Relieving Sleep Anxiety

This guided visualization eases one of the three most common forms of sleep resistance: sleep anxiety. It is designed to ease bedtime anxiety by quieting the mind and calming the body using imagery and counted breath. This visualization helps cultivate your natural ability to relax into sleep. This guided experience is the extended version of a visualization offered on Day 3 of my course, “10 Days to Better Sleep”.

Transcript

When we are anxious,

It can be hard to settle and just breathe,

Especially if what we really want is to sleep,

If we're feeling pressured and anxious that we need to sleep.

So wherever you are in this moment,

However you're feeling,

It's okay.

It's okay in this moment.

Listening right here,

Right now.

You are safe.

And it is okay to breathe and let the body support you,

Anchor you in this moment,

Coming fully present into the body.

The body is so wise and it knows that you are safe in this moment and can signal to the brain that it is okay for the mind to slow down,

Pause,

And just notice.

Bringing your attention into the body,

Following the sound of my voice,

Maybe noticing the rise and fall of your belly,

Not trying to change or fix that shimmer of anxiety,

Just bringing your attention into the body.

This attention on the body affirms that in this moment,

There's no need for the mind to be on high alert.

All is well in this moment and it is okay for you to lean into the sound of my voice and just breathe.

It's not unusual for a subtle but very real anxiety to show up when we begin to prepare for sleep.

A lot of us experience it most on a Sunday evening,

Knowing that Monday awaits us.

It is a kind of anxiety that is unique to sleep,

But it is completely normal.

And easing that sleep anxiety is a gentle process of coming into the body,

Letting the wisdom of the body calm the mind,

Letting the mind know that even as we lie in bed,

Even though it is time to sleep,

All we really need to do in this moment is breathe and let the body guide us into settling.

Sometimes rest,

Just rest,

Is good.

And could you,

Just for now,

Give the body permission to relax and see if you can notice that your shoulders drop a little bit and notice if your neck muscles relax.

Maybe your head becomes heavy,

Settling a little deeper into the pillow.

And as your awareness deepens into the body,

Can you inhale and follow your breath into the ribcage and the bowl of your belly,

And let your belly be full and then release the breath on a sigh,

Maybe taking another nice deep breath,

Letting the belly be soft and full and exhaling completely,

Just noticing how easily the body responds to your intention to breathe deeply.

And let yourself savor how good that feels,

And notice how you have complete control over how deep your breath is and the length of your exhale.

Notice how good that feels to have some measure of control,

But also recognize the power of that connection.

And isn't it interesting that the mind can calm the mind,

How natural it is to inhale and in your mind see your breath moving through your ribcage and into the belly.

And as you exhale,

So clearly seeing the breath flow through your throat and out your nose.

And as the body breathes and the mind notices,

Maybe bring awareness to the weight of your hips sinking into the support beneath you.

And as your hips sink,

Noticing how the heavy muscles of the thighs relax and fall open.

Feel how good that feels.

And as the thighs relax,

The knees relax,

And the calf muscles let go,

The ankles and feet fall open.

Your whole body deeply relaxed and heavy,

With a sense of peace gently signaling to the mind that it is okay to just be.

There's nowhere to go and nothing to do.

It is okay to rest,

Just rest.

Gently allowing peace to wash over you,

Allowing the body to be heavy,

Feeling supported and held,

The mind soft and unfocused.

Hearing the sound of my voice,

I am with you and all is well in this moment,

Simply savoring our ability to bring our awareness into the body,

So simple,

So easy,

And so powerful.

Our natural ability to connect to the breath,

Able to sense it,

Feel it,

So easy to bring our vision inward and see the breath.

And taking a deep breath in,

Imagining that the air you inhale is a blue light and pulling that bright blue light into the rib cage and the belly,

And exhaling slowly,

Imagining the air you exhale turns from pale blue into purple.

Inhale bright blue light and exhale so slowly that the blue light deepens into purple.

Inhale bright blue light and exhale slowly,

Seeing the blue light deepen slowly into purple.

All that matters in this moment is allowing your exhale to be longer than your inhale.

Inhale gently and release a long,

Slow exhale.

And you can count if that's easier than imagining the light.

Maybe inhaling 1,

2,

3,

And exhaling 1,

2,

3,

4.

Nice,

Easy breath.

