Gratitude for sleep: 12 minutes, on the morning of an interview

About this practice

12 minutes to meet sleep with less of a fight. A gratitude practice, on the morning of an interview. A guided session of about 12 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 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 gratitude works

Gratitude here is an attention practice, not a demand for a positive mood. Attention defaults to threats because they are urgent, so pleasant and ordinary things get skipped simply for being safe.

• Pick one ordinary thing rather than something impressive
• Stay with it for two breaths — depth beats length of list
• Do not aim at feeling grateful; aim at noticing

What happens, minute by minute

1. 0:00Check your hands. Are they doing anything? Let them stop.
2. 0:12Nothing here needs to be efficient.
3. 0:22Let your body be exactly as tired as it is.
4. 0:34Notice your own pulse somewhere. Wrist, throat, wherever you can find it.
5. 0:47Notice where you feel the breath most clearly. Nose, chest, or belly — pick one and stay there.
6. 1:03Let the out-breath be a little longer than the in-breath, without forcing it.
7. 1:16Notice your hands again. Check whether they've loosened on their own.
8. 1:28Feel your ankles. Let them be loose.
9. 1:38Notice the weight of your thighs, all the way down.
10. 1:50Feel your calves, front and back.
11. 2:00Each time your mind hands you the quiet your mind keeps postponing, treat it like a leaf on a stream. Present for a moment, then carried on.
12. 2:20If the heaviness your body already knows is loud right now, make your attention smaller. Just the next breath. Nothing beyond it.
13. 2:38Breathe as if you had all evening. There's no rush in this part.
14. 2:51If your body wants to move, let it move, then come back.
15. 3:04We'll keep it quiet and unhurried.
16. 3:14Quiet for a moment. No need to fill it.
17. 3:25If you're counting the minutes, that's fine. Count them and come back.
18. 3:38Let this be easy, if easy is available.
19. 3:49Let me stop talking. Follow the breath instead.
20. 4:00If a song is stuck in your head, let it play in the background.
21. 4:14If you only manage half of it, that's half more than nothing.
22. 4:27A few seconds of nothing now. That's on purpose.
23. 4:38If you're irritated, that's allowed. Irritation is just weather.
24. 4:49We'll take this slowly, and there's no version of this where you get it wrong.
25. 5:03Let's rest here in silence. It's short.
26. 5:13If you're bored, stay with the boredom for a moment. It's usually thinner than it looks.
27. 5:28Small efforts are the whole method.
28. 5:38Start at the top of your head. Notice the scalp, which you almost never notice.
29. 5:52Breathe in through your nose and out through your nose, if that's comfortable.
30. 6:05Stay a moment longer than is comfortable.
31. 6:15Notice your eyebrows. They're probably doing something small right now.
32. 6:27Notice if your breathing is faster than you expected. Don't correct it. Just note it.
33. 6:41Let your body keep settling.
34. 6:50Notice your breathing, without changing it.
35. 7:00Let the exhale empty you a little more than usual, but not to the point of strain.
36. 7:15Just the breath, still.
37. 7:24Feel your palms. Warm or cool, either is fine.
38. 7:35Feel the air move past your upper lip. It's the coolest spot on the way in.
39. 7:50No rush to move on.
40. 7:59Feel the front of your chest. Notice it rise and fall once.
41. 8:12Give the day folding itself up a shape, a colour, a temperature. Turning it into something specific makes it easier to hold.
42. 8:30A gap. Don't rush to fill it with thinking.
43. 8:41Imagine softening the edges of the quiet your mind keeps postponing. Not erasing it, just letting the sharp parts go a degree softer.
44. 8:59Let your ribs widen on the in-breath instead of your shoulders lifting.
45. 9:12If the heaviness your body already knows has been with you all day, it is probably tired too. Let it rest alongside you.
46. 9:30Notice the space around the day folding itself up. It is there, even if it is small. Put your attention in that space.
47. 9:48Let your belly rise first, then your chest, then the tops of your lungs.
48. 10:02If nothing much is happening, that's not a problem. Nothing much is often the point.
49. 10:16If your mind is quiet, don't grab at it. Quiet comes and goes too.
50. 10:30I'll leave a gap here. Use it however you like.
51. 10:42You can be as unimpressive as you like for the next few minutes.
52. 10:55Take the next breath slowly.
53. 11:04Before you move, notice one thing that's fine right now.
54. 11:16When you stand up, do it slowly. There's no reason to hurry.

Questions people ask

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