiet for a moment. Stay with the breath.
27. 5:49We will travel down through the body, one region at a time, and leave each one softer than we found it.
28. 6:06Before you open your eyes, notice how you feel compared to the start. It might be small.
29. 6:21Notice your feet on the floor. That's where you start from.
30. 6:33Let the pause stretch out.

Questions people ask

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