How to do a body scan for sleep

What a body scan is

The body scan is a core exercise in mindfulness programs, including the mindfulness-based stress reduction course developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn in the late 1970s. In its daytime form it is a way of practicing attention. At night it doubles as a way to pull focus out of your head and into physical sensations that are neutral and present.

It differs from progressive muscle relaxation in one important way. You do not tense anything. If your shoulders are tight, you notice that they are tight. Oddly, letting a sensation be there is often what lets it ease.

A ten-minute scan you can do from memory

Lie on your back or in your usual sleeping position. Let your breathing be natural.

1. Start with the toes of your left foot. Notice temperature, contact with the sheet, tingling, or nothing at all. Nothing is a valid answer.
2. Move slowly to the sole, heel, ankle and calf. Spend a few breaths in each place.
3. Continue up through the knee, thigh and hip, then repeat on the right leg.
4. Move through the lower back, belly, chest and upper back. Notice the rise and fall of breathing without changing it.
5. Go down each arm to the fingertips, then come back to the shoulders, neck and throat.
6. Finish with the jaw, cheeks, eyes, forehead and scalp.

If you reach the top of your head and are still awake, go back down the body at the same pace.

When your mind wanders

It will. A thought about tomorrow pulls you away, and three minutes later you realize you have been rehearsing an email. That is not failure; it is the exercise. Note where you went, then return to the last body part you remember and carry on from there.

Keep the tone friendly. Telling yourself off for drifting adds the kind of arousal you are trying to drop. If the same worry keeps returning, it can help to park it before bed by writing it down, then come back to the scan.

A body scan is slow and quiet, so it suits shared beds and light sleepers. It needs no device at all, though some people like a gentle cue to start. If you prefer something more active, a few rounds of slow breathing exercises can go first.

Is there evidence it helps sleep?

Mindfulness programs that include the body scan have been studied for stress and for sleep quality, with generally modest, positive results in adults who practice regularly. Most of that research tests whole multi-week courses, so it is hard to say how much a single scan contributes on its own.

What the scan does reliably is give your attention something specific and calm to do. That is the same principle behind imagery techniques like the cognitive shuffle. If focusing on your body makes you uneasy, which is true for some people, choose an imagery or breathing technique instead.