10 Best Free Meditation Apps for sleep


Meditation is a crucial practice that can bring about relaxation and mindfulness in an individual. As these factors are important for sound sleep too, meditations like Vipassana can be a good solution for healthy sleep. One can sit or catnap in the right posture, close their eyes and get into their inner self to attain peace and thereby sleep. 

To enhance this working process, a piece of an updated soothing sound or music can play a pivotal role. But searching for newer sounds regularly can be a hectic process. Thankfully, some meditation apps come with updated music tunes to stimulate good sleep along with other relevant meditation features. Read through this blog to traverse through the best free meditation apps for sleep, With this idea, you can choose which of these apps can be the best pick for you. 

Crucial features of Meditation Apps for Sleep?

There are multiple options of meditation apps available on the market. But a few of them focus on providing boosting sessions for sound sleep. Here are a few features you must ensure while choosing one of the best free meditation apps for sleep:

  • A collection of serene tunes: Soothing sounds from nature like wind, and water can give a great feel to the ears- thereby stimulating sleep. According to research by Barabra Ellen Bauer[1] made on orthopedic surgical patients practicing meditation, it is observed that soothing sounds can relax them better- showing how music can ensure better sleep.

  • Sleep Stories: Bedtime stories are often well-liked by children not only because these tales were engaging but also are soothing to dive into a deep sleep. The idea behind the sleep stories is the same in the meditation apps. After a hectic workday, listening to these stories from a sweet voice can be relaxing. 

  • Motivating content: These are video snippets of multiple expert orators encompassing multiple stories, quotes, and other insights to rejuvenate the individual to start the day or relieve stress. 

  • Distinctive meditative techniques: Even though the central motto of all meditative techniques is the same, many individuals may look for the latest and most interesting exercises to relish the session. Accordingly, choosing those apps that come with regualr updates can be preferred. 

10 Best free meditation apps for sleep- Our Suggestions for you!

Here is the out list of best free meditation apps for sleep which can be your all-around meditation companion as well.

  1. Calm Application

Created by Calm.com incorporation, this app serves to guide and accompany users for better relaxation and sleep with meditative techniques. For starters, this app can be a good choice to start practicing meditative sleep in just 3 minutes. 

It comes with multiple features like new techniques to practice regularly, movement suggestions, and masterclasses. These can help in calming anxiety, managing stress, focus, and concentration. 

For sleep meditation, it comes with sleep stories, music, and soundscapes making it a good session to get into sleep effortlessly. Jennifer Huberty [2] did research about the effect of the Calm app on sleep disturbances. The results of the test on subscribers showed that around 77% of the respondents could sleep comfortably with the app- depicting how it is useful. 

Get it on PlayStore

Get it on AppStore 

  1. Headspace App

Headspace App is the application from the company Headspace founded by Andy Puddicombe (A Buddhist monk) and Richard Pierson (Marketing personnel). The main motto of the app is to support the user in any place and mental state by providing mindfulness, and relaxation. 

It comes with guided lessons to meditate even in difficult situations. Some areas of focus apart from relaxation are breathwork and anxiety meditation. It also comes with specialized techniques to be employed by children.  

This app has a provision for sleep meditation that comes with features like relaxing and sleeping better with music and meditating awake (a short refreshing video to play to start the day). Users can avail of the free version to start with. 

Get it on PlayStore 

Get it on AppStore


  1. Medito: Meditation and Sleep

Medito is a non-profit offering from Medito Foundation. The objective of the app is to ensure mental well-being with all the healthy practices of meditation. Users can choose among multiple lectures that come in both guided and non-guided forms.

Also, the individual can choose among beginner, and intermediate courses based on their level of practice. Other features include daily meditation schedules addressing stress, and anxiety and also managing work-life too. 

This app also comes with sleep meditation, sounds, and sleep stories that make it a noteworthy choice for people looking for good sleep. As it is a non-profit app, there are no distractions like ads and subscriptions enhancing the user experience.

Get it on Playstore

  1. Balance: Meditation and Sleep

Created by Elevate labs, Balance app ensures to bring serenity, especially in difficult situations with meditative techniques. It coaches the users with tailor-made techniques to optimize their time and efforts.

Some eminent features apart from personalization include 10-day plans, research-backed activities, animated tutorials, customizable sessions, and regular updates.

Balance comes with relaxation exercises that can be employed before bed. With a mix of sleep meditation, sounds, and wind-down activity, bilateral stimulation is created to overcome pressures-thereby resulting in sound sleep. 

Get it on Playstore

Get it on Appstore

  1. Breethe: Meditation and Sleep

Created by Breethe labs, this app comes with around 1700 guided meditations and other collections from various experts to encompass all insights to ensure mindfulness in the users. With a theme of the night sky, it gets easier for individuals to operate it even in low-light conditions. 

This app comes with multiple features to assist sleep. These include relaxation music, sleep sounds, sleep stories, bedtime visualizations, guided meditation, breathing exercises, and inspirational talks. 

