Noting meditation for insomnia (3 min), before an appointment

About this practice

For the times before an appointment when insomnia takes up more room than you would like — 3 minutes, noting. A guided session of about 3 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 in a waiting room

• You can do this with your eyes open and your hands where they are
• Nothing here needs to look like a meditation
• Aim for steadiness rather than calm

Waiting feeds the dread it is meant to relieve. Having something specific to do with the time is the useful part.

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. 0:00Sit however you were already sitting. You don't have to straighten up first.
2. 0:13You are the one noticing, not the thing being noticed. Stay on that side of the line.
3. 0:28For the next few minutes, the only job is to notice what's already happening.
4. 0:42Breathe as if you had all evening. There's no rush in this part.
5. 0:55Notice how many breaths you take in a minute. Don't change the number, just check.
6. 1:09Feel your upper back against whatever is behind it.
7. 1:20Notice the space around the frustration of not sleeping. It is there, even if it is small. Put your attention in that space.
8. 1:38Each 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.
9. 1:57Feel the pause at the top of the in-breath. It's shorter than you think.
10. 2:11the counting of hours until morning may quiet down, or it may not. Either is fine. We are practising staying, not performing calm.
11. 2:29If you're bored, stay with the boredom for a moment. It's usually thinner than it looks.
12. 2:44When something arrives, label it quietly — thinking, hearing, planning, worrying — then return to the breath.
13. 2:59Start to notice the edges of your body again, and the surface you're on.

Questions people ask

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