Can't sleep? Start with the hour before bed
Lying there trying to sleep is the one thing that reliably doesn't work. What you do in the hour before, and during the day, is where you have some say.
These are the practices Thriving uses for it, and the studies each one is built on.
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The free account has a starter version of each of these: a minute or two, and a place to keep track.
One Breath
Close your eyes and bring your focus to your breath.
A Wee Bit Grateful
Write down one thing that you are grateful for.
Mindful Eating
Zero extra time required — you're already eating.
Quick Pump
While laying in bed, do 30 seconds of leg lifts.
The practices, and the research behind each one
Inside the app these run as a twelve-week Program, one practice a week, with All-Access. Here they are with their sources.
Deep Nasal Breathing Journal
6 BPM + Pre-Sleep Gratitude Intro
Thirty seconds is enough to begin changing your nervous system.
Zaccaro et al. (2018). How Breath-Control Can Change Your Life: A Systematic Review on Psycho-Physiological Correlates of Slow Breathing. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.
Ma et al. (2017). The effect of diaphragmatic breathing on attention, negative affect and stress in healthy adults. Frontiers in Psychology.
Gratitude Journal — G101
Pre-Sleep 3 Things
The foundational daily gratitude journal.
Emmons & McCullough (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
Seligman, Steen, Park, Peterson (2005). Positive psychology progress: empirical validation of interventions. American Psychologist.
Wong, Owen, Gabana et al. (2018). Does gratitude writing improve the mental health of psychotherapy clients? Evidence from a randomized controlled trial. Psychotherapy Research.
3-Stage Breathing Journal
Extended Exhales + Mindfulness Intro
This is the foundational practice that maximizes every benefit of deep nasal breathing and unlocks the ability to enter a state of calm on demand.
Zaccaro et al. (2018). How Breath-Control Can Change Your Life. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.
Body Scan — Mindfulness of the Whole Body
Body Scan for Sleep
Body scans are a cornerstone practice in MBSR — systematically moving attention from head to toe, noticing whatever is there without trying to change it.
Cherkin et al. (2016). Effect of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction vs Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or Usual Care on Back Pain and Functional Limitations in Adults With Chronic Low Back Pain. JAMA.
Black, O'Reilly, Olmstead, Breen, Irwin (2015). Mindfulness Meditation and Improvement in Sleep Quality and Daytime Impairment Among Older Adults With Sleep Disturbances. JAMA Internal Medicine.
Hofmann, Sawyer, Witt, Oh (2010). The effect of mindfulness-based therapy on anxiety and depression: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.
Build a Breathing Habit for Life — Breathing Going Forward
Going Forward + Daytime Movement Intro
The capstone of the Breathing Module.
Zaccaro et al. (2018). How Breath-Control Can Change Your Life. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.
Weitzberg & Lundberg (2002). Humming Greatly Increases Nasal Nitric Oxide. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
Natural Movement Journal
Natural Movement + Gratitude Letter
The simplest and most important movement habit: just move more, naturally, every day.
Lee et al. (2012). Effect of physical inactivity on major non-communicable diseases worldwide. The Lancet.
Dempsey et al. (2020). New global guidelines on sedentary behavior and health for adults. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity.
Smiling Awareness — The Body Tells the Mind
Smiling Awareness + Movement Eval
Does arranging your face into a smile actually shift how you feel?
Coles, March, et al. (2022). A multi-lab test of the facial feedback hypothesis by The Many Smiles Collaboration. Nature Human Behaviour.
Wagenmakers et al. (2016). Registered Replication Report: Strack, Martin, & Stepper (1988) — 17 labs, no effect found. Perspectives on Psychological Science.
Coles, Larsen & Lench (2019). A meta-analysis of the facial feedback literature: Effects of facial feedback on emotional experience are small and variable. Psychological Bulletin.
A study finding a benefit in the people it tested is not a promise of that result for you. Follow the links and judge for yourself. All the sources.
It's rarely just one thing
Sleep sits on top of everything else: how much you moved, what you're worried about, what you did with the evening. Thriving covers four spheres — physical, mental, emotional and purpose — and one or two practices from each is enough to work on all of it.
Everyone tells you what matters. Thriving gives you the exact exercises, somewhere to organize them into a routine that's yours, and the tools to keep going once the novelty wears off.
If this is affecting your ability to work, sleep or look after the people around you, talk to a doctor or a therapist. Many people do both.
Also on Thriving: Anxiety & stress · Anger · Procrastination · Habits