01 · Mind · 3 min
The worry list
Worries written down at nine o'clock are much quieter at two.
LIVE ·vive.calm
CalmRoom to breathe, a quieter night.
Two minutes of breath, the worry list, a record and ten good pages, and a gentler way into sleep.
- Breath
- Sleep
- Music
- Reading
Start here
Three to begin with,pick the easiest.
02 · Breath · 2 min
A slow breath
The out-breath is the body's own signal that nothing needs fighting right now; three of them take under a minute.
03 · Sleep · 2 min
Rest
Twenty minutes lying down, awake, is not a failure to sleep; it is a practice of its own.
A short film · 28 seconds
The long out-breath,in under half a minute.
One practice, slowly, with the steps on screen. It has no sound, so it is fine on a bus or by a sleeping child. Start it when you like.
Read the practiceEvery practice in Calm
40 practices,free to read.
Mind
Worry, fog, and the long afternoons.
- The worry list
Worries written down at nine o'clock are much quieter at two.
3 min
- Name what you feel
Putting a word to a feeling turns it down a notch; it is one of the oldest findings about the mind and one of the easiest to use.
3 min
- One good thing
Naming one good thing from the day, before sleep, is a small habit with a long reach.
3 min
- A fifteen-minute worry window
Give worry one appointment a day, so it does not have to follow you everywhere else.
15 min
- Five things you can see
A three-minute way back into the room when your thoughts have run ahead of you.
3 min
- The long out-breath
Two minutes of breathing out a little longer than you breathe in, before the next hard thing.
2 min
- A kinder voice for yourself
When the inner voice turns harsh, try talking to yourself the way you would talk to a friend in the same spot.
5 min
- The smallest next step
When everything feels too much, choose one task so small it is almost silly, do it, and notice that you did.
5 min
- A list of what steadies you
Written on a good day, read on a hard one: a short list of the people, places and small acts that tend to bring you back.
15 min
- Hands busy, mind quiet
Folding laundry, peeling vegetables, sorting buttons: a simple task done slowly and on purpose can settle a crowded mind.
15 min
- A clean end to the working day
Three small actions at the end of work that tell your mind the day is done, so it is less likely to follow you home.
5 min
- A weekly check on work stress
Five minutes at the end of the working week to notice how work is sitting with you, so a hard stretch does not quietly become too much.
10 min
- The first week back at work
After leave, illness, caring or a long gap, a gentler first week, planned ahead, can make returning easier.
15 min
Breath
Two minutes that change the next hour.
Sleep
Getting to sleep, staying there, and the mornings after.
- Rest
Twenty minutes lying down, awake, is not a failure to sleep; it is a practice of its own.
2 min
- Awake at three
What to do in the small hours when sleep has gone and the ceiling is not helping.
3 min
- The same time up, every day
One fixed time to get up, weekends included, does more for a ragged night than any perfect bedtime.
5 min
- The hour before bed
An hour that gets slowly quieter, dimmer and duller, so sleep has somewhere to land.
10 min
- A cooler, darker, quieter room
Fifteen minutes spent on the bedroom itself: a little cooler, a little darker, a little quieter.
15 min
- When you cannot get back to sleep
A plan for the middle of the night, made in the daytime, so you are not making decisions at three in the morning.
5 min
- A short, early nap
Twenty minutes, before mid-afternoon, with an alarm: a nap that takes the edge off without stealing the night.
20 min
- A cut-off time for caffeine
Coffee and tea keep working for hours after the cup is empty. One cut-off time, chosen once, protects the night.
5 min
- Two weeks of sleep notes
A few lines each morning for two weeks shows what is really happening at night, and gives a doctor something to work with.
5 min
- A slow tour of the body, in bed
Ten minutes moving your attention from your toes to the top of your head, so the mind has somewhere quiet to go.
10 min
- A small kit for sleeping away from home
A hospital chair, a relative's spare room, a hotel bed: a few small things in one bag can make a strange night easier.
15 min
- Sleeping well side by side
Snoring, cold feet, different bedtimes: a calm daytime talk about how you share the night, so both of you sleep better.
20 min
- Sleeping after a night shift
A protected wind-down on the way home and a dark, quiet room can make daytime sleep easier.
10 min
Music
- Build a three-song set
Three songs in order, for one part of your day: one to arrive, one to stay, one to let go.
10 min
- One song, all the way through
Choose one song and do nothing else for its length. Four minutes, start to finish.
4 min
- Sing while the kettle boils
The kettle takes about three minutes. Sing something, out loud, badly, on purpose, until it clicks.
3 min
- Find the songs from their good years
Ask someone you love which songs they danced to when they were young, and play them together.
20 min
- Pick up the instrument again
The guitar under the bed, the keyboard in the spare room: fifteen minutes, no goal, just to hear it.
15 min
- Find a free concert close to home
Choirs, bandstands, lunchtime recitals, school concerts and open rehearsals: live music is often free and nearby, if you know where to look.
60 min
- Find a relaxed performance
Many venues run shows, films and visits where noise, movement and coming and going are welcome, so more people can come.
15 min
Read
- Find a small pocket for reading
Ten minutes in a day you already have: the bus, the waiting room, the kettle. Keep a book where the pocket is.
10 min
- Ten pages instead of the phone
At bedtime, charge the phone outside the bedroom and read ten pages of a paper book by a low lamp.
10 min
- Read aloud to someone
A chapter, a poem, a page of the paper, read out loud to a child, a partner or someone who is unwell.
15 min
- Keep one poem in your pocket
Copy out one short poem you like, keep it in your pocket or phone case, and read it once a day this week.
3 min
- Pass a book on
Choose a book you loved, write one line inside the cover, and give it to someone who might love it too.
10 min
Try it with someone
Wind down,at the same hour.
WETRIBE
Phones in another room, one lamp on, ten pages or ten minutes of quiet. Agree the hour once; keep it most nights.
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