Sleep: 5-minute body scan meditation, on a break

About this practice

When sleep shows up on a break, this 5-minute body scan session gives you somewhere to put it down. A guided session of about 5 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 a break

• Leave the room if you can
• Do not start anything else in the same gap
• Set a timer so the break has an end

A break spent half-engaged with a screen is not much of a break. Guard the whole five minutes.

How body scan works

A body scan moves attention systematically through the body, region by region. It does not try to change what it finds — it builds a map of what is actually there, which is often different from what you assumed.

• Move slowly, head to feet or feet to head, and do not skip the uncomfortable areas
• Meet each region with plain curiosity rather than a verdict
• Numbness and absence of sensation are findings too

What happens, minute by minute

1. 0:00Let the first out-breath be longer than the in-breath. Nothing dramatic, just longer.
2. 0:13Start at the crown of the head and move down slowly. Do not skip to the parts that hurt.
3. 0:29You can think about other things. When you notice, come back. That's the whole practice.
4. 0:43We'll work through this slowly. If you lose the thread, the thread will wait.
5. 0:57Notice where you feel the breath most clearly. Nose, chest, or belly — pick one and stay there.
6. 1:13Feel the air move past your upper lip. It's the coolest spot on the way in.
7. 1:28Notice your eyebrows. They're probably doing something small right now.
8. 1:40Feel the tops of your thighs.
9. 1:50Feel your heart somewhere in there, doing its work without instructions.
10. 2:02Visit each area with plain curiosity, not with a verdict. Sensation is information, not a problem.
11. 2:17If your mind is quiet, don't grab at it. Quiet comes and goes too.
12. 2:31the day folding itself up may quiet down, or it may not. Either is fine. We are practising staying, not performing calm.
13. 2:49This is not the last time the quiet your mind keeps postponing will visit. That is not bad news. It means you will get more practice.
14. 3:08Notice how many breaths you take in a minute. Don't change the number, just check.
15. 3:22Notice where the heaviness your body already knows lives in your body. Chest, throat, stomach. Rest your attention there without trying to change it.
16. 3:41If you're counting the minutes, that's fine. Count them and come back.
17. 3:54Silence. Let your shoulders drop again if they've crept up.
18. 4:06Move at the speed of your attention, not the speed of a checklist. There is no schedule to keep.
19. 4:22If you're going straight back to work, take ten seconds at the doorway first.
20. 4:36No need to open your eyes yet.

Questions people ask

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