Welcome.
You're here because your mind is busy,
Maybe your body is restless,
And sleep feels very far away.
Maybe you've tried all the tricks,
The right pillow,
Dark,
Cool room,
Herbal tea,
And still your brain doesn't know how to stop.
If you live with ADHD,
You already know that sleep isn't simple.
Your thoughts don't fade away when the lights go out.
Very often they speed up.
And when your body does finally slow down,
Your mind starts scrolling its own highlight reel.
Our brain isn't the enemy.
It's just full of energy and ideas that haven't found a place to land yet.
Tonight,
We'll give them a soft place to rest.
Take one deep breath in through your nose,
Hold it for a moment,
And then let it go through the mouth,
Slow and steady,
Like a long sigh of relief.
Notice where your body meets the bed.
Let yourself feel the weight of being held and supported.
The mattress doesn't need you to do anything.
It's already supporting you.
Start at your feet.
Notice the weight of them sinking into the mattress,
The temperature,
Any tingling feelings or small vibrations of energy moving through your toes.
You don't need to do anything with them.
You don't need to relax them.
Just notice.
Notice.
Move up through your legs,
Hips,
And belly.
And if you catch yourself thinking,
I cannot get comfortable,
That's okay.
Your only job right now in this moment is to notice.
Not fixing.
Not fighting.
Feel your back against the sheets.
Let gravity take over.
You've been holding yourself up all day long.
Now you get to be held and supported.
Bring awareness to your shoulders and your arms.
Let them get heavy,
So heavy that they almost feel like they're melting into the bed.
Soften your fingers.
Let your hands be loose.
Give them a little shake if that feels good.
And finally,
Bring your attention to your face,
Your jaw,
Tongue,
Eyes,
Forehead.
Notice where you're holding any tension and see what softness you can bring.
Now bring your attention back to your whole body.
If you need to shift or stretch a little,
Go ahead.
There's no rule that says you have to lie perfectly still.
Sometimes the body needs small movements before it can rest.
Maybe you need to flex your feet,
Stretch your arms out,
Switch positions,
Adjust your blanket until something inside you says,
Yes,
That's better.
Notice the temperature of the air on your skin,
The air on your face,
The gentle rhythm of your breath.
Any small detail that you notice that reminds you this is your body in this moment.
If you start to fidget or you need to fidget and you're holding back,
Don't fight it.
Let the movement be mindful.
It's your body's way of releasing some of that energy,
A way of exhaling and letting go.
And each time you settle again,
Do your best to let your weight sink in a little bit more into the bed.
All of this is about learning what rest feels like for you in your body,
In your environment.
Now imagine your thoughts as small lights,
Not harsh or blinding light,
Just little bright ideas floating through your mind,
Little fireflies in the darkness,
Fairy lights off in the distance.
However these lights show up for you is the way that they should look.
And instead of trying to chase all of those lights running around in your mind,
Let them drift even farther away.
Let them drift slowly,
Softly,
Until each thought,
Each light becomes a small twinkle in the night sky.
They're not gone.
They're still with you.
They're still waiting.
They're just waiting for you until tomorrow.
Nice and safe,
Tucked up into the night sky.
You may have a thought or two that insists on staying.
And that's okay.
Just tell it gently,
I'll come back to you in the morning.
No need to worry.
I'll come back to you in the morning.
We're not trying to delete any thoughts,
Any important ideas,
Or things that we need to do.
We're just delaying it until the morning.
Now count softly in your head,
One on the inhale,
Two on the exhale.
Each round of breath in this way gives our mind a rhythm,
Something to hold onto and focus on.
And we'll begin by counting one on the inhale,
Two on the exhale,
And going up to 10.
Three on the inhale,
Four on the exhale,
Five on the inhale,
Six on the exhale,
Seven on the inhale,
Eight on the exhale,
Nine,
And 10.
Just rhythm and rest.
Inhale one,
Exhale two.
Counting on your own now,
Up until 10.
Sleep doesn't come from effort.
It comes from safety.
You have done enough today.
You've thought enough.
You've tried enough.
Felt enough.
This is your time to drift into safe sleep.
Sleep.
If you're still awake,
Your nervous system is just unwinding,
Even if you don't feel it yet.
So whether you fall asleep in one minute or 30,
Your body is learning to rest right now in this moment.
Let the breath get smaller,
Lighter.
Let the edges of the world fade out.
If you're still listening,
You're already closer to sleep than when you pressed play.
Let yourself float in that soft space between awake and sleep.
Nothing to fix.
Nothing to finish.
Your mind might wander again,
And that's fine.
You can always return to one word,
Rest.
Breathe in,
Breathe out,
Rest.
