Meditation for insomnia: 15-minute noting session, in the hour before an exam

About this practice

Nothing to learn and nothing to fix: 15 minutes of noting for insomnia, in the hour before an exam. A guided session of about 15 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 before an exam

• Do it outside the hall, before you go in
• Do not revise during it — that raises the noise
• Aim to arrive early and steady rather than late and reading

Last-minute revision mostly raises arousal without adding recall. Arriving settled is worth more.

How noting works

Noting is a technique from insight practice: when something arises, you give it a single plain label — thinking, hearing, planning — and return to the anchor. The label creates a small distance between you and the content.

• Use one word, not a sentence — explaining means you have joined in
• Label and return; do not follow the thought to see where it goes
• Drop the labelling if it becomes effortful and just follow the breath

What happens, minute by minute

1. 0:00If you're lying down, let the mattress hold all of you. You can stop holding yourself up.
2. 0:15If you only manage half of it, that's half more than nothing.
3. 0:28Let your attention drop to the level of your shoulders and stay there a moment.
4. 0:42Nothing here is a test of concentration. Drifting off is part of it.
5. 0:55Count down from ten, one number per exhale.
6. 1:06Feel the air move past your upper lip. It's the coolest spot on the way in.
7. 1:21Feel your upper back against whatever is behind it.
8. 1:32Let your throat soften. There's nothing to swallow right now.
9. 1:44Let the whole of your left foot be heavy.
10. 1:55Notice the backs of your knees, which you feel more than you think.
11. 2:08Feel the skin around your eyes. Let the muscles behind them go loose.
12. 2:21This is not the last time the counting of hours until morning will visit. That is not bad news. It means you will get more practice.
13. 2:40If you catch yourself fighting the frustration of not sleeping, that is worth noticing. The fight usually costs more than the feeling.
14. 2:58Notice the first breath of the day versus this one. They're the same mechanism.
15. 3:12When 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.
16. 3:31Notice the space around the counting of hours until morning. It is there, even if it is small. Put your attention in that space.
17. 3:50Notice your heels making contact with the floor or the bed.
18. 4:02Stay with it.
19. 4:10Notice where you feel the breath most clearly. Nose, chest, or belly — pick one and stay there.
20. 4:26Feel your calves, front and back.
21. 4:36Just the breath, still.
22. 4:45Let the out-breath be a little longer than the in-breath, without forcing it.
23. 4:58Feel your heart somewhere in there, doing its work without instructions.
24. 5:10No need to open your eyes yet.
25. 5:20Feel the last part of the exhale, where it turns into nothing.
26. 5:33Notice your jaw again. Let your back teeth part slightly.
27. 5:45Take the next breath slowly.
28. 5:54Notice the difference between the breath at the front of your nose and the breath in your chest.
29. 6:10Notice your whole body as one shape, sitting or lying here.
30. 6:22Remain here for a few more breaths.
31. 6:32Let the breath be slow enough that you can hear it, just barely.
32. 6:45Feel your palms. Warm or cool, either is fine.
33. 6:56Let this one be unhurried.
34. 7:05A few seconds of nothing now. That's on purpose.
35. 7:16Let this be easy, if easy is available.
36. 7:27If you're replaying a conversation, let it play. It'll finish on its own.
37. 7:40Silence for a few breaths. Nothing to do in it.
38. 7:52Small efforts are the whole method.
39. 8:02If a worry shows up, name it quietly and let it sit beside you.
40. 8:16Let me stop talking. Follow the breath instead.
41. 8:27Nothing here needs to be efficient.
42. 8:37If your body wants to move, let it move, then come back.
43. 8:50I'll step back. You stay here.
44. 9:00There's no need to try harder than this.
45. 9:11If you feel emotional, you don't have to explain it to anyone, including yourself.
46. 9:25Quiet now. The next part will wait for you.
47. 9:36You can be as unimpressive as you like for the next few minutes.
48. 9:49If you're judging your performance, that's the same habit as judging everything else.
49. 10:02No words for a moment. Only the next breath.
50. 10:13We'll take this slowly, and there's no version of this where you get it wrong.
51. 10:27If your mind is quiet, don't grab at it. Quiet comes and goes too.
52. 10:41Follow three breaths and let the fourth one go unobserved.
53. 10:53Nothing to follow for a moment except your own breathing.
54. 11:05There is no correct amount of the frustration of not sleeping to be feeling right now. Whatever is here is the honest amount.
55. 11:23Each time your mind hands you the wide-awake mind at 2am, treat it like a leaf on a stream. Present for a moment, then carried on.
56. 11:42Notice the breath you're taking right now. That's the only one that exists.
57. 11:55Let the exhale carry a little of the counting of hours until morning with it. Not all of it. Just a little, one breath at a time.
58. 12:15Imagine the frustration of not sleeping as a room you can walk out of for a minute. The room will still be there.
59. 12:33Let your breathing be boring. Boring is good here.
60. 12:44If you're thinking about the next thing on your list, that list will still be there.
61. 12:59Notice how you're sitting. Adjust if you need to. Then settle again.
62. 13:12Notice anything you're holding onto from earlier today.
63. 13:23I'll leave a gap here. Use it however you like.
64. 13:35We'll keep it quiet and unhurried.
65. 13:45Stay a moment longer than is comfortable.
66. 13:55Wiggle your fingers and toes, gently, like you're testing that they still work.
67. 14:08Come back to your body first, and the rest of the day second.
68. 14:21A few seconds more.

Questions people ask

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