Insomnia: 12-minute body scan meditation, late at night

About this practice

A 12-minute body scan session for insomnia, late at night. No app, no account — press start. A guided session of about 12 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 at night

• Skip the clock — knowing the time rarely helps at night
• Keep the room dark, and use headphones rather than a speaker
• Expect to be awake for a while without treating that as a problem

Any practice at night works better with the display off. Looking at a screen resets the whole thing.

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. 0:00Put both feet flat on the floor and let them take some of the weight.
2. 0:14Visit each area with plain curiosity, not with a verdict. Sensation is information, not a problem.
3. 0:29We'll work through this slowly. If you lose the thread, the thread will wait.
4. 0:43You can let your eyes close now if they weren't already.
5. 0:55Breathe as if you had all evening. There's no rush in this part.
6. 1:08Follow three breaths and let the fourth one go unobserved.
7. 1:20Now feel both feet at once. That's a lot of contact with the world.
8. 1:34Feel your knees. They're just hinges, but they've worked hard.
9. 1:46Notice your ribs on both sides. Wide, not squeezed.
10. 1:57Notice your shoulders, one at a time. The left one first.
11. 2:09If the counting of hours until morning starts telling you a story, let the story finish without you adding to it.
12. 2:26Imagine the frustration of not sleeping as a room you can walk out of for a minute. The room will still be there.
13. 2:44Breathe in for four, out for six, if you'd like something to count.
14. 2:57If you're replaying a conversation, let it play. It'll finish on its own.
15. 3:10Start at the crown of the head and move down slowly. Do not skip to the parts that hurt.
16. 3:26Let's rest here in silence. It's short.
17. 3:36If your mind has wandered, that's not a mistake. Noticing is the practice.
18. 3:49We will travel down through the body, one region at a time, and leave each one softer than we found it.
19. 4:06A few quiet breaths. That's all this is.
20. 4:17If your body wants to move, let it move, then come back.
21. 4:30If a region feels numb, that is a finding too. Note it and move on.
22. 4:44Let's pause. Just the breathing for a while.
23. 4:55If you're distracted by a sound, let the sound be the object for a moment.
24. 5:09Move at the speed of your attention, not the speed of a checklist. There is no schedule to keep.
25. 5:25Quiet for a moment. No need to fill it.
26. 5:36Notice the difference between a thought and the space around it.
27. 5:48Let the in-breath be short and the out-breath unhurried.
28. 5:59Keep following the air.
29. 6:08Notice the small movement in your belly when you breathe.
30. 6:20Notice if your breathing is faster than you expected. Don't correct it. Just note it.
31. 6:34Stay with it.
32. 6:42Notice the backs of your knees, which you feel more than you think.
33. 6:55Notice that you don't have to start a breath. It arrives by itself.
34. 7:08Just the breath, still.
35. 7:17Now the right shoulder. Let it be a centimetre lower than it was.
36. 7:30Notice how many breaths you take in a minute. Don't change the number, just check.
37. 7:44No rush to move on.
38. 7:53Notice your lower back. Let it curve however it curves.
39. 8:05Notice where the wide-awake mind at 2am lives in your body. Chest, throat, stomach. Rest your attention there without trying to change it.
40. 8:23I'll step back. You stay here.
41. 8:33Picture the counting of hours until morning as a weather front passing over. You are not the weather. You are the sky it moves through.
42. 8:52Feel the slight stretch at the very bottom of the exhale.
43. 9:04When the frustration of not sleeping arrives, name it once, quietly, and go back to the breath. Naming is not fixing, and that is fine.
44. 9:23When the wide-awake mind at 2am presses in, put a hand on your chest or your belly. Warmth and pressure are anchors your body already trusts.
45. 9:42Let the exhale fall out rather than pushing it.
46. 9:53If you feel emotional, you don't have to explain it to anyone, including yourself.
47. 10:07Notice if your attention is in the future. Bring it back to the room.
48. 10:21A few seconds of nothing now. That's on purpose.
49. 10:32Your only job is to notice what is there, region by region, without fixing anything.
50. 10:46Remain here for a few more breaths.
51. 10:56Let the last of the stillness stay with you for a few more seconds.
52. 11:10Notice your feet on the floor. That's where you start from.
53. 11:22Stay here a little longer.

Questions people ask

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