How Meditation Can Help You Sleep

You know that feeling when you lie down to sleep, and your body is tired but your mind refuses to follow? The lights are off, your head is on the pillow, but your thoughts are louder than ever. Worrying about tomorrow. Replaying what you said earlier. Trying to solve problems that can wait.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been there. Trying not to get frustrated but finding it impossible. Wanting desperately to sleep and not understanding why I couldn’t. It was like I was wired for alertness, even when I wanted nothing more than to fall asleep. Ironically, the more I tried to fall asleep, the harder it got.

My sleep got much worse after son was born. His mom and I split his care 50/50 and he was generally unable to stay asleep for more than two hours, and that lasted for about two years. And when he finally fell asleep, he would wake up at the slightest sound. Those days were rough. And once he started sleeping through the night, I struggled to do the same. My nervous system felt like had adapted to my new reality of sleep deprivation.

I was 40 years old at that time, and I felt like I needed a complete nervous system reset. I needed to start from scratch, to redo how I approached sleep. I was already into yoga, meditation and intense physical exercise, and I thought the only thing that would help was something that safely and intentionally gave my system a bit of a jolt, a shake up. Because meditation had already helped me for short periods, I thought that a more rigorous approach than I was used to could have a greater impact. So I signed up for a 10-day silent meditation retreat.

10 Days of Silence; 11 Hours of Meditation

We were up at 4am every day, sitting by 4:30am, eating two meals and meditating for 11 hours, each day. We were taught to develop our focus for the first three days, then use that newly developed mental focus to scan the body from top to bottom, simply observing without reacting. “The true nature of all sensation is that it is impermanent, so treat it that way – don’t get attached!”, our teacher said.

The ten days felt like a slog. I went through periods of intense discomfort, sadness, anger, loneliness and utter boredom, along with moments of incredible insight and release. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done, and one of the most rewarding. Notably, my sleep started to improve and by the end of the 10 days, I was mostly sleeping through the night.

I left that retreat with a sense of calm and focus that I don’t believe I ever had. I felt more relaxed in my body and less distracted by my constant stream of thoughts. I also realized that meditation is not some mystical, inaccessible ritual, but a simple, practical, repeatable practice that can help train my nervous system to settle and my mind to soften.

Determined to maintain this, I established a regular meditation practice that was twice a day, right after I awoke and just before I went to bed. Sometimes I would do a body scan meditation, sometimes a deep relaxation technique. I also learned about healthy sleep hygiene and implemented a number of those suggestions. My healthy sleep patterns continued, and I started noticing other improvements —my energy, my mood, even my digestion.

How Can This Be a Reality For You?

I realize that most people don’t have the luxury of setting aside ten days to deal with their insomnia. And it can be difficult to truly calm the mind if you only have 10 or 15 minutes a day to try. That’s ok, I can help.

The solution comes from an ancient practice called pranayama, and specifically the rapid breathing techniques, which is also called High Ventilation Breathing. For those who feel too restless to sit still, or too overwhelmed to concentrate, high ventilation breathing (HVB)—a short, intense form of rhythmic breathwork—can be a game changer. Just 5–10 minutes of HVB increases oxygen levels, stimulates the vagus nerve, and helps the body rapidly discharge built-up stress and tension. It’s like shaking the snow globe and then letting everything settle.

HVB also temporarily shifts your brainwave activity and engages the prefrontal cortex, often resulting in greater mental clarity and emotional release. Because the effects are felt quickly and viscerally, many busy people find it easier to commit to—and stick with—than traditional seated meditation. It becomes a fast track into the nervous system’s healing state, creating space for rest, sleep, and presence even on the busiest of days. I discuss this in more depth in my article The Unexpected Key to Releasing Anxiety: How High-Ventilation Breathing Changed My Life. I also include a variety of free, safe and simple practices that you can try.

Now, more about meditation…

How Meditation Helps With Sleep

Let’s get straight to the science. Here’s what research shows about the relationship between meditation and sleep:

• A 2015 randomized clinical trial published in JAMA Internal Medicine found that mindfulness meditation significantly improved sleep quality and reduced insomnia symptoms in older adults.
• A 2018 meta-analysis in Behaviour Research and Therapy concluded that mindfulness-based interventions have a moderate to strong effect on improving sleep quality.
• Studies show that meditation reduces activity in the Default Mode Network (DMN) of the brain—the region responsible for mind-wandering and rumination, which is often the culprit behind bedtime overthinking.

