sleep · 3 min
Self-compassion for insomnia: 3 minutes, on the way out of work
Slow, spoken guidance for insomnia. A self-compassion session you can do on the way out of work.
Press start. This is a quiet space — no music, no ads, just a voice and some room to breathe.
A quiet voice reads the session aloud in your browser — nothing is recorded. You can switch the voice off and follow the text instead.
About this practice
Slow, spoken guidance for insomnia. A self-compassion session you can do on the way out of work. 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 after work
- Change something physical first — shoes off, coat off — so the transition registers
- Do it before picking up the evening tasks
- Aim to end it fully, not just stop
Without a marker, work follows you into the evening. The session is the marker.
How self-compassion works
Self-compassion practice changes the tone of the inner voice rather than the content of the thoughts. It uses the same warmth and steadiness you would offer a friend, applied without requiring you to have earned it.
- Use the words you would actually say to someone you love
- Ask what you need, not what you deserve
- A hand on the chest or belly gives warmth and pressure a place to land
What happens, minute by minute
- 0:00Let your tongue rest down, away from the roof of your mouth.
- 0:13Put a hand where the feeling is strongest. Warmth and pressure are the oldest kind of reassurance.
- 0:28This is not a performance. Nobody is listening to how well you're doing it.
- 0:42Follow three breaths and let the fourth one go unobserved.
- 0:54Feel your breath move down your back, all the way to your lower ribs.
- 1:08Feel your upper arms hanging. They're heavier than you remember.
- 1:20You do not have to like the frustration of not sleeping to breathe through it. Liking was never the requirement.
- 1:37This is not the last time the wide-awake mind at 2am will visit. That is not bad news. It means you will get more practice.
- 1:56Let your breathing find the rhythm it uses when you're almost asleep.
- 2:09Notice where the counting of hours until morning lives in your body. Chest, throat, stomach. Rest your attention there without trying to change it.
- 2:28Notice whether you're breathing or holding. Start breathing again.
- 2:39The question is not what you deserve. It is what you need, right now, in this moment.
- 2:54Take a moment to notice you did this for yourself. That's not nothing.
Questions people ask
What does this session help with?
Insomnia is often maintained by the fear of not sleeping. Anticipating a bad night raises arousal at bedtime, which produces the bad night. Removing the pressure to sleep is the active ingredient. This gives you something to do that is not trying.
Where and when should I do this one?
Change something physical first — shoes off, coat off — so the transition registers. Without a marker, work follows you into the evening. The session is the marker.
What actually happens during the 3 minutes?
Self-compassion practice changes the tone of the inner voice rather than the content of the thoughts. It uses the same warmth and steadiness you would offer a friend, applied without requiring you to have earned it.
Meditation is a practice, not a treatment. If you are dealing with ongoing distress, please also reach out to a professional.
If this one is not quite right, try Anxiety: 5-minute self-compassion meditation, when it all piles up, Letting go meditation for feeling not good enough (15 min), when you are at your limit or Self-compassion for restlessness at night: 7 minutes, before a presentation.