Meditating In Bed At Night Before Falling Asleep

“Put your thoughts to sleep,do not let them cast a shadowover the moon of your heart.Let go of thinking.” –Rumi

One question that sometimes comes up for people who are learning how to meditate is whether it is a good idea to meditate in the period between climbing into bed and actually drifting off to sleep.

In the ancient Buddhist scriptures, The Buddha purportedly recommended four postures as most suitable for formal meditation – sitting, standing, walking, and lying down. Falling asleep in a bed is of course, one example of lying down. So, meditating before falling asleep may have The Old Man’s imprimatur. And many modern teachers, famous vipassana teacher S.N. Goenka among them, assign students to practice a formal meditation technique while lying in bed at night with the lights out.

The main motivation for this practice is for our last moments in the day to become part of a continuity of mindful awareness throughout the entire day, without breaks, which is understood as a powerful tool for clarification and liberation. Bhante Henepola Gunaratana suggested, “You should try to maintain mindfulness of every activity and perception through the day, starting with the first perception when you awake, and ending with the last thought before you fall asleep.” Being aware all day, especially in the times where one formerly went unconscious, shines a flashlight into the dark corners of the mind, and helps bring illumination, freedom, and wholeness to all of our human experience.

To maintain mindfulness to the fullest, you may consider a go-to meditation app that will always be at hand. It's a smart helper that includes limitless meditation tips and practices, so you can pick the most comfortable one. For instance, the meditation application Lasta is a game changer for folks who have an extremely hectic schedule. If you don't have access to a meditation coach, this mobile app is an effective technique to improve your life and attain positive mental and cognitive processes. It collects a solid bunch of meditations you can practice throughout the day. Lasta is designed to help you change your habits and begin the journey to mindfulness.

It is relatively easy for meditators to stay mindful during periods of formal seated practice on a cushion. And there are times in each day, of course, when beginning meditators will inevitably lose awareness, for example while watching a movie, having a conversation, or trying to figure out something technical. But there are also moments that are in between those two extremes, times during normal daily life where distracting mental demands are minimal, and these are seen as golden opportunities to engage in formal meditation practice. Examples of such times include while sweeping a floor, showering, walking on the street, and, yes, lying in bed at night.

Also, as I explained in another blog post, “Some Buddhist monastic practitioners not only sit formal meditation, but also develop a high degree of intentional mindfulness as they go about all of the various activities of their days. They are unable however to exercise volitional clarity of mind during sleeping and dreaming, and they may wake up feeling slumber-drunk, tangled in gauzy dream-webs. So, it is sometimes recommended that monks and nuns specifically meditate either first thing upon waking, so as to clear out that sleep-haze, or last thing before sleeping, so as to create a momentum of unattached clarity going into the sleep state.”

As much overnight clarity as meditating right before going to bed may provide, meditating once in bed presumably provides a bit more.