Noting meditation for waking up (10 min), in the hour before sleep

About this practice

For the times in the hour before sleep when waking up takes up more room than you would like — 10 minutes, noting. A guided session of about 10 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: waking up

On waking, the brain passes through a slow transition rather than switching on. Rushing it leaves you foggy for the first hour.

It tends to show up as:

• Needing a long time to feel awake
• Foggy, irritable mornings
• The day starting before you are ready

Giving the body a few unhurried minutes at the start changes the tone of everything that follows.

Doing this before bed

• Do it in bed or somewhere you can move straight to bed after
• Lower the light, and do not check anything afterwards
• If you fall asleep before the end, it worked

Falling asleep mid-session is a success, not a failure to complete it.

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. 0:00Notice where your body touches the chair. That contact is doing more for you than it looks.
2. 0:15If noting feels like too much, drop it and just follow the breath. The label is optional.
3. 0:30Settle into the fact that for the next few minutes, nothing is required of you.
4. 0:44Imagine your thoughts as traffic on a road you're standing beside. You don't have to flag any of it down.
5. 1:01Let the exhale empty you a little more than usual, but not to the point of strain.
6. 1:16Breathe in for four, out for six, if you'd like something to count.
7. 1:29Now feel both feet at once. That's a lot of contact with the world.
8. 1:43Feel your hips. Wide, heavy, and doing nothing.
9. 1:54Notice the small movement in your belly when you breathe.
10. 2:06Let the whole of your right foot be heavy.
11. 2:17You have been carrying the fog of just-woken for a while. You can set it down for the length of this session and pick it up after.
12. 2:37If the morning body that needs a moment starts telling you a story, let the story finish without you adding to it.
13. 2:55Notice how you're sitting. Adjust if you need to. Then settle again.
14. 3:08You are the one noticing, not the thing being noticed. Stay on that side of the line.
15. 3:23Nothing to follow for a moment except your own breathing.
16. 3:35If you're judging your performance, that's the same habit as judging everything else.
17. 3:48Notice the gap between the label and the next thought. That gap is what we are practising.
18. 4:03A short silence. Let it be empty.
19. 4:13Notice anything you're holding onto from earlier today.
20. 4:24Use one plain word, not a sentence. The moment you explain, you have joined in.
21. 4:38I'll leave a gap here. Use it however you like.
22. 4:50Let your breathing be boring. Boring is good here.
23. 5:01Let the pause stretch out.
24. 5:10Feel your upper arms hanging. They're heavier than you remember.
25. 5:22Let each breath out be a small letting go of the muscles around your ribs.
26. 5:36Just the breath, still.
27. 5:45Move to your forehead. Let it be smooth instead of gathered.
28. 5:57Follow three breaths and let the fourth one go unobserved.
29. 6:09No rush to move on.
30. 6:18Notice your ribs on both sides. Wide, not squeezed.
31. 6:29Feel the last part of the exhale, where it turns into nothing.
32. 6:42I'll stop for a moment. Take the pause at your own speed.
33. 6:55You do not have to like the slow start of the day to breathe through it. Liking was never the requirement.
34. 7:12Nothing about the fog of just-woken has to be explained or justified in this room.
35. 7:26Feel the slight stretch at the very bottom of the exhale.
36. 7:38Each time your mind hands you the morning body that needs a moment, treat it like a leaf on a stream. Present for a moment, then carried on.
37. 7:58If your body wants to move, let it move, then come back.
38. 8:11If you feel numb, that's a valid thing to feel. Nothing to fix.
39. 8:24Let's pause. Just the breathing for a while.
40. 8:35A label is enough. You do not need to follow the thought to see where it goes.
41. 8:50Stay a moment longer than is comfortable.
42. 9:00Before you open your eyes, notice how you feel compared to the start. It might be small.
43. 9:15When you stand up, do it slowly. There's no reason to hurry.
44. 9:28Take the next breath slowly.

Questions people ask

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