These 12 Sleep Affirmations Work Way Better Than Counting Sheep

By Emily Hunt

As a self-proclaimed woo-woo spiritual mystic, I firmly believe that the answers to many of the day-to-day problems we face can be found within ourselves. When something feels off in me, I look within to solve the problem.

Sometimes that means spending some time meditating to ask my body what it needs from me in order to come back into alignment. Sometimes it means grabbing onto negative emotions that are flying around inside so I can discover what’s causing them and tackle them head-on. And when my mind is racing at night and I can’t fall asleep, I turn to sleep affirmations.

What Are Sleep Affirmations?

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Sleep affirmations, also called bedtime affirmations, are positive words/phrases you can say to yourself before bedtime to help you fall asleep easier. Have you ever heard it said that it’s way harder to fall asleep when you’re freaking out over not being able to fall asleep? That’s kind of a super unfair catch-22. Well, that’s exactly what sleep affirmations aim to combat — they’ll get your brain in a place where it believes it’s time to go to bed, so you can fall asleep easier (and faster!).

Sleep affirmations aren’t meant to be anything magical — these mantras work for the same reason any good bedtime routine does. Taking your body through the same motions every night signals to your brain that it’s time to go to sleep. In the same vein, repeating sleep affirmations nightly reinforces that bedtime message in your brain. Plus, they’re a great way to wrap up your whole day in your head — you get some time to reflect on what you’re thankful for, what went well, or what you need to move on from/let go of.

Let’s check out some of my favorite sleep affirmations!

My Favorite Sleep Affirmations

You can repeat the following affirmations out loud or in your head. I recommend repeating them out loud a few times (there’s power in verbalization!) and then repeating them in your head while you try to fall asleep. You certainly don’t have to go through all of these, but pick the ones which resonate the most with you!