Fall back asleep6 min
Back to sleep meditation
A free 6-minute session for when you wake in the night. Keep the lights low, press play and let the voice do the work.
Voice: Trinity (synthetic)
First time? Lie down or sit back. Headphones are optional, and it's fine if you drift off.
- Best for
- Waking in the night and not dropping back off
- When to use it
- In bed, lights off, screen dimmed, volume low. Wind down for sleep with guided deep rest. It ends in silence and a slow fade, so it won't wake you.
- What you'll hear
- 0:00Settle: stay as you are, with no need to check the time
- 0:30Breath: three slow breaths through the nose, then no counting
- 1:34A slow body scan from the top of the head down, heavy into the bed
- 3:42Drift: fewer words and longer silences
- 5:01About a minute of silence, then a slow fade. Nothing at the end to wake you
How to use it when you wake in the night
- Keep it dark. Lights off, screen brightness right down, do not disturb on and the volume low.
- Turn the clock away. Checking the time can start the sums about how much sleep is left. Leave the clock facing the wall.
- Press play and follow without trying. Lie still and let the voice lead. There's nothing to achieve.
- If you're still awake at the end. That's fine. Lie still, or play it once more rather than reaching for anything else on your phone.
For what else to try, see how to fall back asleep.
What the research says
For sleep, the evidence is early. Small trials of yoga nidra, the older practice NSDR grew out of, mostly report better sleep measures, but a 2026 meta-analysis rated the certainty of that evidence very low. None of the four NSDR trials tested a bedtime session, and NSDR does not replace sleep. Sources: Dutta et al. (2026), meta-analysis; Singh et al. (2026)
If waking in the night keeps happening, a session like this is not the fix. For ongoing sleep problems, CBT-I (cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia) is the recommended first treatment. Ask your GP. Source: Qaseem et al. (2016), American College of Physicians guideline
Questions
Why can't I fall back asleep after waking up?
Often the mind switches on the moment you surface: the time, the to-do list, worry about being tired tomorrow.
What should I do at 3am if I can't sleep?
Keep the lights low and the screen dark, and give your mind something slow and simple to follow, like this session.
Can a meditation help me fall back asleep?
It gives a busy mind something gentle to do instead of thinking. Wind down for sleep with guided deep rest. The evidence for sleep is early, so think of it as a calm routine rather than a cure.