Breathing exercises for sleep

Wind-down patterns designed to be done lying down in the dark.

Lying awake compounds itself: the longer you are awake the more frustrating it gets, and frustration is not compatible with falling asleep. Slow breathing helps with the second half of that problem more than the first.

It is worth being precise about what it is doing. It is not sedating you. It is giving your attention something undemanding to follow instead of replaying the day or rehearsing tomorrow. That is often enough, and it is a smaller claim than most sleep advice makes.

Set it up so it does not wake you: choose a longer session than you think you need, turn the end chime off in Settings so it fades rather than announces itself, and turn on audio-only mode so the screen dims and you can put the phone face-down.

Start with

Two-to-One Breathing

Four in, eight out, nothing held. You get the calming ratio without the seven-second hold in 4-7-8, which some people find unpleasant just as they are trying to settle.

Start 6-minute session

Or read how it works first.

Before you start

Breathing exercises are not a treatment for insomnia. If you have slept badly for weeks, the treatment with the best evidence is CBT-I, and it is worth asking a doctor about. Loud snoring with pauses, waking with headaches, or falling asleep during the day are worth mentioning to a doctor rather than working around.