Skip to content

Series: Sleep Hypnosis

For the best experience, listen with headphones or earbuds.

Share

Listen
In the evening, to unplug from screens before sleep.
Technique
Metaphor self-hypnosis: A symbolic story that carries you into deep relaxation.

Who is this session for?

This session is designed for those who feel wired after a long day of looking at screens and processing too much information. It is perfect when your mind is racing with digital noise and you need a gentle way to transition into a calm, restful state.

How does it unfold?

  1. at the startPreparationThe voice reassures you that you are in a safe space where you can let go without any pressure to succeed.
  2. around 1 minInductionYou are guided to focus on specific sounds and physical sensations to gently tire out your busy mind.
  3. around 3 minDeepeningYou mentally walk down a softly lit staircase, doubling your relaxation with every step you take.
  4. around 5 minThe CoreYou visualize a busy city turning off its lights one by one, allowing your mind to power down like a smooth stone sinking in warm water.
  5. around 8 minAnchoringA simple breathing trigger is established so you can easily recreate this deep calm on future nights.
  6. around 9 minDriftingThe words become scarce and fade away, leaving you to drift safely into a profound slumber.

Why does it help you sleep?

This method works by gently shifting your attention away from the day's agitation and giving your analytical mind simple, calming tasks to focus on. By grounding your senses and visualizing a busy city powering down, your body receives a clear signal that it is time to rest. The guided imagery acts as a bridge between active thinking and deep relaxation, helping you release tension naturally.

How to listen

Listen to this recording while lying comfortably in bed with the lights off and the volume set very low. You can just let the words wash over you, knowing it is perfectly fine to fall asleep long before the session ends.

Session published on · a site run by Stéphane H., founder of Alcyonia · description written on

Music: Valley of Silence, Alan Frijns.

Listen somewhere calm, never while driving. This relaxation session does not replace the advice of a doctor or health professional.

Read the session script

Welcome to this time of rest. Self-hypnosis is a natural, comfortable state… just like when you are deeply absorbed in a really good book, where the rest of the world just fades into the background… You remain in control the entire time, and there is absolutely nothing you need to achieve tonight… You are safe in your bed, and it is perfectly fine if you drift off and fall asleep long before the end of my words… Just allow yourself to be here, exactly as you are…

You are lying in your bed, you can hear the sound of my voice, and you are breathing… And as you settle in, you can just notice three things you can hear right now… perhaps the gentle hum of the room, the sound of your own breath, or the quietness of the night outside your window…

And you can notice three things you can feel against your skin… the weight of the blanket covering you, the softness of the pillow beneath your head, the mattress supporting your back so perfectly…

And as you take a long, slow breath in, and let it out fully, any passing thought or outside sound is just a gentle reminder to let go and sink deeper into this present moment…

Notice two things you can hear… two things you can feel… and as you do, your eyelids become naturally heavy… so relaxed and delightfully heavy that they just want to stay closed, shutting out the waking world…

Now, imagine a beautiful, softly lit staircase leading down into absolute comfort… We will count down from ten to one, and with every number, you can drift twice as deep into relaxation…

Ten… stepping down, feeling a wonderful wave of calm washing over you…

Nine… and as you breathe out, and as you relax, going deeper and deeper…

Eight… releasing any lingering tension from the day, letting it all melt away…

Seven… and just for a moment, take a step back up to eight, feeling a slight return of awareness… only to immediately step down to seven again… dropping twice as deeply into this comforting, peaceful calm…

Six… drifting further down the steps, leaving the day far behind…

Five… halfway there, halfway into deep, restorative sleep…

Four… the numbers are starting to become a little blurry now in your mind…

Three… fading away into the distance…

Two… so distant… letting the numbers just drift off on their own, because you no longer need them…

One… deeply relaxed, completely at ease…

And in this quiet space, you can imagine looking out over a busy city at nightfall… a place that has been buzzing with bright lights, glowing screens, and endless movement all day long… A place so much like your own busy mind… But now, the night has come… and one by one, the lights are gently turning off… Building by building, window by window, the bright screens go dark… leaving only a natural, soothing, and enveloping darkness…

As the city powers down, your mind powers down with it… giving up the agitation of the day, releasing the need to process any more information… The digital noise simply fades away into the shadows… Everything becomes slow, quiet, and profoundly peaceful… You can drift into sleep right now… or you can wait just a few moments more… either way is perfectly fine, because the destination is exactly the same…

And as the last remaining lights fade into the peaceful night, you find yourself sinking deeper… just like a smooth, heavy stone gently descending through calm, warm water… drifting down, down, into the quiet, undisturbed depths… sinking softly into a sleep that is profound and restorative… and it is so easy to sleep deeply, allowing the water to hold you…

When you are even more relaxed, sleep will just take over completely, without any effort on your part… Your body knows exactly how to rest, it has always known how to find this quiet place within you… And for all the nights to come, every time your head touches the pillow and you exhale slowly three times, this deep calm will return automatically… arriving faster and taking you even deeper into peace…

If you ever need to get up during the night, you will naturally regain full alertness… but otherwise, there is nothing left to do… no screens to check, no thoughts to follow… just drift… letting go of my voice… sinking deeper… into a beautiful, peaceful rest… drifting away… just sleep…

Your feedback

Did this session help you sleep?

Tell us in a few words. Your feedback helps us improve the site, and we read every message.

Your rating (optional)

Please don't include health data or personal information.

Newsletter

The Sunday letter

Every Sunday evening: the week's sessions, a new exercise and a bedtime-ritual idea. As a gift when you subscribe: the guide “How to fall back asleep: 7 things that help” (PDF) and the “7 evenings to unwind” program.

Just your email, never sold. No health data.