Free meditation for urges at night Lights out

For bed. Put your phone out of reach, lie down and listen.

Late nights

Why urges are harder at night

At night you're tired, often alone, and your phone is right there in bed. That makes urges harder to say no to.

It helps to decide what you'll do before you get into bed. Put your phone out of reach, then play one of these.

Which one to use

Lights out

5 or 10 min

Use it once you're in bed. It starts with slow breathing. Then a word game keeps your mind off your phone.

Slow it down

1 min

Use it when you notice you're reaching for your phone. You take two short breaths in through your nose and one long breath out.

The research

What they're based on

Worrying and overthinking in bed are a big part of what keeps people awake.1

In one trial, older adults learned meditation. They slept better than a group given sleep tips.2

A 2023 study tested cyclic sighing, the breathing in Slow it down. It improved mood more than meditation did.3

The word game in Lights out comes from newer research. Its evidence is still early.4

Before you press play

Yes. You don't need an account or an email. Press play.

Sit up and play Ride it out, our urge surfing audio. When the urge passes, lie back down and play Lights out.

If you already have an urge, try Ride it out instead.

Try urge surfing

Sources

  1. Harvey, A. G. (2002). A cognitive model of insomnia. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 40(8), 869–893. doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7967(01)00061-4
  2. Black, D. S., O'Reilly, G. A., Olmstead, R., Breen, E. C., & Irwin, M. R. (2015). Mindfulness meditation and improvement in sleep quality and daytime impairment among older adults with sleep disturbances. JAMA Internal Medicine, 175(4), 494–501. doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2014.8081
  3. Balban, M. Y., Neri, E., Kogon, M. M., et al. (2023). Brief structured respiration practices enhance mood and reduce physiological arousal. Cell Reports Medicine, 4(1), 100895. doi.org/10.1016/j.xcrm.2022.100895
  4. Beaudoin, L. P., Digdon, N., O'Neill, K., & Racour, G. (2016). Serial diverse imagining task: A new remedy for bedtime complaints of worrying and other sleep-disruptive mental activity. SLEEP 2016 (conference abstract). Early evidence.

Keep these on your phone.

Sherpa has these and other short exercises. It comes with a daily plan for what you want to get good at.

Sherpa supports recovery. It isn't a substitute for professional care.Crisis contacts