Meditationis arelaxation techniquethat typically involves slow, deep breathing and paying attention to your body.

It has been shown to be helpful with insomnia.

It can be practiced anywhere at any time, even while brushing your teeth.

Woman meditating on her bed

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It involves simply being aware of what you are doing in the present moment.

At Night

Both mindfulness and heartfulness meditation can be done at night, too.

Another good option that can help combat insomnia is body scan meditation, also known as progressive muscle relaxation.

What Are Different Kinds of Meditation?

Some of the more common meditation techniques include guided meditation, mindfulness meditation, and body scan meditation.

In guided meditation, another person leads the meditation, and you follow their prompts.

If this happens to you, check in with your healthcare provider.

Other Insomnia Treatments

Meditation is, of course, just one of many treatments for insomnia.

Treatment for insomnia can include:

Sleep hygiene education is also a potential treatment for insomnia.

It helps people identify and change lifestyle behaviors that are contributing to insomnia.

Treatment is important, but taking medication isn’t always the first step.

Meditation can help improve sleep quality by lowering blood pressure and stress hormones while calming racing thoughts.

If youre still not getting any relief, talk with your healthcare provider about other insomnia treatments.

If it doesn’t work for you, there are a number of other treatments for insomnia to try.

Frequently Asked Questions

Some people love meditation apps, others don’tit all depends on the person.

MIT Medical has aresource pagewith free daytime and bedtime meditation exercises.

Stanford Health Library has a page withfree guided meditationsin both English and Spanish.

American Sleep Association.Sleep disorders: An overview.

2021;12:698075. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.698075

MedlinePlus.Insomnia.

doi:10.1111/acps.13225

Matheson E & Hainer BL.Insomnia: Pharmacologic therapy.American Family Physician.

2017;96(1): 29-35.