Inhale,

Then exhale long and slow,

Letting that exhale be long and sweet.

And now you can continue on your own,

Going at your own pace,

Using the visual of light or a leisurely count,

Allowing yourself to go with whatever feels good,

Whatever deepens your sense of relaxation and peace,

And maybe feeling like just drifting is good,

Safe and at ease,

Deepening into a sweet and easy rest.

Inhale,

Then exhale long and slow,

Letting that exhale be long and sweet.

Inhale,

Then exhale long and slow,

Letting that exhale be long and sweet.

Inhale,

Then exhale long and slow,

Letting that exhale be long and sweet.

Inhale,

Then exhale long and slow,

Letting that exhale be long and sweet.

Inhale,

Then exhale long and slow,

Letting that exhale be long and sweet.

Inhale,

Then exhale long and slow,

Letting that exhale be long and sweet.

Inhale,

Then exhale long and slow,

Letting that exhale be long and sweet.

Inhale,

Then exhale long and slow,

Letting that exhale be long and sweet.

Inhale,

Then exhale long and slow,

Letting that exhale be long and sweet.

Inhale,

Then exhale long and slow,

Letting that exhale be long and sweet.

Inhale,

Then exhale long and slow,

Letting that exhale be long and sweet.

Inhale,

Then exhale long and slow,

Letting that exhale be long and sweet.

Inhale,

Then exhale long and slow,

Letting that exhale be long and sweet.

Inhale,

Then exhale long and slow,

Letting that exhale be long and sweet.

Inhale,

Then exhale long and slow,

Letting that exhale be long and sweet.

Inhale,

Then exhale long and slow,

Letting that exhale be long and sweet.

Inhale,

Then exhale long and slow,

Letting that exhale be long and sweet.

Inhale,

Then exhale long and slow,

Letting that exhale be long and sweet.

Inhale,

Then exhale long and slow,

Letting that exhale be long and sweet.

Inhale,

Then exhale long and slow,

Letting that exhale be long and sweet.

Inhale,

Then exhale long and slow,

Letting that exhale be long and sweet.

Inhale,

Then exhale long and slow,

Letting that exhale be long and sweet.

Inhale,

Then exhale long and slow,

Letting that exhale be long and sweet.

Inhale,

Then exhale long and slow,

Letting that exhale be long and sweet.

Inhale,

Then exhale long and slow,

Letting that exhale be long and sweet.

Inhale,

Then exhale long and slow,

Letting that exhale be long and sweet.

Inhale,

Then exhale long and slow,

Letting that exhale be long and sweet.

Inhale,

Then exhale long and slow,

Letting that exhale be long and sweet.

Inhale,

Then exhale long and slow,

Letting that exhale be long and sweet.

Inhale,

Then exhale long and slow,

Letting that exhale be long and sweet.

Inhale,

Then exhale long and slow,

Letting that exhale be long and sweet.

Inhale,

Then exhale long and slow,

Letting that exhale be long and sweet.

Reviews

Thank you for this wonderful sleep meditation. It helped me get to sleep faster than I expected. I'm grateful 🙏 Have a beautiful day 🙂 ❤️

Thankyou so much ❣️
This meditation was very good for anxiety.
I listened to this calming meditation whilst in hospital. It was a blessing to finally drift off to sleep for at least nearly 2hours. Would love to do the course,unfortunately not financially able at the moment, so I’m very grateful for this sample. Again Thankyou 🙏🏼💐

so beautiful ♡

I had a great nights sleep. Thank you 💗

Worked perfectly, Namaste.

great

I feel so relaxed and soothed. I needed that. Thank you

🙏

Just what I need at the moment. Thank you.

Thank you for helping me release and get to sleep!

So relaxing calmed me right down after a stressful day thank you 😊

Love your soothing voice and your cues !

Helped me fall asleep. Very nice

Drifted off 💤🥱🙏🏻

🙏💗

I broke out in tears almost immediately hearing you say “it’s ok”. This definitely loosened a knot in my heart & I thank you.

Great voice always calming 😴

I loved this! Thank you for your sensitivity to sound.

Beautiful and soothing as always Bethany. Thank you for this. Will Put into my rotation. 🦋🌸💐💖🌻🤗🐾😴😴

Thank you for a smooth passage into my wonderful dreamland where last night everything was beautiful.