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The middle of the night

Relaxation techniques for insomnia: where they help, and where they don't

Relaxation is a genuine part of CBT-I, recommended conditionally in the guidelines. Which techniques, how to practice them, and the trap of using them to force sleep.

4 min read

Last reviewed October 7, 2026

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Relaxation techniques are a genuine part of CBT-I, and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends them for chronic insomnia - conditionally. They help lower the physical arousal that makes falling asleep hard. On their own, they are a weaker treatment than the full program. And used the wrong way, as a tool to force sleep, they can backfire.

Why arousal matters

People with chronic insomnia tend to be more physically and mentally activated - not just at night, but around the clock. That is described in the hyperarousal model of insomnia, and it is part of why "just relax" is not useful advice. Relaxation techniques give a structured way to bring that arousal down. How arousal fits into CBT-I.

Three techniques to try

Progressive muscle relaxation

Work through the body one muscle group at a time - feet, calves, thighs, stomach, hands, arms, shoulders, face. Tense each group for around five seconds, then release and notice the difference for fifteen to twenty. Move slowly. The point is to recognize what tension feels like so you can let it go.

Slow breathing

Breathe in gently through the nose, low into the belly rather than the chest, and breathe out slowly, a little longer than the in-breath. Keep it comfortable; there is no target. A few minutes is enough.

Body scan

Move attention slowly through the body without trying to change anything, noticing sensation and returning to it when the mind wanders. It is less about relaxing muscles and more about shifting attention away from worry.

How to practice

Practice during the day first. Relaxation is a skill. Trying it for the first time at 2am, frustrated, rarely works. Practicing once or twice a day when the stakes are low makes it available when you need it.

Use it in the wind-down before bed, not as a last resort once you are already lying awake.

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Expect it to take a few weeks before it feels natural.

The trap: using relaxation to force sleep

Falling asleep is automatic, and deliberate effort interferes with it. One influential review of insomnia describes how attention to sleep, intention to sleep, and effort to sleep each block a process that is supposed to run on its own.

Relaxation can slide into exactly that. If you lie in bed doing breathing exercises in order to fall asleep, monitoring whether it is working, getting frustrated when it is not, you have turned a tool for lowering arousal into another form of effort. That is why the aim of relaxation should be to feel calmer, not to make sleep happen. Sleep tends to follow once you stop chasing it.

Where relaxation fits

The AASM recommends relaxation conditionally. It strongly recommends multicomponent CBT-I, in which relaxation sits alongside sleep restriction, stimulus control and cognitive work. Relaxation helps with arousal; it does not rebuild sleep drive or retrain the association between bed and wakefulness, which are what keep chronic insomnia going.

That is also the difference between a relaxation or sleep-sounds app and a CBT-I program. Sleep apps vs CBT-I apps.

If you wake in the night

A few minutes of slow breathing after a waking is fine. But if you have been awake a while and you are getting frustrated, the better move is to get up and do something quiet elsewhere until you feel sleepy again. What to do at 2am. For a mind that will not switch off, see a racing mind at night, and the rest of this section.

Somnera is a self-guided education program built on CBT-I, founded and written by Dr. Camilo Ruiz, DO, FACOI, FAASM. It is not a diagnosis and does not replace care from your own clinician. The assessment is free and takes about two minutes.

Citations

  • Edinger JD, et al. Behavioral and psychological treatments for chronic insomnia disorder in adults: an American Academy of Sleep Medicine clinical practice guideline. J Clin Sleep Med. 2021;17(2):255–262. doi:10.5664/jcsm.8986
  • Riemann D, et al. The hyperarousal model of insomnia: a review of the concept and its evidence. Sleep Med Rev. 2010;14(1):19–31. doi:10.1016/j.smrv.2009.04.002
  • Espie CA, et al. The attention–intention–effort pathway in the development of psychophysiologic insomnia: a theoretical review. Sleep Med Rev. 2006;10(4):215–245. doi:10.1016/j.smrv.2006.03.002
  • Broomfield NM, Espie CA. Towards a valid, reliable measure of sleep effort. J Sleep Res. 2005;14(4):401–407. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2869.2005.00481.x

Frequently asked questions

They can. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends relaxation techniques for chronic insomnia, conditionally. On their own they are a weaker recommendation than full CBT-I, which combines relaxation with sleep restriction, stimulus control and cognitive work.

There is no single best one. Progressive muscle relaxation and slow breathing are the most commonly used. The one that works is usually the one you practice regularly during the day, not only at bedtime.

Because using them as a tool to force sleep adds effort, and effort to sleep is one of the things that blocks it. Relaxation works better as a way to lower arousal than as a way to make sleep happen.

You can, as long as you are not lying in bed getting frustrated. If you have been awake a while and are getting annoyed, getting up and doing something quiet elsewhere is usually the better move.

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