Noting for sleep: 7 minutes, on your commute

About this practice

When sleep shows up on your commute, this 7-minute noting 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 on your commute

• Headphones on, eyes open or closed depending on your comfort
• Keep one part of your attention on your stop
• Do it standing if sitting is not possible — nobody is watching

Commuting time is already dead time. Nothing is being given up.

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. 0:00Check your hands. Are they doing anything? Let them stop.
2. 0:12A label is enough. You do not need to follow the thought to see where it goes.
3. 0:27Everything that happens in the next few minutes is allowed to happen.
4. 0:40Let the rhythm of your breathing set the pace, not the words.
5. 0:53Let your belly rise first, then your chest, then the tops of your lungs.
6. 1:07Follow three breaths and let the fourth one go unobserved.
7. 1:19Notice the small movement in your belly when you breathe.
8. 1:31Notice your hands again. Check whether they've loosened on their own.
9. 1:43Notice your elbows. Odd things to have, but there they are.
10. 1:55You do not have to win against the quiet your mind keeps postponing. You only have to breathe until the next moment arrives.
11. 2:13If you catch yourself fighting the heaviness your body already knows, that is worth noticing. The fight usually costs more than the feeling.
12. 2:31Feel the back of your neck. That's a place that holds a lot.
13. 2:44Let the quiet do its work.
14. 2:54Let the exhale fall out rather than pushing it.
15. 3:05If nothing much is happening, that's not a problem. Nothing much is often the point.
16. 3:19I'll stop for a moment. Take the pause at your own speed.
17. 3:32Notice the gap between the label and the next thought. That gap is what we are practising.
18. 3:47If you're counting the minutes, that's fine. Count them and come back.
19. 4:00Notice the difference between the breath at the front of your nose and the breath in your chest.
20. 4:16Silence. Let your shoulders drop again if they've crept up.
21. 4:28Notice how the day folding itself up changes shape when you stop resisting it. Usually it gets smaller, not bigger.
22. 4:45Notice where the quiet your mind keeps postponing lives in your body. Chest, throat, stomach. Rest your attention there without trying to change it.
23. 5:04Let the breath be slow enough that you can hear it, just barely.
24. 5:17Notice any urge to check something. You can wait two more minutes.
25. 5:30If you feel emotional, you don't have to explain it to anyone, including yourself.
26. 5:44A short silence. Let it be empty.
27. 5:54When something arrives, label it quietly — thinking, hearing, planning, worrying — then return to the breath.
28. 6:09Let the last minute of quiet be the last minute of quiet.
29. 6:22When you stand up, do it slowly. There's no reason to hurry.
30. 6:35Keep following the air.

Questions people ask

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