From guided meditations to bedtime stories, you’re bound to find something you love in this list of podcasts for your bedtime routine. So, take a moment to give each one a listen. Find the voice, stories, or meditations that soothe your soul and help you gently drift off to sleep.
Sleep Meditations and Stories – by Slumber Studio.
Come relax with the #1 sleep podcast. Their unique stories help calm the mind and relax the body. Press play, it’s time to Get Sleepy… become a premium member for access to bonus episodes and ad-free listening.
Pros: Host Thomas Jones opens the show, narrating the ads in the same slow, soothing tone one would tell a sleep story, before handing the reigns over to narrator, Chloe De Burgh. The podcast ends with about 5 minutes of soft, ambient music.
Cons: Listeners of the free version find the ads “disturbing” and about things that “should not be on a sleep podcast.”like a falling leaf.”
Sleep With Me – Silver Sleeper Productions, LLC :
Insomnia? Mind racing at night? Tune in for a bedtime story that lets you forget your problems and progressively gets more boring until you fall asleep. So, get in bed, press play, close your eyes, and drift off into dreamland.
Pros: The host’s voice, described by road_runner321 as “part Bob Ross and part bored DMV clerk… has an inimitable quality to catch your attention and hold it, but to let you drift along with him, filling his stories with boring details, side plots that go nowhere, embellishments that don’t add anything, little asides that always seem about to reveal something profound but just sort of lilt back down like a falling leaf.”
Cons: The host’s voice. You’ll either love it, or its tired, twangy, earnest tone will remind you of your dear old, boring Uncle Tom. The one who corners you at family parties because you’re the only one who has the patience to listen to him. He talks but never says anything. There’s no plot, and his stories never go anywhere. It’s mind-numbing and put-you-to-sleep boring.
Deep Energy Podcast – Music for Sleep, Meditation, Yoga and Studying, by Jim Butler.
Deep Energy Podcast is a podcast of music for sleep, meditation, relaxation, massage, yoga, reiki, and therapy.
Pros: Beautiful, soft, ambient new-age music. Ad-free podcasts are available on www.jimbutler.bandcamp.com
Cons: The podcast, like most, is ad-supported. Most of the ads are at the front and the back of the podcast. They have nothing to do with calm and relaxation and can be quite jarring.
Wind down or drift off with the Casper Sleep Channel: a magical slumberland of sounds, meditations, and bedtime stories to help you sleep. Hosted by June the Moon and podcast hosts Meredith Goldstein (Boston Globe’s Love Letters), Kathryn Nicolai (Nothing Much Happens; Bedtime Stories for Grown-Ups), and Nathan Thornburgh (The Trip). New episodes are posted weekly. Also available on YouTube and IGTV.
Pros: June the Moon, the podcast host, has a beautiful, soft, and soothing voice. She introduces each sleep session, then another host takes over. Topics range from relaxing ramblings about hippopotamuses and sunscreen to listening to the sound of a ticking clock and imagining you’re a swinging pendulum.
Cons: If you want a story with a proper beginning, middle and end, Casper Sleep Channel’s ramblings will drive you around the bend with their non-sequiturs and digressive nature.
On a Dark, Cold Night – by the Sonar Network.
On a Dark, Cold Night is the ideal for horror lovers with insomnia; a sinister friend to tell you bedtime/ghost stories. The Canadian Podcasts Winner has the narrator telling you a spine-chilling yet soothing original ghost story every week. Launched in January 2018, the show is written, performed, and produced by Kristen Zaza.
Pros: Kristen’s soft, gravelly voice is pleasant, and her stories are well-written, creepy, and intriguing. I like her style and can easily imagine myself staying up chatting with her over wine ‘til the wee hours of the night.
Cons: I’m not a fan of the whistling track at the top and tail of each story. It’s pitchy and a bit dissonant, but maybe that’s the point. These tales are 20 to 30 minutes long, which is barely long enough to lull me to sleep. There are announcements at the end.
Nothing Much Happens: Bedtime Stories to Help You Sleep – by iHeartPodcasts
Having trouble sleeping? Join yoga and meditation teacher Kathryn Nicolai for bedtime stories where nothing much happens, to help you relax and sleep peacefully. The stories are a soft-landing spot for your mind. Rather than letting your brain race through the same thoughts you’ve been chasing all day, they take a detour to a calm and comfy place. Kathryn tells the story twice, and goes a bit slower the second time.
Pros: Kathryn’s voice is soft and soothing. As she reads you a bedtime story, your mind follows along, distracted from its worries. Ads and PSAs are woven in seamlessly at the beginning of the podcast.
Cons: A few listeners are irked by the fact that Kathryn promotes her book and Instagram page on the ad-free version of the podcast.
Sleepy – by Otis Gray.
Doze off to classic stories with Sleepy. Each week, baritone host Otis Gray reads old books in a low, rhythmic tone to lull you into a deep slumber so you can have a fresh start the next day. Sweet dreams.
Pros: Otis has a beautiful, deep baritone. Sleep stories run the gamut from tales like “Magnificent Obsession” by Lloyd C. Douglas to “Velveteen Rabbit” by Margery Williams.
Cons: Otis spends a good 5-6 minutes reading promos and ads before he starts his introduction and story. Stories can sometimes be spooky or unsettling.
Tracks to Relax: Guided Sleep Meditations. TracksToRelax.com
Trouble sleeping due to stress, worry, or a racing mind? No matter what is causing your insomnia, Tracks To Relax provides a natural, soothing solution to help you get the sleep you need. They invite you to put on your headphones, get comfortable, and play a Tracks to Relax Sleep Meditation! With soothing male and female-voiced sessions and lots of variety, their podcast can be your source for reliable sleep help! Also, check out their Nap Meditations Podcast.
Pros: No blackouts, no ads, no introductions if you listen to the sleep meditation on their website
Cons: Loud, blaring advertisement on the free version
The Daily Meditation Podcast – by Mary Meckley
Sleep better, reduce stress and anxiety, and feel happier about your life. If you yearn for simpler, calmer days, settle yourself down to explore the rich tradition of meditation for your modern life. Journey through a weekly theme to gain insight and understanding of the biggest stressors of our time. Be guided in a brief mini-meditation using a time-proven meditation technique in each episode to sleep better, manage anxiety, and improve mental focus. Described by listeners as a daily therapy session with meditation and yoga teacher, Mary Meckley.
Pros: There are thousands of episodes to choose from. They range in length from 10 to 35 minutes.
Cons: Promos and anecdotes at the beginning of the podcast can be long-winded. Many of the meditations are about 12 minutes long, which isn’t quite long enough to fall asleep.
Meditation Minis – by Chel Hamilton
Short, guided meditations to calm your anxiety, overcome negative thinking, increase your confidence, and more. Don’t think you have the time, or mental focus, to meditate? Most of these mind-shifting meditations are 10 minutes or less. South your stress away and feel better fast with this award-winning guided meditation podcast with hypnotherapist Chel Hamilton.
Pros: These are, as promised, short meditations ranging in length from 8 to 11 minutes.
Cons: With a few exceptions, most of these meditations are too short to lull you to sleep.
Have a podcast you love that’s not on this list? Drop me a line, I’d love to give it a listen and add it to the mix.