Get it on Playstore 

  1. Tide: Sleep and Meditation

Designed by Moreless incorporation, this app focuses on integrating all utilities of meditation at the comfort of one application. Activities and techniques thereby impact both physical and mental health. It comes with all relevant features to relax in a busy and fast-paced life.

First, the relaxation meditation feature lets the brain exercise to immerse it in peace. Second, the natural sounds give a soothing experience. Third, it comes with inspiring quotes to start the day with motivation. 

Other features that help people with sleep include:

  •  Sleep and nap mode: to have a quick nap during the day

  •  Focus timer: to ensure focus on the task

  • Breathing exercise: to calm body and mind

  • Diary feature: to update each crucial moment during meditation.

Get it on Playstore

Get it on Appstore 

  1. Deep Meditate: Relax and Sleep

Deep meditate incorporation came with an easy-to-use app to expose users to working meditation sessions to relieve and sleep. With both light and dark themes, it offers a scope of customization.

It comes with a set of different meditations like breathing meditation, mindfulness, muscle, tradition, and 10-minute meditations. The varying set of services can make it fit for all sorts of users.

For boosting better sleep, Deep meditation comes with stress & anxiety meditation, calm music, and nature sounds. Some unique collections include crackling fire, lapping water, rocky beach, and rainforests. 

Get it on Playstore

  1. Let’s Meditate: Meditate. Relax and Sleep

Heal my team has created this app with the motto of providing all free resources to meditate at any time. It comes with an ad-free experience and doesn't even need signup. Users can just access it, play a track and they are good to go.

Some eminent features of this app include diverse content for each sign like anxiety, healing, and sleep. This list of particulars can suit both short and long durations. Also, users can download selected content for offline use later.

It comes with a set of sounds and short meditative sessions to ensure sound sleep. The individual can choose between long and short sessions. 

Get it on PlayStore 

  1. Ten percent Happier- Meditation and Sleep

As the name depicts, this app ensures to development of a person by ten percent with every technique taught. The content here comes as a mix of video tutorials and techniques making it easy for the users to interpret the practice. 

With around 600 meditations, it may ensure to fit for almost every user. A unique feature is an option for quick sessions to stay fit even in travel or during lunch breaks. 

Bit Size stories, wisdom, sounds, and inspiration from the sleep section can be ample for most users to use at bedtime. You can access the content from the app easily with just a few taps. 

Get it on Playstore

  1. Pzizz- Sleep Nap and Focus

This app uses clinical research-based techniques, products, and resources to ensure sound sleep, nap, and focus on the individual. This sleep meditation app ensures a large set of serene sounds to help better sleep. 

Pzizz interface is divided into three parts: Sleep module, Nap module, and Focus Module. Sleep mode ensures that the user falls asleep, thereby making a good choice to assist insomnia. The nap module helps to take a power nap to rejuvenate with work for the rest of the day. And the focus module ensures building concentration on tasks.

Pzizz comes with a simple interface with clinical validation. This makes it a reliable choice to opt for. The app is free for the initial 7 days. 

Get it on PlayStore

Additional tips for better sleep

Along with an apt meditation app, one should ensure a few other factors to make sleeping habits and settings healthy. With reference to the Center for disease control and prevention, we  came up with  a few tips and strategies to warrant good sleep:

  • Make the locations serene, relaxing and dark away from distractions like electronic devices. This can easily promote[3] good sleep. 

  • Consistency is the key to everything. May it be early or late, individuals can ensure to go to sleep at the same time each day- even on the weekends and holidays.

  • Having regular workouts or exercises during the day can make up for a good sleep. 

  • It is always healthy to mitigate habits of having alcohol, large meals, and caffeine before bed. 

Concluding thoughts 

We hope you are now familiar with the best free meditation apps for sleep. Note that premium apps come with a subscription fee. But the choices that we have suggested are free to avail necessary features. While some of them are non-profit apps, others are free versions. For a beginner or even for a regular user, these apps can be fitting for most people. Traverse through all the choices stated above and see which of these can be a good fit for you. 

References:
[1] Bauer, B. E., Mitchell, C., & Salmon, E. (2015). The effect of soothing sound machines and meditation using CD players on relaxation in acute care orthopedic patients. Patient Experience Journal2(2), 53-59.
[2] Huberty, J., Puzia, M. E., Larkey, L., Irwin, M. R., & Vranceanu, A. M. (2020). Use of the consumer-based meditation app calm for sleep disturbances: cross-sectional survey study. JMIR formative research4(11), e19508.
[3] Perrault, A. A., Bayer, L., Peuvrier, M., Afyouni, A., Ghisletta, P., Brockmann, C., ... & Sterpenich, V. (2019). Reducing the use of screen electronic devices in the evening is associated with improved sleep and daytime vigilance in adolescents. Sleep42(9), zsz125.

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