In short, meditation helps:

• Lower cortisol (your primary stress hormone)
• Activate the parasympathetic nervous system (your “rest and digest” state)
• Reduce hyperarousal
• Improve emotional regulation
• Encourage a healthier sleep-wake cycle

Ancient Wisdom, Modern Relevance

Long before neuroscience explained it, ancient traditions understood that rest doesn’t come just from stopping movement. It comes from cultivating inner stillness.

In yogic and Buddhist practices, pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses) and dhyana (meditation) were used to prepare the mind and body for deep rest. In fact, many classical yoga nidra practices were originally developed to guide practitioners into the liminal state between waking and sleeping—what we now know to be deeply restorative.

Even just 10 minutes of breath-focused meditation before bed can mimic these effects. And it doesn’t require a spiritual awakening to do it. You just need willingness, patience, and some simple tools.

Why Sleep is So Elusive for Anxious Minds

As I said earlier, I often found myself wondering why I was unable to sleep when I felt so exhausted. After doing some research, I learned that anxiety trains your body to stay on alert. It wires your nervous system to scan for danger, expect the worst, and remain hypervigilant, which, of course, is not ideal for sleep. Most people think sleep is about tiredness. But it’s actually about safety. Your body will not rest deeply if it doesn’t feel safe. And this is where meditation for anxiety and sleep becomes so effective: it signals safety to the brain.

When you practice meditation regularly, you build a new baseline. You teach your nervous system what calm feels like. You create space between you and your thoughts. You unhook from the constant noise. And over time, your body begins to remember that it’s okay to rest.

Types of Meditation That Help With Sleep

If you would like to practice meditation without guidance, there are many forms that you can try, but these tend to be the most helpful for sleep support:

1. Body Scan Meditation

• Slowly bring awareness to different parts of the body, from toes to head, and invite them to relax.
• Helps calm physical tension and focus the mind.

2. Breath Awareness

• Focus on the natural rhythm of the breath without changing it. You can feel the breath just below your nose or feel your ribs expand and contract.
• Slows down thought patterns and shifts attention inward.

3. Guided Imagery or Visualization

• Use imagery (e.g., standing in a river, floating in water, lying in a meadow) to soothe the nervous system.
• Often used in yoga nidra and other bedtime practices.

4. Mantra Meditation

• Repeat a calming phrase or sound, such as “so hum” or “I am safe.”
• Helps anchor the mind and override stressful thought patterns.

All of these can be practiced lying down in bed, and many are available as guided audio meditations.

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Why Meditation May Work When Nothing Else Has

Many of the tools we turn to for better sleep (melatonin, blue light blockers, herbal teas) are external. They can help, but they don’t address the internal root: an overactive mind and a dysregulated nervous system. Meditation, by contrast, is a skill that builds internal resilience. It’s something you carry with you. The more you practice, the more it becomes part of you.

And here’s the kicker: even if meditation doesn’t put you to sleep immediately, it still helps. Why?

Because you’re still practicing being present, reducing cortisol, and creating the conditions for sleep to eventually come. This is why I often tell my students: It’s okay if you don’t fall asleep. It’s enough to be still and kind with yourself.

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From Sleepless to Rested: A Personal Note

If you’re feeling discouraged, I get it. When you’ve spent years struggling with sleep, it’s easy to feel like nothing will work. But I’m here to tell you: this is one of the most accessible, effective tools I’ve found—not just for sleep, but for life.

Meditation taught me how to befriend my mind. How to listen to my body. How to stop bracing. And when I started sleeping better, I started living better. It didn’t happen overnight. But it happened. And it can happen for you too.

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A Gentle Invitation

Since I started practicing meditation regularly, it has felt like a true super power! It gives me the ability to watch my thoughts closely and let them pass without affecting me at all. It’s truly incredible.

If you’re curious where to start, I recommend doing a pranayama practice for 5-10 minutes, followed by a 10-minute body scan or guided meditation for sleep, twice a day. Try it with headphones, lying down, eyes closed. We have lots of options on the Meditations page on DoYogaWithMe, including several specifically designed to calm the nervous system and prepare the body for deep rest. We have guided meditations for sleep, body scan meditations, deep relaxation techniques and other types of guided meditations that promote nervous system regulation. We also have many free, short pranayama practices that you can try on our Pranayama Tutorials page.

Give it a week and re-evaluate. Keep it up for at least a month. Let it be simple. Let yourself receive the rest you’ve been missing. You deserve to feel safe. You deserve to feel rested. And this might just be the key.